Australia cuts interest rate to record low 1.5 percent
Australia's central bank dropped interest rates to a new record low Tuesday after a recent run of soft inflation readings, with some economists forecasting further cuts ahead. The 25 basis point cut to 1.5 percent means the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has slashed rates by 300 basis points since November 2011 to support the […]
RIP Yahoo: Why Marissa Mayer Failed
We’re getting close to the final episode of Silicon Valley’s longest running soap opera,All My Yahoos, starring Marissa Mayer and a host of former leads. Pretty soon, we won’t have the internet’s version of Susan Lucci to kick around anymore. Longtime followers of the show are definitely feeling a little depressed. I admit to getting […]
Why It’s So Hard to Build Affordable Housing: It’s Not Affordable
A real estate developer wanted to increase affordable housing in Denver, trying to make fiscal sense out of a plan to build rental apartments for people making only 30 percent of the area's median income—the kind of housing America desperately needs. He discovered that, no matter what lever he moved or compromise he made, he […]
Treasuries Deliver $700 Billion Windfall to World Safety Seekers
U.S. 10-year notes pare gains after yields fall to record low Fed minutes show heightened uncertainty after payrolls slump The 2016 bond-market rally that drove Treasury yields to record lows this week has generated more than half a trillion dollars in gains for global investors. Treasuries have earned $737 billion this year, according to Bank […]
These 2 Forces Will Crush the San Francisco Housing Bubble
Jobs, labor force are declining; housing construction in epic boom. The San Francisco housing bubble – locally called “Housing Crisis” – needs a few things to be sustained forever, and that has been the plan, according to industry soothsayers: an endless influx of money from around the world via the startup boom that recycles that […]
Brexit vote: Bitter exchanges in EU parliament debate
The European Parliament's first debate on the UK's vote to leave has been marked by bitter exchanges. A central figure in the Leave campaign, UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage, was booed, called a liar and accused of using "Nazi propaganda". Mr. Farage shot back that the EU itself was "in denial". UK Prime […]
El-Erian on Brexit: The unthinkable has become reality
Stocks (^DJI, ^GSPC, ^IXIC) are tanking as investors digest news of the Brexit. Financials (XLF) are getting slammed the hardest, with utilities (XLU) the only sector in the green. Keith Bliss of Cuttone & Co. joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange, and Mohamed El-Erian talks to us about the aftershocks of this historic vote. To discuss the […]
The middle class went where? You’ll be surprised.
America is slipping backward, if you buy the angry rhetoric from this year’s presidential campaign. The rich are getting richer, the middle class can barely make it and the ranks of the poor are swelling. Except the numbers tell a somewhat different story. In a new study, the Urban Institute examined the composition of the […]
Consumers Would Put Fed Hike on Map If Not for Jobs Data
Retail sales rise more than forecast in May after April surge Brexit also restraining Fed this month and maybe in July American consumers weren’t letting a slowdown in hiring prevent them from going on a shopping spree. Retail sales increased by a more-than-forecast 0.5 percent in May following a 1.3 percent jump the prior month […]
Verizon to submit $3 billion bid for Yahoo’s internet business – WSJ
Verizon Communications Inc plans to submit a second-round bid of around $3 billion for Yahoo Inc's core internet business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Private-equity firm TPG was also expected to submit a second round bid for the assets before Monday's deadline, the newspaper reported. Reuters reported last month […]
German 10-Year Bond Yield Falls to Record on Global Growth Risks
Europe’s benchmark government yield surpasses its 2015 low Slowdown in U.S. labor market, U.K. referendum adding to risks Germany’s 10-year bond yield fell to a record low amid a surge in demand for the safest fixed-income assets. The securities, which act as Europe’s benchmark sovereign debt, rose as investors digested signs of a slowdown in […]
It costs $150 to buy a dozen eggs in Venezuela right now
The International Monetary Fund has predicted that inflation in Venezuela will hit 720% this year. That might be an optimistic assessment, according to some local economic analysts, who expect the rate to reach as high as 1,200%. A sharp drop in global prices for oil—on which Venezuela depends for most of its foreign currency—is a […]
The Life-and-Death Financial Decision You Don’t Want to Think About
How do you solve a problem such as insurance? Do you have a minute to talk about your death? It isn't easy to sell life insurance. Investing in a mutual fund, you feel like you’re saving money. Purchasing insurance, you feel like you’re spending it. “It’s not a pleasant thing to buy,” said John Schlifske, chief […]
More Young Adults Living With Parents Than a Romantic Partner
Researchers cite less desired to settle down, declining employment among young men. For the first time in the modern era, young adults are more likely to live with their parents than with a spouse or partner, according to a new study by Pew Research Center.</p> <p> The trend of young people staying in the nest […]
Lending Club, Already Troubled, Receives Justice Dept. Subpoena
Still reeling from revelations that forced the resignation of its founder and chief executive, Lending Club said on Monday that it had received a subpoena from the Justice Department. The company, which serves as an online matchmaker between small-business borrowers and individual and institutional lenders, disclosed the grand jury subpoena in a regulatory filing, saying […]