PUMP, PUMP, PUMP, DUMP: Bernanke Says Fed on Course to End Asset Buying in 2014

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank may start dialing down its unprecedented bond-buying program this year and end it entirely in mid-2014 if the economy finally achieves the sustainable growth the Fed has sought since the recession ended in 2009.

The Federal Open Market Committee today left the monthly pace of bond purchases unchanged at $85 billion, while saying that “downside risks to the outlook for the economy and [...]

S&P changes US outlook from Negative to Stable… Stocks are flying higher after S&P’s USA outlook revision!!! BUT NOW ARE NEGATIVE!?

S&P Upgrades US OUtlook From Negative To Stable On “Receding Fiscal Risks”

The market’s reaction is focused in the FX markets for now – but is fading…

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-10/sp-upgrades-us-outlook-negative-stable-receding-fiscal-risks

S&P revises USA credit rating outlook to ‘stable’ from ‘negative’ [FULL RELEASE]

http://www.businessinsider.com/sp-revises-usa-outlook-to-stable-2013-6

zerohedge‏@zerohedge3 min
BULLARD SAYS LOW INFLATION MAY WARRANT PROLONGING QE, IMPROVING LABOR MARKET COULD WARRANT SLOWING QE.

Luis

Gold A `Good Buy’ At Current Levels, Barratt Says

May 27 (Bloomberg) — Jonathan Barratt, chief executive officer of Barratt’s Bulletin, a commodity newsletter in Sydney, talks about metals. He also discusses the outlook for the Australia dollar. He speaks with Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television’s “On the Move.” (Source: Bloomberg)

U.S. Dollar to Become the Next Yen?

In its latest meeting minutes, the Federal Reserve said it will continue with quantitative easing, creating $85.0 billion in new money monthly, in order to bring economic growth to the U.S. economy. (Source: Federal Reserve, May 1, 2013.)

The Federal Reserve, once again, didn’t provide any clear indication as to when it will end the quantitative easing; rather, the central bank stated it will continue to do the same “until the [...]

The Worst Unemployment Crisis In History Is Unfolding Right Now

The Worst Unemployment Crisis In History Is Unfolding Right Now

At 27.2%, Spain is suffering the worst unemployment rate in modern history.

Spain is tied with Greece, and is worse than the approximately 25% unemployment rate that the U.S. saw during The Great Depression.

The causes, by now, are familiar — the end of a massive, bubble-fueled construction boom in 2008 led to spiraling unemployment and a deep recession, wreaking havoc on the [...]

ITALY CENTRE LEFT WILL NOT SUPPORT MARINI FOR PRESIDENT, DEFYING BERSANI!!! Egan-Jones Downgrades Germany From A+ To A, Outlook Negative!!!

Gregor Peter‏@L0gg0l21 min
ITALY CENTRE LEFT WILL NOT SUPPORT MARINI FOR PRESIDENT, DEFYING BERSANI — Reuters

Gregor Peter‏@L0gg0l10 h
3 rumors: 1) German downgrade 2) Italy may sell Gold as well 3) Cyprus parliament vote

Reinman_MT‏@reinman_mt55 min
Grillo denounces other parties’ candidates as ‘monsters’, vai ANSA

(ANSA) – Rome, April 17 – Beppe Grillo, leader of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S), denounced two potential presidential candidates from other parties as “monsters” on Wednesday.

http://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/rubriche/english/2013/04/17/Grillo-denounces-parties-candidates-monsters-_8569759.html

Egan-Jones downgrades Germany rating [...]

The U.S. economy has impressively withstood January’s tax increase, at least so far…

From Russ Koesterich on the iShares Blog:

The U.S. economy has impressively withstood January’s tax increase, at least so far.

With the exception of one disappointing consumer confidence number, nearly all recent U.S. economic reports have come in better than expected. The most recent: last week’s lower initial jobless claims and strong retail sales data, and the U.S. economy looks set to accelerate from last quarter’s anemic growth.

But investors wondering about the [...]

Greenspan Doesn’t See ‘Irrational Exuberance’ in the Markets – March 15, 2013

Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, explains why he believes the markets are “significantly undervalued,” and provides his outlook on the economy.

You’re Going To Shake Your Head When You See Why Everyone’s Gotten So Bearish On Gold

Some of the bearish calls we’ve heard on gold lately are closely tied to the outlook for real interest rates. The idea is that as real interest rates begin to normalize from ultra-low levels, gold will underperform.

The inverse correlation between the price of gold and the interest rate on 5-year TIPS (Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities), for example, is fairly tight, as the chart below shows.

Yet, when one examines the chart, as @Dutch_Book pointed out [...]

Chris Whalen On The Banks: ‘Jamie Dimon Should Man Up!’

 

Outstanding discussion.  Whalen with Tom Keene.

Start watching at the 3-minute mark.

Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) — Chris Whalen, vice president of investment banking operations at Carrington Holdings, talks about the economy and the outlook for the banking industry.

Chinese Credit Agency Lowers U.S. Debt Outlook

BEIJING, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) — Chinese rating agency Dagong Global Credit Rating Co. on Tuesday announced that it has put the local and foreign currency sovereign credit ratings of the U.S. on a negative watch list.

“In regards to the U.S. debt crisis, each political party is insisting on a proposition that is favorable for its own interests,” Dagong said in a statement on its website.

Therefore, it will be difficult to [...]

Steve Forbes & Biderman: U.S. Tax Hike Worse Than No Fiscal Deal. New Year Could See Immediate Recession At Worst, Slower Growth At Best!

 

Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) — Steve Forbes, chairman and chief executive officer of Forbes Inc., talks about fiscal negotiations in Washington and the outlook for Italy’s economy. Forbes speaks with Adam Johnson and Trish Regan on Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart.” (Source: Bloomberg)

Biderman’s Daily Edge – New Year could see immediate recession at worst, slower growth at best

WEBINAR: OUTLOOK FOR SILVER IN 2013 AND HOW TO OWN SILVER SAFELY

by GoldCore Gold Bullion

Join David Morgan, publisher of the Morgan Report and a recognised expert and global authority on silver and Mark O’Byrne, Head of Research and Founder at GoldCore.

In this 60-minute webinar, discover:

• The Outlook for Silver in 2013 And Coming Years

• Silver Seasonality – When To Buy

• The Safest Way To Own Silver

Join us for a webinar on 12/12/12 at 1900 GMT.

Register Now

Detroit could go bankrupt before end of the year!

Detroit’s financial condition is rapidly deteriorating, and City Hall could run out of cash in December, an official told a state oversight board Monday.

City program management director William Andrews made the assessment at a meeting of the Financial Advisory Board, a city-state panel overseeing Detroit’s finances under its fiscal stability agreement with the state.

Detroit’s cash-flow crisis is “more challenging than it’s ever been and more challenged than we reported last [...]

GREG MANNARINO: HERE COMES THE EQUITIES CRASH AS OBAMA RE-ELECTED- DOW 4,000 POSSIBLE

In his latest update, Greg Mannarino discusses his outlook for the markets in the wake of Obama’s re-election.  With the looming fiscal cliff, massive tax increasing set for 2013, the Fed preparing to take QE supernova, Mannarino states a major market sell-off and financial collapse is comingin which many people will LOSE EVERYTHING!   Mannarino believes that the coming crash will be so intense that the DOW could potentially hit 4,000!

He concludes by stating investors [...]

Economists: Unemployment Still 7.8 Percent in a Year

A new survey of economists suggests unemployment is likely to remain right where it is over the next year, stalling at the current level of 7.8 percent through the fourth quarter of 2013.

The widely watched National Association for Business Economics Outlook, a survey of 44 professional forecasters, says job growth next year is expected to average 155,000 per month, a modest figure that barely keeps pace with population growth and will not [...]

Frank Holmes: Gold Price Seen Moving `Easily’ Above $2,000

Frank Holmes, chief executive officer of U.S. Global Investors Inc., discusses the outlook for gold.

http://bloom.bg/WZLHZY

Powerful 20-year market pattern highlights a troubling “disconnect”

From Financial Armageddon:

Over the past two decades, whenever the year-on-year trend of durable goods new orders has been falling and subsequently drops below -5%, stock prices have generally followed suit – except recently.

One reason why things are different this time, of course, is the Fed’s program of quantitative easing, which is helping to keep stock prices propped up despite a deteriorating fundamental outlook.

Looked at another way, the current…

Read full article…

JUST-IN: NEW JERSEY OUTLOOK REVISED TO NEGATIVE FROM STABLE BY S&P

http://www.twitter.com/NourHammoury

Barrick CEO: Gold Will Top $2,000 in Next Year

Justin Menza
CNBC
September 12, 2012

 

With more Federal Reserve stimulus coming and central banks around the world turning into buyers, gold prices have room to run higher, Barrick Gold CEO Jamie Sokalsky told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Tuesday.

The new CEO of the world’s largest precious metals miner is optimistic about the outlook for gold prices, saying, “Gold could definitely surpass previous highs and go above $2,000 and even higher in [...]

Moody’s Downgrades European Union To Outlook Negative

Not entirely surprising following the outlook changes for Germany, France, UK, and Holland but still an intriguing move right before Draghi’s big unveiling: Moodys maintains AAA rating but shifts to outlook negative.

“Moody’s believes that it is reasonable to assume that the EU’s creditworthiness should move in line with the creditworthiness of its strongest key member statesconsidering  the significant linkages between member states and the EU, and the likelihood that the large Aaa-rated [...]

Despite Jobs Report, Street Unsure Of Fed’s Next Move

Far from making the outlook clear, last week’s somewhat better-than-expected jobs report appears to have muddied the outlook on Wall Street for what Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve will do next.

None of the data meaningfully changed the growth forecast. The government reported 163,000 jobs created in July, about 60,000 more than forecast, but the unemployment (explain this) rate ticked up to 8.3 percent from 8.2 percent.

Add up all the other data from the [...]

S&P Lowers Greece Ratings Outlook To Negative

S&P lowers Greece ratings outlook to negative

“Standard & Poor’s said Tuesday it was lowering its outlook on Greece to negative from stable on the possibility that it may fail to secure further bailout funds from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. S&P has CCC/C long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign ratings on Greece. “We see the likelihood of shortfalls, owing to election-related delays in the implementation [...]

Marc Faber Discuss Outlook For 2nd Half Of 2012

JOHN TAYLOR: The Euro Crisis Has Only Just Begun

John Taylor, founder and manager of the currency hedge fund FX Concepts, was just on Bloomberg TV this afternoon discussing his outlook for the crisis situation in Europe.

Taylor said the world has only seen the “second or third inning” of the euro crisis because Europe is still only dealing with liquidity problems – not to mention the solvency problems and the “structural issues that are even beyond solvency” that must be addressed in order [...]

ZNGA Earning Miss, Cut Outlook, Shares -33%

Moody’s changes outlook on the EFSF’s (P)Aaa rating to negative

http://www.twitter.com/FGoria

Moody’s warns outlook for the economies of Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg is now negative

Germany said Monday it would continue to play the role of “eurozone’s anchor of stability” after Moody’s ratings agency warned that the outlook for its economy was now negative.

“Germany will do all it can with its partners to overcome the European debt crisis as quickly as possible,” the finance ministry said in a statement shortly after Moody’s announcement, which said the outlook was now negative for the top-rated economies of Germany, [...]

Goldman Sachs: Five reasons to buy the world’s most hated stocks

From Pragmatic Capitalism:

Sheila Patel, co-chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs Asset Management International joined Bloomberg yesterday to discuss the outlook for Europe and why it believes European stocks are increasingly attractive.

Its reasons for liking European equities:

-Businesses in Europe are still very attractive.
-Europe’s economies are increasingly diverse.
-Exposure to emerging markets through Europe.
-Valuations are increasingly attractive.
-Euro crisis resolution will be bullish for equities.

Read full article (with interview)…

Moody’s downgrades 23 Italian sub-sovereign entities, including regional and local governments following sovereign downgrade

Milan, July 16, 2012 — Moody’s Investors Service has today downgraded the long-term issuer and debt ratings of 23 Italian sub-sovereign entities, including regional and local governments (RLGs) as well as two associated entities. The downgrades were prompted by the weakening of the Italian government’s credit profile, as captured by Moody’s recent downgrade of Italy’s government bond rating to Baa2 from A3. For full details please refer to the Sovereign [...]

Moody’s Downgrades Italy’s To Baa2 From A3, Negative Outlook

Just like Spain before everyone took the country to a Sub-A rating, Fitch is once again the decider. S&P has Italy at BBB+, and Now Moody’s just took italy under A to Baa2; only Fitch is still at A-, outlook negative. When all three rating agencies go sub A, there is a 5% ECB repo hike as we explained back in April.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/moodys-downgrades-italys-baa2-a3-negative-outlook-full-text

Peak Oil Guru Robert Hirsch Gives A Dire Outlook For The Future

A year and a half ago, we featured a presentation by Robert Hirsch, the author of the first major US government report on peak oil. 

Peak oil is the theoretical point in time when oil production peaks and begins to fall.

He recently reiterated his argument at this year’s Association for the Study of Peak Oil conference in Vienna.

Before he began his remarks, Hirsch made sure to clarify that while he still believes the world faces a [...]

S&P REVISES OUTLOOK ON NINE SWISS BANKS TO NEGATIVE!!!

https://twitter.com/#!/zerohedge

Rosenberg – Were past the point of no return

June 26 (Bloomberg) — David Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff & Associates Inc., discusses the outlook for the U.S. economy, Europe’s debt crisis and financials. Rosenberg talks with Tom Keene, Sara Eisen and Ken Prewitt on Bloomberg Television’s “Surveillance.” Bloomberg’s Christine Harper also speaks. (Source: Bloomberg)

Top economist Hussman: The next recession is starting right now

From The Reformed Broker:

John Hussman’s outlook has been bearish for a while and he tends to skew a bit non-constructive over long periods of time, anyway. Hussman is on my must-read list and has been forever. Timing is harder than anything in making economic forecasts and he is very honest about this.

That said, in his commentary yesterday he put up an interesting and urgent chart for those banking on the [...]