Financial Markets

Gold Prices Hit Lowest Level Of The Year

AP | SANDY SHORE | Posted 05.09.2012

Read More: European Debt Crisis, Yen, Recovery, Gold Prices, RBC Global Futures, Stocks, Copper, FInancial Markets, Dollar, Oil Prices, U.S. Agriculture Department, Traders, Europe, Investors, Video, Business News

-- Gold prices hit the lowest level of the year Wednesday as uncertainty about Europe's political and economic future dominated world financial marke...

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A Rational Response to Irrational Market Anxiety

Dan Solin | Posted 05.08.2012

Read More: Investing, Stock Market, European Debt Crisis, Financial Media, Market Anxiety, FInancial Markets, Video, Business News
Dan Solin

Market anxiety is good for everyone except you. The financial media loves and stokes it. Readers and viewers increase in uncertain times. The securities industry thrives on it.

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Economic Ambiguity

Michael Farr | Posted 05.03.2012

Read More: U.S. Treasuries, Economy, Bonds, Monetary Policy, Federal Reserve, Dividends, Collateralized Debt Obligations, Consumer Spending, Fiscal Policy, European Debt Crisis, Portfolio, US Stocks, Unemployment, Inflation, Mortgage Rates, Economic Recovery, Economic Growth, Treasury Yields, FInancial Markets, Business News
Michael Farr

We continue to believe that investors are underestimating the risks inherent to the bond market at this stage in the game. Bond investors are not being compensated for the risks they are assuming when they are not even able to earn the expected rate of inflation.

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Global Financial Stability: What's Still to Be Done?

José Viñals | Posted 04.23.2012

Read More: Competitiveness, Gfsr, Government Bonds, g20, European Central Bank, Fiscal Policy, Greece, FInancial Markets, Assets, Banks, Financial Crisis, Imf, Europe, Eurozone Debt Crisis, Eurozone Debt, Business News
José Viñals

The quest for lasting financial stability is still fraught with risks. The latest Global Financial Stability Report has two key messages: policy actions have brought gains to global financial stability since our September report; but current policy efforts are not enough to achieve lasting stability.

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If Companies Were People, They'd Vote for Obama

Ned Staebler | Posted 04.18.2012

Read More: George Bush, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, FInancial Markets, Cnbc, Stock Market, George W. Bush, Elections 2012, Fox News, Barack Obama, Republicans, Politics News
Ned Staebler

Assuming they were rational and voted in their own self-interest, if companies were people, they'd vote overwhelmingly to re-elect Barack Obama. Of course, if they were people, who's to say that they'd be rational?

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A Glaring Omission in the Senate's Insider Trading Bill: Fair Disclosure

Dana Radcliffe | Posted 04.07.2012

Read More: Dodd-Frank Act, Investors, Insider Trading, Raj Rajaratnam, Reg FD, Congress, Hedge Funds, Fiduciary Duty, Senate, STOCK Act, FInancial Markets, Politics News
Dana Radcliffe

Why should members of Congress and other federal insiders be excepted from the same demand for fair disclosure the government has imposed on corporate officials?

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Bernanke Speaks, Stocks Defy And Romney Hearts Wall Street

The Huffington Post | Mark Gongloff | Posted 02.02.2012

Read More: Day Ahead, Economics, Wall Street, Seven and a Half Things, FInancial Markets, Bernanke, Calendar, Mitt Romney, Obama, Job Report, Business News

Do you enjoy knowing things? Well, you are in luck: Science has recently discovered that you only need to know seven and a half things per day to live...

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Have Financial Markets Slipped Beyond Our Control?

Robert Harris | Posted 02.02.2012

Read More: Video, FInancial Markets, Stock Market, Derivatives, Robert Harris, Scientists and Stock Market, Business News, Financial Crisis, Traders, Scientists, Business News

By Robert Harris, author of The Fear Index If you want to know why the world economy is in such a mess take a trip to Waxahachie, Texas, and look a...

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A Different Take on the Euro Zone Debt Crisis: Blame It on the Sun

O'Brien Browne | Posted 03.19.2012

Read More: Europe, Germany, Euro, Culture, Euro Zone Debt Crisis, FInancial Markets, Greece, World News
O'Brien Browne

Why, wonder many, do some nations need bailouts while other ones do not? Does the answer lie in culture? Possibly. And the key may be in whether you live in a Red Light or Green Light culture.

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Making Markets Safer (Excerpt)

David Tuckett | Posted 03.11.2012

Read More: Markets, FInancial Markets, Business News
David Tuckett

What happened in the recent financial crisis was the product of a shift in mental states. It had its origin in a failure both to understand and to organize markets in a way that adequately controls the outbreak of risky and unrealistic decision-making mental states.

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The Dow of Life

Gavin Shulman | Posted 02.05.2012

Read More: Markets, Dow Jones, Market-Volatility, Market Volatility, FInancial Markets, Market Changes, Stock Market, Financial Crisis, Political Satire, Comedy News
Gavin Shulman

How awesome is that? It's just amazing. Isn't it? When the Dow goes up. Everything just feels so different. For everyone. For all of us. Everything just feels better. The sun shines brighter. The birds sing louder.

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Bonnie Kavoussi

Stock Market Plunges On German Debt Concerns

HuffingtonPost.com | Bonnie Kavoussi | Posted 11.23.2011

Read More: European Debt Crisis, Markets, Eurozone, Video, FInancial Markets, Stock Market, Angela Merkel, Euro Zone, European Union, Europe, Bundesbank, European Central Bank, Business News

The eurozone will face a vote of confidence on Monday by the U.S. stock market. Heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, the U.S. stock market plung...

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We Must All Now Be Avid ECB Watchers

Mohamed A. El-Erian | Posted 01.19.2012

Read More: European Central Bank, Economic Indicators, Ecb, Liquidity, Wall Street, Financial Institutions, FInancial Markets, Business News
Mohamed A. El-Erian

Not surprisingly, signals of market stress are increasing, with a growing number of measures now flashing yellow and some on the verge of flashing red. The longer this persists, the greater the risk of very large market moves.

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IMF Warns China To Act Quickly To Avoid Real Estate, Other Asset Bubbles

Posted 11.15.2011

Read More: Video, Central Bank, FInancial Markets, International Monetary Fund, People's Bank of China, Imf, Real Estate, China, China Banks, Asset Price Booms, Business News

China's biggest commercial banks face systemic risks if a combination of credit, property, currency and yield curve shocks that could be withstood...

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G20 Protesters: Leaders Should Focus On People, Not Banks, Markets

AP | By JEAN-MARIE GODARD | Posted 01.01.2012

Read More: Global Occupy, Video, G20 Summit, G20 Meeting, FInancial Markets, Income Inequality, Occupy Wall Street, g20 2011 Protesters, Business News, Protests, Banks, g20, G20 Protests, Big Banks, Business News

NICE, France -- Thousands of protesters – some naked except for pointed Robin Hood caps – converged Tuesday on the French Riviera, urging ...

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Human Behaviour can create trading opportunities.

Mike Baghdady | Posted 12.06.2011

Read More: Education, Stock Trading, Training Traders, FInancial Markets, Business News
Mike Baghdady

The current climate of uncertainty on the financial markets has held grip since late 2007 and was formally recognised in 2008 when Lehmann Bros went u...

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An Economist Asks: Who Made Money On 9/11?

Karl Muth | Posted 09.23.2011

Read More: Decade After 9/11 - Viewpoints, 9/11, Insider Trading, Short Selling, Decade After 9/11 - National Security, Securities and Exchange Commission, FInancial Markets, Business News
Karl Muth

I don't know if my methodology would yield better results than the U.S. government's strategy (which failed to find a single trader) during the last ten years. But I'm certain the results couldn't be any worse.

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Bonnie Kavoussi

As Greek Default Becomes Increasingly Likely, Investors Flee to Safer Investments

HuffingtonPost.com | Bonnie Kavoussi | Posted 08.16.2011

Read More: Markets, Greece, Stocks, FInancial Markets, Dow Jones Industrial Average, Bonds, Stock Market, Economic News, Greece Debt Crisis, Business News, Financial Crisis, Financial News, Greek Debt Crisis, Business News

Stock prices around the world have fallen sharply in response to the growing likelihood that the Greek government could default on its debt and plunge...

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Why Every Company Needs a Skeptic

Max Rudolph | Posted 08.07.2011

Read More: Risk Management, Financial Crisis, FInancial Markets, Wall Street, U.S. Economy, Business News
Max Rudolph

As businesses move forward in the post-financial crisis world, it just may pay to encourage someone to let us know when it is time to leave the dance floor.

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Graduating MBAs Are Ill Equipped to Lead Firms in Uncertain Times

Judith Samuelson | Posted 07.12.2011

Read More: Business, Business School, Economic Crisis, Economy, Market Crash, FInancial Markets, Business Students, Great Recession, Mba, MBA Students, Recession, Business News
Judith Samuelson

The purpose of finance is to allocate capital efficiently. We'd better ensure the next generation of leaders in finance have learned that efficiency means so much more than a narrow focus on profit maximization.

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Peak Debt

Daniel M. Cofall | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Treasury Department, Financial Freedom, Debt, Commodities, International Monetary Fund, Currency, Gold, Bankers, Sovereign Default, International Bankof Settlements, Wealth, FInancial Markets, Quantitative Easing, Oil, Silver, Imf, Business News
Daniel M. Cofall

From our friends at the Wall Street Journal Sunday night, "In 2011, Social Security, Medicare and other entitlement programs will consume 60% of all f...

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Egypt, Black Swans and the Bed of Procrustes

Carlo Strenger | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Egyptian Protests, Celebrity, Prediction, FInancial Markets, The Bed of Procrustes, Central Intelligence Agency Obama, Books News
Carlo Strenger

Americans pay $80 billion a year for intelligence agencies. But why does society pay analysts phenomenal sums of money for systematically failing to predict the events that impact our lives most deeply?

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Two-Speed Global Recovery Continues

Olivier Blanchard | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Capital Flows, Economic Recovery, Fiscal Stimulus, Fiscal Consolidation, Bank Recapitalization, Unemployment, Structural Reform, Private Demand, FInancial Markets, Commodity Prices, Currency Appreciation, Global Imbalances, Business News
Olivier Blanchard

The world economic recovery continues. But it remains a two-speed recovery: slow in advanced countries, and much faster in emerging and developing economies.

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Exploring Economic Policy Frontiers After the Crisis: 2010 IMF Research Conference

Olivier Blanchard | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Capital Flows, Fiscal Consolidation, Monetary Policy, Fiscal Sustainability, Hot Money, Fiscal Policy, Financial Regulation, Fiscal Stimulus, Monetary Policy Rule, Financial Sector, Jacques Polak, FInancial Markets, Fiscal Space, Risk Aversion, Financial Integration, IMF Jacques Polak Research Conference, Financial Stability, Macroprudential Regulation, Business News
Olivier Blanchard

The crisis has forced economists and policy makers to go back to their drawing boards. Where did they go wrong, and what implications does the crisis have for both macroeconomic theory and macroeconomic policy making?

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Tax Cut Diplomacy Under Reconciliation: Allow Top Rate to Rise or Close Loopholes (2:1)

Paul Abrams | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: House, Senate, FInancial Markets, Tax Cuts, Loopholes, Democrats, Republicans, Reconciliation, Bush Tax Cuts, Politics News
Paul Abrams

Congressional Democrats are in a very strong position with respect to the tax/budget issue that they are about to tackle. They -- and the White House -- should remember that before they start negotiating.

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