Wolf Richter: What’s Going on with the Banks? Citi Cuts Goldman to “Sell,” after Goldman Cut Citi to “Neutral”
Citi and Goldman downgrades suggest the Trump trade may be overdone.
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Tom Ferguson: Monetary Policy Can’t Levitate a Broken Economy
How central banks’ policy remedies have taken big steps backwards.
Read more...Yet Another Glaring Flaw With Trump Infrastructure Plan: Dependence on Vagaries of Tiny, Slow-Moving Tax Equity Market
The oh-so-clever Trump plan to use tax credits to fund infrastructure spending means it will be too small and slow to provide any real boost.
Read more...Will Trump Take the Poisoned Chalice of Firing CFPB Director Richard Cordray?
Why firing Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray would probably turn out to be a win for Democrats.
Read more...Trump Selects Jay Clayton, S & C Partner, to Head SEC
Trump’s choice to head the SEC, prominent corporate lawyer Jay Clayton, is much more of a mainstream pick than many of his other appointments so far.
Read more...Don Quijones: Power & Profit Fuel War on Cash in Europe
Be warned: European officials have already starting taking tough moves in the war on cash.
Read more...Republicans Likely to Pass “Audit the Fed”
“Audit the Fed” is likely to become law. It’s about time.
Read more...Matthew Cunningham-Cook: How Finance Is Starving Yemen
Who is backing and profiting from the Saudi campaign for mass extermination in Yemen?
Read more...Nomi Prins: My Political-Financial Road Map for 2017
Some specifics of why political risk and central bank policy will make for a wild ride in 2017.
Read more...Doves, Hawks… and Pigeons: Why Central Bankers Favour Monetary Policy Inertia
The discussion of the delayed lift-off in US monetary policy is just the latest episode in a long-lasting debate over the causes of inertia in monetary policy. This column approaches the issue by assuming that psychological drivers can influence the decisions of central bankers. Loss aversion is one source of behavioural bias which can explain delays in changing the stance of monetary policy, including the fear of lift-off after a recession.
Read more...Wolf Richter: Bank Bailout Balloons, Tab for Italian Banking Crisis Soars
Monte dei Paschi di Siena sinks deeper into the mire and bailout costs spike to €8.8 billion, while the ECB claims the bank is “solvent”.
Read more...Chanos: Is a Big Change Underway in Global Capitalism?
Storied short seller Jim Chanos takes a long view of recent political and economic changes, including, of course, the Trump win.
Read more...Deutsche Bank Wins in Stare-Down With Department of Justice Over Mortgage-Backed Securities Liability; Credit Suisse Also Settles While Barclays Holds Out
Deutsche came off well in a mortgage settlement with the DoJ, while Barclay’s decision to fight doesn’t look so smart.
Read more...Italy Announces Sketchy Plan to Bail Out Monte dei Paschi
The Monte dei Paschi domino is finally about to fall. But what does that mean in practice?
Read more...Conflicts of Interest Not New to the Age of Trump: Many Politicians Voting for the TARP Bailout Protected Their Own Wealth
Conflicts of interest are not new to US politics; this paper shows how TARP votes tracked the stock portfolios of member of Congress.
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