The Dow and S&P 500 are stumbling like drunken but determined sailors from one all-time high to the next, despite lousy employment and economic data, and declining corporate revenues. Bonds have done the same, and their 100-year graph has assumed the terrifying shape of open crocodile jaws, worse even than in 1999 and 2007.
The Infallible Fed At Verge Of (Not) Admitting Failure
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Infallible Fed At Verge Of (Not) Admitting Failure
“Labor market conditions are affected by factors outside a central bank’s control,” admitted Richmond Fed President Lacker as the employment report bounced around the world. Yet for years, the Fed has proclaimed that the heroic motivation for its selfless money-printing mania was the deep desire to improve the unemployment fiasco for average Americans.
Class-Action Lawsuits Come to France
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Class-Action Lawsuits Come to France
In theory, a class-action lawsuit allows the little guy to stand up to a big corporation and seek redress. Alone, the little guy wouldn’t have the means. Justice comes down to money, and class-action lawsuits add leverage. In theory. It’s a world-famous American product, infested with flaws. And it’s about to be imported by … France!
Abenomics Tries To Make Sure Japan Is Going Down Swinging
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Abenomics Tries To Make Sure Japan Is Going Down Swinging
Anecdotal evidence has been piling up. Lamborghini sales hit the highest level in 14 years. Ferrari sales jumped 40%. Luxury retailers forecast fat profits. They ascribed it to Abenomics. “The sudden improvement in the stock market led to a big rise in sales at our department stores for luxury brands,” one of them said. But there is a price to pay.
Wall-Street Engineering Hones In On Apple’s “Offshore” Cash
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Wall-Street Engineering Hones In On Apple’s “Offshore” Cash
On paper, Apple has no reason to borrow. Last time it issued bonds was in 1996 when it flirted with bankruptcy and absolutely had to get its hands on some moolah. After Steve Jobs returned in 1997, Apple wisely stayed away from Wall Street and did its own thing. But that era is over. And a new era is dawning upon the icon: Wall-Street engineering.
Luxembourg Is Not The Next Cyprus, Not Yet, But….
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Luxembourg Is Not The Next Cyprus, Not Yet, But….
Luxembourg, with a population of just over half a million, smaller even than the other speck in the Eurozone, Cyprus, ranks in the top three worldwide in per-capita GDP. In a Eurozone wealth survey, it had the highest average household wealth. Only Cyprus, a former off-shore banking center in the Eurozone, came close. Yet Luxembourg is threatened with ruin.
The Spanish Unemployment Powder Keg
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Spanish Unemployment Powder Keg
Austerity succeeded in trimming the bloated government sector. But instead of picking up the slack, the private sector destroyed jobs almost four times faster! The hope is that this fiasco will finally reverse course, that something will click and start a virtuous cycle before the unspeakable happens. But so far, it has relentlessly gotten worse.
Italy’s Corrupt Political Machinery Lurches Forward
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Italy’s Corrupt Political Machinery Lurches Forward
“Those wanting to prevent change are willing to do anything,” firebrand Beppe Grillo griped. “They are desperate. Four people, Napolitano, Bersani, Berlusconi, and Monti, met in a living room and decided….” They’d ganged up on him and restarted the corrupt political machinery he’d brought to a stop. The one that is strangling Italy’s economic core.
Germany’s Trial Balloon Of A “Plan B”
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Germany’s Trial Balloon Of A “Plan B”
Those close to the epicenter of power, those near Chancellor Merkel, have to toe the line on the euro – it’s far more than just a currency, it’s a sacred concept worth saving no matter what the costs. While the possibility of a small country’s exit from the euro has been accepted, the euro itself has been inviolable in those circles. Until now. An insider offered a “Plan B”; and the euro’s life is limited to five years!
The Worldwide Economy Is Fine, But The Sales Reps Are Lazy – Or Something
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Worldwide Economy Is Fine, But The Sales Reps Are Lazy – Or Something
Some of the crown jewels of corporate America have reported declining revenues and earnings, and have lowered their forecasts, and in doing so, have unleashed a flood of obfuscation and excuses – from Easter falling on the wrong date to lazy sales reps. So when Caterpillar reported on Monday, it was almost refreshing in its unvarnished ugliness.