It appears that a big European bank got close to failure last night. European banks, especially French banks, rely heavily on funding in the wholesale money markets. It appears that a major bank was having difficulty funding its immediate liquidity needs. The cavalry was called in and has
It turns out that Mario Draghi is Super Mario. Mario Draghi is an ex-central bank governor of Italy who just took over from Jean-Claude Trichet the presidency of the European Central Bank (ECB). In a surprise bold move, Draghi announced that the ECB is lowering its main rate from 1.5%
Barack Obama in an attempt to reinvigorate his presidency and the economy has presented to the congress a jobs plan. The $450 billion price tag is larger-than-expected. The plan proposes to reduce payroll tax paid by employees to 3.1% in 2012 from the 4.2% level temporarily introduced this year. As
We are long QQQ (QQQ). Some accounts we advise are also long SPY and DIA. As long time readers know, I follow the ZYX Change Method. The method combines fundamental, quantitative, and technical analysis. From a fundamental and quantitative point of view, the stock market is not expensive and
….Correct Information About The Law Here is what the law is: While S&P cut the long-term rating, it reaffirmed the short-term rating for the US at the top A-1+ level. This means money market funds will not be forced to sell US Treasuries. Most banks in the United States are