i think largely of the fact that rates are normalizing. we had 12 years of quantitative easing, a fancy way, not quite the same as money printing. the fed is no buying treasuries, the balance sheets declining, means rates are normalizing. typically the 10 year treasury yield trades at 200 basis points below the rate of inflation. and it is not surprising rates go back to what s normal. and the global financial crisis the fed manipulates that and the most important price in the world. paul: all the deficits, growing economy, deficits 5% gdp which is extraordinary under historical circumstances.
Jerome Powell Rocks the Market
Poor Jerome Powell. This unlikely Atlas bears all the world’s weight upon his slender shoulders.
We hazard he ages one year for each torturous day he lives.
Anything he mumbles or fails to mumble can send markets careening.
Early yesterday afternoon, he mumbled something to
The Wall Street Journal:
We expect that as the economy reopens and hopefully picks up, we will see inflation move up through base effects. That could create some upward pressure on prices… We want inflation expectations to be anchored at 2%. Inflation is running below 2% and has done so since the pandemic arrived… Today we’re still a long way from our goals of maximum employment and inflation averaging 2% over time.
Lewis book about high frequency trading. i hate that word rigged because it makes a sweeping statement about the entire stock market and it really discourages potentially individuals from owning stocks when they ve already turned their backs on stocks. you have stock ownership in this country at the lowest levels in many, many years. there s certainly michael lewis, and he s not the first one, has touched on a problem of these very high frequency traders using technology and front running, which normally is illegally, front running on other people s trades but if you want to own shares in a company, it s a choice. you can loan money to uncle sam by buying treasuries or you can own a slice of american business. if you buy and hold for a long period of time, that what s going on with this trading and this scandal shouldn t make a difference to you. jon: and what about warren buffett, that story about his
Each piece of housing data so critical because this has been a bright spot in the economy. let me show you quickly the trend here for housing starts. again, this is construction of new homes. how are home builders feeling? are they getting access to credit? do they feel do they feel solid enough about the economy that they re willing to spend all this money to break ground? that s what you can see the trend here, not as rich as it was in the earlier part of the year. here s what we re watching closely. the rising mortgage rates. mortgage rates have been rising so far this year. now about 4.57% for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage. that steady climb here so far this year, the highest in two years. will rising mortgage rates, carol, start to dampen or cool what we have seen in the housing market? this one bright spot in the economy. will the fed, if it does its so-called taper, pulling back on all that stimulus it s putting into the economy, that stimulus is buying mortgage backed securit
revolutionary biometric id for every one of india s citizens. also, the housing bubble caused the crash. will a coming housing boon finally power this anemic recovery? first, here s my take. what to do about syria? western military intervention looked fraught with difficulties. but the situation on the ground is a humanitarian nightmare and is creating greater instability by the week. i have been persuaded they might be a path forward. the pressures on bashar al assad s regime are mountding. it s running out of crash and faces a real military threat from turkey. these pressures could be combined with smart diplomacy to push assad out of power, but it would mean trying to work with the russian government rather than attacking it. the u.s. has been bashing russia for shielding assad, coddling an ally at the cost of lives, some is true, some false, but all is unhelpful if the goal is to oust assad. unless the united states intends to ask iran for help, russia is the only cou