BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Mobius: Fed should eventually cut rates to 1% to boost U.S. economy]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/08/05/mobius-fed-should-eventually-cut-rates-to-1-to-boost-u-s-econ/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/08/05/mobius-fed-should-eventually-cut-rates-to-1-to-boost-u-s-econ/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/08/05/mobius-fed-should-eventually-cut-rates-to-1-to-boost-u-s-econ/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Talk about a call for a return to a more-accommodative monetary policy.

Investor Mark Mobius said the U.S. Federal Reserve should eventually cut its benchmark, short-term interest rate to 1% to boost the U.S. economy, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.

"With oil prices beginning to soften, there may be a chance for them to give a boost to the economy by lowering rates again," Mobius told Bloomberg News Tuesday. "It think it's still in the cards, but no one really knows." Mobius oversees about $40 billion in emerging market equities as executive chairman of Templeton Asset Management Ltd.

The doubling of oil prices over the past year and the more than $480 billion in housing-related, credit market write-offs are viewed by many economists as the primary culprits in the U.S. economic slowdown, a slowdown now beginning to dampen global growth, also. Oil prices have retreated about 20% from record-highs, falling to $118 per barrel early Tuesday morning, but unlike Mobius, economist David H. Wang isn't convinced the Fed should hit the 'accommodative button' just yet.

Too soon to lower interest rates?

"I think it would be premature for the Fed to ease rates further. The Fed has used new mechanisms, including the Term Auction Facility and the Term Securities Lending Facility, to help maintain financial system liquidity and the orderly function of markets, and so as long as no further stress events occur in the credit markets, I think they should stand pat on rates," Wang said.

Continue reading Mobius: Fed should eventually cut rates to 1% to boost U.S. economy

Mobius: Fed should eventually cut rates to 1% to boost U.S. economy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>consumer pricescredit crunchFedgdpinflationinterest ratesinthenewsMark MobiusMobiusmonetary policyoil pricesTempleton Asset ManagementTerm Auction FacilityTerm Securities Lending FacilityU.S. economyU.S. Federal ReserveTue, 05 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Bernanke's speech: Good news, bad news ]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/07/08/bernankes-speech-good-news-bad-news/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/07/08/bernankes-speech-good-news-bad-news/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/07/08/bernankes-speech-good-news-bad-news/#commentsFiled under: , ,

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday the world's most powerful central bank may extend securities dealers' access to direct loans from the Fed into 2009 as long as emergency conditions "continue to prevail."

Bernanke, speaking Tuesday in Arlington, Virginia, at the FDIC Forum on Mortgage Lending for Low/Moderate Income Households, said "the Federal Reserve is strongly committed" to financial stability and is "considering several options, including extending the duration of our facilities for primary dealers beyond year-end."

Further, Bernanke also said the Fed would "take a leading role" in any liquidation process for a failing investment bank.

The Fed, and other U.S. Government institutions, as well as other major central banks, are in the midst of dealing with the aftereffects of the end of the housing boom in the U.S., which led to a surge in mortgage foreclosures and related asset-back defaults.

Continue reading Bernanke's speech: Good news, bad news

Bernanke's speech: Good news, bad news originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Jul 2008 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Bernankebond marketcontagioncredit crunchcredit marketsFedforeclosureshousing sectorinterest ratesinthenewsmonetary policymortgagesTerm Auction FacilityTerm Securities Lending FacilityU.S. Federal ReserveTue, 08 Jul 2008 10:10:00 EST<![CDATA[Dollar falls to record low vs euro on Bear Stearns, credit market woes]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/03/14/dollar-falls-to-record-low-vs-euro-on-bear-stearns-credit-marke/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/03/14/dollar-falls-to-record-low-vs-euro-on-bear-stearns-credit-marke/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/03/14/dollar-falls-to-record-low-vs-euro-on-bear-stearns-credit-marke/#commentsFiled under: ,

The dollar fell to a yet another record-low against the euro Friday and plunged against the world's other major currencies, as investors shunned U.S. investments ahead of an almost-certain U.S. recession, with likely further interest rate reductions from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Friday's trigger event for selling was The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. (NYSE: BSC) stunning announcement that -- less than 10 days after senior management officials called liquidity-crunch rumors 'absolutely ridiculous' -- it had accepted a 28-day, emergency, secured loan from the U.S. Federal Reserve via JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM).

The Fed said in a statement that it will ``continue to provide liquidity as necessary to promote the orderly functioning of the financial system,'' repeating reassurances Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has made often since credit problems first surfaced in August 2007. The Fed did not state how large their loan is to Bear Stearns.

Continue reading Dollar falls to record low vs euro on Bear Stearns, credit market woes

Dollar falls to record low vs euro on Bear Stearns, credit market woes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Bank of EnglandBank of JapanBear StearnsBOJbond marketBritish poundBSCcredit crunchcredit marketsdollarECBeuroEuropean Central BankexportsFedglobal financial systemimportsinterest ratesinternational financial systeminthenewsJP Morgan ChaseJPMliquiditymonetary policySwiss francSwiss National BankTerm Securities Lending FacilitytradeU.S. Federal ReserveyenFri, 14 Mar 2008 17:53:00 EST<![CDATA[Martin Wolf: The financial situation is serious, but remains manageable]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/03/14/martin-wolf-the-financial-situation-is-serious-but-remains-man/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/03/14/martin-wolf-the-financial-situation-is-serious-but-remains-man/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/03/14/martin-wolf-the-financial-situation-is-serious-but-remains-man/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

The ever-incisive FT columnist Martin Wolf offers a stark and sober analysis of the United States' current financial and economic predicament, but it's an analysis well-worth reviewing, if one has the time.

A synopsis is provided here, but first, full warning: read the analysis when you're feeling well and in a good mood, not during other times.

Continue reading Martin Wolf: The financial situation is serious, but remains manageable

Martin Wolf: The financial situation is serious, but remains manageable originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 14 Mar 2008 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Bank of EnglandBank of JapanBear StearnsBernankebond marketBSCcredit marketsECBEuropean Central BankfeaturedFedfiscal policyforeclosuresGDPhousingInternational Monetary FundinthenewsJP Morgan ChaseJPMLipskyMartin Wolfmonetary policymortgagesNouriel RoubiniRGE Monitorsubprime mortgagesSwiss National BankSwissNationalBankTerm Auction FacilityTerm Securities Lending FacilityTrichetU.S. Federal ReserveU.S. Treasury DepartmentFri, 14 Mar 2008 15:32:00 EST<![CDATA[Fed be nimble, Fed be quick, Fed deploys another monetary fix]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/03/11/fed-be-nimble-fed-be-quick-fed-deploys-another-monetary-fix/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/03/11/fed-be-nimble-fed-be-quick-fed-deploys-another-monetary-fix/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/03/11/fed-be-nimble-fed-be-quick-fed-deploys-another-monetary-fix/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

The compelling question following the Fed's action, in conjunction with the world's other, major central banks, is whether it will work. Will it be enough to get the U.S. economy moving again?

And as is so often the case in economics, the answer depends on three unknown factors, a pair of economists told BloggingStocks Tuesday. (In an initial review, the market appeared to signal its approval of the Fed's action, with investors sending the Dow 300 points higher to 12,156 in late Tuesday afternoon trading. )

New Fed tool: TSLF

First, the Fed's new Term Securities Lending Facility should convince bank dealers that liquidity should not be an issue, economist David H. Wang said Tuesday. "No bank or bond dealer should fear that they won't be able to find financing. That should improve bond market liquidity," Wang said. In addition, the Fed's willingness to swap U.S. Treasuries for mortgage-backed securities (MBS) should restore some trust -- but by no means total trust -- to the MBS market and help market participants price these securities, he said. The Fed's accepting private mortgage debt collateral speaks directly to where the market is stressed the most, Wang said. However, if MBS's are not pricing and trading, that would indicate continued concerns about liquidity, he said.

Continue reading Fed be nimble, Fed be quick, Fed deploys another monetary fix

Fed be nimble, Fed be quick, Fed deploys another monetary fix originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Bernankebond marketCATCaterpillarconsumptioncredit crunchcredit marketsFedhousinginthenewsmonetary policymortgage backed securitiesmortgagesTerm Auction FacilityTerm Securities Lending FacilityU.S. economyU.S. Treasury NotesTue, 11 Mar 2008 17:30:00 EST