The latest data on home prices from S&P/Case-Shiller was just released. It showed prices down 13.3% in July from a year earlier in the 20 metropolitan areas tracked by the group. That was a smaller rate of decline than the market was looking for (-14.2%) and a smaller decline than we saw in June (-15.4%). [...]
From the monthly archives:
September 2009
Key News
* Pound Declines as G-20 Agrees on Bank Pay, Tighter Regulations (Bloomberg)
* Yen Strengthens on Speculation Japanese Companies Are Repatriating … (Bloomberg)
* Fed’s Strategy Reduces US Bailout Pledges to $11.6 Trillion (Bloomberg)
* New world economic order takes shape at G20 (Reuters)
The Event Agenda
Afternoon Run-Down
The Fed got the markets moving this week. Was it anything [...]
According to the latest data from the U.S Census, Florida’s population decreased in 2008 for the first time since 1946 (the only other year it happened).
I suppose you can blame foreclosures, a busting real estate bubble, and massive losses in construction and other industries.
You certainly can’t blame the weather! As one of the people who relocated out [...]
August new home sales figures inched higher, but only because of revisions. The raw number of sales missed forecasts. Details below …
* New home sales rose 0.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 429,000. But the “increase” stemmed from a downward revision to July’s number (to 426,000 from 433,000). Sales missed the average forecast [...]
The August existing home sales figures were just released. Here’s what the numbers looked like:
* Existing home sales fell 2.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.1 million units from 5.24 million in July. That was below the 5.35 million units that economists were expecting.
* Single-family sales dropped 2.8%, while condo and cooperative sales [...]
The latest Fed meeting just wrapped up. And just as I expected, policymakers decided to keep the liquor flowing and the music playing as loud as possible!
Specifically, the Fed kept its interest rate target unchanged at 0% to 0.25%. It also signaled that it planned to maintain “exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate [...]
There are some good stories at the Washington Post today about how the Fed is fueling fresh carry trades/bubbles by keeping interest rates pegged around zero. I covered this exact same topic a few days ago. The Fed seems to have no other solution for burst bubbles than easy money … which then fuels new [...]
Key News
* Fed Effort to Stoke Growth May Be Undermined by ‘Tight’ Credit (Bloomberg)
* ADB China Chief Cautions Downside Risks To China’s Growth (WSJ)
* Oil Rises for First Time in Four Days on Dollar, China Imports (Bloomberg)
* China set to swing from trade surplus to trade deficit (MarketWatch)
G20 ‘to call for economy balance’ (BBC)
The Event [...]
If you get a chance, check out my latest video update. It gives you a heads up about what to expect when the two-day Federal Open Market Committee wraps up tomorrow afternoon. Here’s the link.
Key News
* Lloyds’ Capital-Raising Plan Fails FSA Test, Telegraph Reports (Bloomberg)
* Gain in US Household Wealth Will Help Ease Strain on Spending (Bloomberg)
* US Treasury’s money market guarantee closing down (Reuters)
*Public sector borrowing hits August record (FT)
The Event Agenda
The Afternoon Run Down
Gold has sustained the $1,000 level. Although pulling back a bit today, it’s now [...]
