Financial repression and reflation are working. The Fed has made it painful to hold short term nominal risk free assets and cash USDs. They have implored us all to take risk in the hopes that it will generate real returns and real growth. And while the jury is still out, today’s employment report suggests the […]
Today in NYC we are hosting our inaugural Jefferies Global Macro Event. I’m looking forward to seeing many of you later today. The featured panelist/speaker will be Marty Feldstein. These are the questions that will frame our discussion. It should be a very interesting and entertaining 90 minutes with Marty. 1. For the better part […]
Two excerpts from tonight’s speech are below – not so nice reading for FNCL6s and money center commercial bank stocks!! 1. “…..responsible homeowners shouldn’t have to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom to get some relief. That’s why I’m sending this Congress a plan that gives every responsible homeowner the chance […]
Last week, in a commentary entitled “Banklords, Deadweight Losses and the Bernanke Risk Reversal”, we touched on the idea that 2012 will not just see the traditional execution of the “Bernanke Put”, but it will usher in a new era of “Bernanke Call” execution. Recall that over the second half of 2011 we had a […]
So the 2006 transcripts from the FOMC meetings are out. We do not have Bluebooks or Greenbooks yet, so it’s tough sledding through some of the commentary, but there is still plenty to chew on. Of course, Jan 2006 was Greenspan’s last meeting so if anyone wants to see the peaks of a bubble in […]
The best way to get into the heads of the leaders around the FOMC table is to read this – http://federalreserve.gov/publications/other-reports/files/housing-white-paper-20120104.pdf Housing tops the list of concerns at the Fed, and this “unsolicited” report to Congress placed all their housing cards on the table. To be sure, many in Congress (Senators Hatch, Corker etc.) do […]
Before starting on today’s exciting topic of Greek debt being responsible for German job creation, I need to do a little housekeeping. First, Happy New Year! Second, I am looking forward to another exciting year of writing commentaries that hopefully both entertain and inform – what I like to think of as “gonzo strategy”. Third, […]
The Obama administration has thrown some more Fed nomination spaghetti on the wall in hopes that something will finally stick! Peter Diamond was dk’d and Rich Clarida politely said no thank you – next up on center stage, Jerome Powell and Jeremy Stein. There is very little to discuss regarding Jerome Powell. He is a […]
A few weeks back we made a metaphorical comparison between the EU political theatre and the loony bin from the movie “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”. At the epicenter of this comparison was Angel Merkel aka Nurse Ratched – the over bearing, power hungry, strict disciplinarian that runs the insane asylum. We compared her […]
Spending last week in Georgia and Texas was fantastic – great debates and great evenings out. I learned after 45 years that I have a darker redneck side in me which has never been nurtured to its full potential. I need to go back down south soon! Of course, having the spoo rally 110 points […]