Banks & Interest Rates Archives - Page 45 of 61

March 18, 2013

Cyprus Deposit Levy: No Panic Yet But Scary Long-Term Consequences – Forbes

Karl Whelan, Professor of Economics at University College, Dublin reminds us:

….the fact that we don’t see lines at ATMs in Spain and Italy doesn’t mean there isn’t a bank run going on. The Northern Rock episode was a complete anomaly. Modern bank runs stem from people pushing buttons to execute electronic withdrawals of large amounts of funds. For example, I was living in Ireland in 2010 when non-residents pulled €186 billion out of Irish banks between the end of July and the end of December. This was over 100% of Irish GDP and yet there wasn’t a single sign of panic among retail depositors.

March 17, 2013

J.P. Morgan, Goldman Get a Dose of Fed's Reserve | WSJ.com

David Reilly reports on the Fed’s latest stress tests:

The passes show how far big U.S. banks have come since the financial crisis. But capital levels seen under the tests, and taking into account the capital-return plans, weren’t especially strong. Tier 1 common ratios for J.P. Morgan and Goldman, for example, were only marginally above the 5% minimum needed.

What’s more, leverage ratios including capital returns are particularly thin: Of the six biggest banks, four had ratios below 5%. While above the test’s 3% minimum, such levels wouldn’t give banks tremendous room to maneuver in a crisis.

The leverage ratios are particularly telling because they don’t allow for risk-weighting of assets. That approach is coming under increased criticism for potentially allowing banks to mask the true level of risk on their books.

March 17, 2013

ZERVOS: 'This Is A Nuclear War On Savings And Wealth' – Business Insider

Joe Weisenthal reports on Jefferies strategist David Zervos’ latest note:

What happened to Cyprus on Friday evening was one of the most significant developments in the Eurozone since the Greek election last summer. To tax the bank deposits of savers sends an ominous message to the entire global investment community. All of us should really take a moment to consider what the governments of Europe have done. To be clear, they initiated a surprise assault on the precautionary savings of their own people. Such a move should send shock waves across the entire population of the developed world.

March 16, 2013

NGDP level targeting – the true Free Market alternative (we try again) | The Market Monetarist

Scott Sumner suggests that NGDP targeting is a far more conservative approach than the current inflation targeting practiced by the Fed and many other central banks:

Most of the blogging Market Monetarists have their roots in a strong free market tradition and nearly all of us would probably describe ourselves as libertarians or classical liberal economists who believe that economic allocation is best left to market forces. Therefore most of us would also tend to agree with general free market positions regarding for example trade restrictions or minimum wages and generally consider government intervention in the economy as harmful.

I think that NGDP targeting is totally consistent with these general free market positions – in fact I believe that NGDP targeting is the monetary policy regime which best ensures well-functioning and undistorted free markets.

And here explains why inflation is not a threat under NGDP targeting:

Inflation will be higher under NGDP targeting. This is obviously wrong. Over the long-run the central bank can choose whatever inflation rate it wants. If the central bank wants 2% inflation as long-term target then it will choose an NGDP growth path, which is compatible which this. If the long-term growth rate of real GDP is 2% then the central bank should target 4% NGDP growth path. This will ensure 2% inflation in the long run.

March 16, 2013

Fed's Fisher: Too-big-to-fail banks are crony capitalists | Reuters

Pedro Nicolaci da Costa reports

The largest U.S. banks are “practitioners of crony capitalism,” need to be broken up to ensure they are no longer considered too big to fail, and continue to threaten financial stability, a top Federal Reserve official said on Saturday……

[Richard Fisher, president of the Dallas Fed] said the existence of banks that are seen as likely to receive government bailouts if they fail gives them an unfair advantage, hurting economic competitiveness.

March 15, 2013

Dousing the flames with gasoline

We are in the fifth year of recovery from the worst collapse of global financial markets in more than 50 years fueled by massive debt expansion, with non-financial debt rising as a percentage of GDP from 50% in the 1980s to almost 100% in 2008.

Household Credit Market Debt as % of GDP

Household debt subsequently fell to 80% of GDP during the GFC as households diverted income away from consumption to reduce debt. But now we are starting to see worrying signs: consumer debt is again rising as a percentage of disposable income.

Consumer Debt % of Disposable Income

Corporate bond yields have fallen to lows last seen in the 1960s.

Yields on Baa Corporate Bonds

Interest margins for large banks are falling

Large Bank Interest Margins

(Click on the image to open the Yahoo: Steve Keen interview in

March 14, 2013

Expanding debt: Dousing the flames with gasoline

We are now in the fifth year of recovery from the worst financial crisis in 50 years — fueled by expanding household debt, rising from 50% of GDP in the 1980s to close to 100% in 2008. Contraction since the GFC has brought US household debt back to 80% of GDP…

Household Debt as % of GDP

But a worrying sign is that consumer debt has started to rise
Consumer Debt as a % of Disposable Income

And Steve Keen points out that margin debt is also rising, fueling the latest stock market rally.

[click on the image to view the video in a separate window]

Holding interest rates at artificially low levels for an extended period risks fueling another credit bubble. The Fed/central bank needs to react quickly to expanding credit in any area of the economy. We all hope for a recovery, but it must be sustainable — with consumption fueled by rising employment rather than rising debt — and not another debt-fueled boom-then-bust.

March 11, 2013

S&P 500 tests 2007 high

Dow Jones Industrial Average has broken through its previous high at 14,000. Long-term (13-week) Twiggs Money Flow oscillating above zero indicates strong buying pressure.
S&P 500 Index
Bellwether transport stock Fedex breakout above $100 signals rising economic activity.
Fedex

The S&P 500 is testing its 2007 high at 1550. Rising 13-week Twiggs Money Flow indicates strong buying pressure. Reversal below the latest trendline is unlikely at present but would warn of a correction. Target for the current advance is 1600*.

S&P 500 Index

* Target calculation: 1475 + ( 1475 – 1350 ) = 1600

VIX Volatility Index is headed for its 2005 lows at 0.10. While this coincided with the start of a ($SPX) bull market in 1995, it also occurred just before the peak in 2007; so does not offer much reassurance. Breakout above the quarterly high at 0.20 would be a warning sign.
VIX Index
The Nasdaq 100 broke resistance at 2800 despite bearish divergences on both 13-week Twiggs Momentum and 13-week Twiggs Money Flow. Reversal below the latest rising trendline would warn of a correction, while follow-through above 2900 would signal an advance to 3300*. Only breach of primary support at 2500 would signal a reversal.
Nasdaq 100 Index

* Target calculation: 2900 + ( 2900 – 2500 ) = 3300

Rising debt indicates consumers are once again spending. While there are still structural flaws in the US economy, the market is gaining momentum and the current advance shows no signs of ending.

March 10, 2013

Philip Maymin, Why Financial Regulation is Doomed to Fail | Library of Economics and Liberty

Philip Maymin highlights a problem with volatility:

…..securities with historically low volatility tended to have almost twice as much subsequent risk, while those with historically high volatility tended to have almost half as much subsequent risk. For both the riskiest and least risky securities, therefore, historical risk is a statistical illusion.

He further points out that regulation encourages banks to act in concert, increasing systemic risk, while deposit insurance reduces the level of self-imposed discipline among banks.

March 8, 2013

Quantitative easing does not address the fundamental problems underpinning struggling western economies. | EUROPP

John Doukas questions the benefits of quantitative easing:

…excessive money supply fails to increase real economic activity because it raises the labour cost while it lowers the cost of capital. Depressing yields at home, as a result of quantitative easing, in an open economy setting, leads yield-seeking investors into higher-risk investments such as emerging markets.