The sun always rises in the east and sets in the west. But in life, things are not always this straightforward. Besides black and white, there is this thing called gray. And in the gray territory, things can get confusing. … Continued
As we await the FOMC statement this afternoon, the adjacent chart is apropos. In it, US federal debt has been plotted against interest payments (seasonally adjusted annual rates) of the federal government. The latter is calculated as a share of … Continued
As discussed last week that non-commercial futures traders might just once again be ahead of the curve in anticipating market reaction to Thursday’s ECB decision, they indeed were. By Tuesday (last week), they had raised net shorts in euro futures … Continued
Debt can be both a boon and a bane. Used properly, it can be a very useful tool – be it to an individual, a business, or a government. Too much of it at the same time can unleash destructive … Continued
The phrase quantitative easing elicits diverse reaction. For some, QE was what saved the U.S. economy post 2007/2008 crisis and boosted both housing and stocks. For others, all it did was create this huge asset inflation, and further widen the … Continued
The release of February’s commercial and industrial loan data ensued a lot of excitement. ‘Finally!’ was the typical reaction. The $36bn increase (to $1.67tn) was the largest month-over-month rise since October 2008. March data just came out, and we learn … Continued
Are we there yet? Have we yet reached the escape velocity? You know the 6.96 miles-per-second speed needed to break free from the gravitational pull of the earth. I am of course figuratively referring to the prevalent expectations that the … Continued