Can Money Printing Cause Deflation?
by Dr. Marc Faber, Daily Reckoning
We know that 'money printing' distorts the level of relative prices in an economy because, at certain times, some prices may increase faster than other prices. At other times, during another phase of monetary inflation, the prices of different goods, services and assets may increase while formerly rising prices might decline - if not in absolute terms, then in relative terms (commodity prices in the last few years).
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Market Commentary: Markets Close Down Fractionally On A Quiet Session
Closing Market Commentary For 12-30-2014
Slow day at Wall Street as the averages sort of melted down fractionally from the get-go and not doing much on the way down. Looking forward to next year hoping for some 'action'.
By 4 the averages were down ~0.50% and nary a BTFDer anywhere around. It is safe to sat the Santa Claus rally is over for the year.
What We Read Today 30 December 2014
Econintersect: Every day our editors collect the most interesting things they find from around the internet and present a summary "reading list" which will include very brief summaries (and sometimes longer ones) of why each item has gotten our attention. Suggestions from readers for "reading list" items are gratefully reviewed, although sometimes space limits the number included.
Missing AirAsia Flight: Indonesian Officials Spot Several Bodies Floating In Waters (Associated Press, The World Post) Indonesian officials on Tuesday spotted debris and six bodies from the AirAsia flight that disappeared two days earlier, and recovered three of them, in a painful end to the aviation mystery off the coast of Borneo Island. More articles on reading list below.
Market Commentary: Averages Remain Unchanged From Morning, Down And Quiet
Midday Market Commentary For 12-30-2014
The morning session has remained in the red sea-sawing sideways in what has become a quiet session of sorts.
By noon the averages were off -0.3% and volume was falling. Session likely to remain down and trend sideways.
Robbery fail: ATM catastrophically explodes in thief's face, Australia
Police have released CCTV footage in search of a man who tried to rob an ATM with explosives in Darwin, Australia; the footage shows the explosives blow up in his face, knocking him off his feet before he runs away. December 30 2014.
Market Commentary: Markets Open Lower On Last Two Days Of The Year
Opening Market Commentary For 12-30-2014
Premarkets were down 0.4% at one point with pundits pointing to various reasons, none of which made any sense. Markets opened down 0.2% and traded sideways for the first 15 minutes.
By 10 am the averages were trending down on spurts of heavy red volume, but ultimate session direction remains in doubt.
December 2014 Conference Board Consumer Confidence Improves Modestly - Near Expectations
Written by Doug Short and Steven Hansen
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index improved after its sharp decline last month. The market expected this index to come in at 89.3 to 98.0 (consensus 93.0) versus the 92.6 reported.
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Case-Shiller Home Price Index October 2014: Price Growth Continues to Slow
Written by Steven Hansen
The non-seasonally adjusted Case-Shiller home price index (20 cities) for October 2014 (released today) year-over-year rate of home price growth slowed from 4.8% (reported as 4.9% last month) to 4.5%.
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Stratfor: The Top Five Events in 2014
by George Friedman
'Tis the season to make lists, and a list shall be made. We tend to see each year as extraordinary, and in some senses, each year is. But in a broader sense, 2014 was merely another year in a long chain of human triumph and misery. Wars have been waged, marvelous things have been invented, disease has broken out, and people have fallen in love. Nonetheless, lists are called for, and this is my list of the five most important events of 2014.
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2014 Review: A Good Year to Avoid Performance Envy
Sungarden Investment Research Article of the Week
by Rob Isbitts, Sungarden Investment Research
2014 has been an odd year in many ways. Easy money has continued to be the rule for central governments across the world, and this has created false sense of security that is going on six years (following the end of the financial crisis-induced stock market decline that ended in March, 2009).
We Just Enjoyed the Last Christmas in America
by Charles Hugh Smith, Of Two Minds
The end of rising wages = the end of mass affluence: we just enjoyed the Last Christmas in America (TLCIA).
As unemployment topped 10%, the January 1975 cover of Ramparts magazine blared: The End of Affluence: The Last Christmas in America. (TLCIA)
29 December 2014 Weather Outlook - A Fading El Nino
El Nino is fading. If this El Nino does not happen, as I believe will be the case, it will be perhaps the second time in about five years or less that this has happened calling into question the assumed ability to predict ENSO two years in advance. When you think about it, if ENSO is close to being a five-year cycle with perhaps a sequence of El Nino, Neutral, Neutral, La Nina, Neutral, Neutral, repeat the sequence, one wonders why true El Nino's have become scarcer than hen's teeth. More on that in a subsequent report. For the next couple of weeks the dominant feature of our weather will be the strong temperature gradient from north to south in the Lower 48 which is forecast to be quite robust.
Bank Bailouts Begin as Russia Faces Biggest Challenge to Date
by Anastasia Nesvetailova, The Conversation
The dramatic slide in the value of the rouble has claimed its first banking casualty. Trust Bank is being bailed out by the Russian Central Bank to the tune of US$530m. The emergency liquidity line is intended as life support for one of modern Russia's more established banks.
Rick's Picks Predictions for 2015 and Beyond
by Rick Ackerman, Rick's Picks
In the past, Rick's Picks has shunned year-end predictions because there are far too many variables to handicap accurately. I've decided to take a crack at it anyway this year because I was curious to see what conclusions purely technical analysis would yield for some widely followed issues. I'm no seer, just a chartist, and I'll say up front that the question of whether the Dow Industrials are trading at 23,000 at the end of 2015, or at 14,000, is probably no better than a coin-toss bet.
The Central Fact - The Same Whales Rule In The Worldwide Liquidity Pool
The Face of Oligarchy
by Lee Adler, Wall Street Examiner
A central tenet of my view of the markets is that there's just one worldwide pool of liquidity, and it is ruled by the same Killer Whales operating out of a few world financial capitals. We call those whales (or sharks if you prefer) Primary Dealers. They feed in the ocean of cash pumped in by the world's major central banks, essentially the Fed, the ECB (Europe), and the BoJ (Japan).
Firm and Three Executives Accused of Siphoning Investor Money and Lying
from the Securities and Exchange Commission
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against three fund managers and their New York-based firm accused of secretly diverting investor money for their own benefit to prop up a fledgling side business.
Fed's Balance Sheet 24 December 2014 Sets Record High Again
Total Fed Balance Sheet
Fed'sBalance Sheet week ending balance sheet was $4.469 trillion - up from the record $4.462 trillion for week ending 17 December 2014 and up from the $4.462 trillion for week ending 17 December. Note that on the 29 October 2014, the Federal Reserves governing board (FOMC) stated that .....
Average Gasoline Prices for Week Ending 29 December 2014: Down $1.01 from a Year Ago
Econintersect: Average gasoline prices fell 10.4 cents per gallon nationwide (Lowest since May 2009) this past week following the previous week's 14.7 cent fall from the week before. However, since 06 January 2014, gas prices have fallen 101.9 cents a gallon.
Average prices by region and a breakdown by grade follow after "Read more >>".
At the end of the article is a Gas Buddy graphic with access to local gasoline prices anywhere in the country.
Infographic of the Day: Violent Cartoon Deaths
A study published in the British Medical Journal showed that characters died in two-thirds of cartoon movies, compared with half in adult dramas.
