Low Interest Rates and Secular Stagnation: Is Debt A Missing Link?
by Claudio Borio and Piti Disyatat, Voxeu.org
Real interest rates have fallen to historic lows, and some economists are concerned that an era of secular stagnation has begun. This column highlights the role of policy frameworks and financial factors - particularly debt - in linking low real interest rates and sluggish economic growth. Policies that do not lean against booms but ease aggressively and persistently in busts induce a downward bias in interest rates over time and an upward bias in debt levels - something akin to a debt trap. Low real interest rates may thus be self-reinforcing and not always 'natural'.
Read more >>
Market Commentary: US Markets Closed, Rest Of World Operating
Opening Market Commentary For 07-04-2014
Happy Fourth of July.
US markets closed for the Holiday and will reopen On Monday July 7, 2014.
The world hasn't shut down, read more for what is going on.
Extraordinary Toroidal Vortices
A toroidal vortex, also called a vortex ring is a region of rotating fluid moving through the same or different fluid where the flow pattern takes on a doughnut shape. The movement of the fluid is about the circular axis of the doughnut.
A Word from This Newsletter's Sponsor
Purchasing With Amazon Through This Link Supports the Newsletter
What We Read Today 04 July 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 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.
- Yellen Says Financial Instability Shouldn't Prompt Rate Change (Craig Torres and Jeff Kearns, Bloomberg) The Fed chair told the IMF (International Monetary Fund) this week that there are "pockets of increased risk-taking" in the financial system, but that is primarily a concern of regulation, not of interest rate policy which faces "significant limitations as a tool to promote financial stability".
Options: Up, Down, Sideways and Diagonal
Online Trading Academy Article of the Week
by Russ Allen, Online Trading Academy Instructor
I've recently been writing about option positions that include both anchors (the option intended to provide the profit) and offsets (the option used to reduce some undesirable features of the anchor alone). We'll look at another example today.
School of Hard Knocks
Age of Wisdom, Age of Foolishness (32)
Written by Adam Whitehead, KeySignals.com
'Who's in the frame?'
The global leadership alumni have returned, from the sunny beaches of Normandy, to the shady geopolitical 'School of Hard Knocks' in their home countries.
Read more >>
China Services PMI Expands, Composite PMI Surges
Econintersect: The composite PMI for China from HSBC surged to 52.4 in June, up from 50.2 in May. The manufacturing index returned to expansion (50.7) after six months below 50. New orders were especially strong.
Rail Week Ending 28 June 2014: June Was a Very Good Month
Econintersect: Week 26 of 2014 shows same week total rail traffic (from same week one year ago) grew according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR) traffic data. Rail growth continues to be good, but this week is continuing the trend of softer growth.
Fed's Balance Sheet 02 July 2014 Up Marginally
Total Fed Balance Sheet
Fed's Balance Sheet week ending balance sheet was $4.334 trillion - up from the record $4.325 two weeks ago. The complete balance sheet data and graphical breakdown of the cumulative and weekly changes follows the "read more".
Read more >>
Infographic of the Day: Why Geckos Do Not Stick To Teflon
Geckos can stick to any surface in the World except Teflon.
The Modern Mesopotamian Folly
Why has a century-old deal between Britain and France got ISIS jihadis excited?
by Jolyon Howorth, The Conversation
The sweeping advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has given rise to a lively debate about who should bear ultimate responsibility for the disintegration of Iraq and Syria. On one hand, many commentators have pointed the finger at George W Bush and Tony Blair who, they argue, as the architects of the 2003 invasion, fundamentally destabilised Iraq and ultimately led to the current crisis.
Investing.com Technical Summary 03 July 2014
Investing.com Technical Analysis (as of Thu, 03 July 2014 05:00pm EDT)
by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
Below, technical overviews and analysis for key stock indices, commodities and currency pairs,
based on market activity at the close of the 03 July 2014 U.S. session. This information is a comprehensive summary derived from simple and exponential moving averages along with key technical indicators shown for specific time intervals.
Worker Sick Days Have Declined Dramatically in the UK
from Felix Richter, Statista.com
by Niall McCarthy
The number of sick days taken by British workers has fallen to an all time low.
