On September 4, the European Central Bank lowered the interest rate on its main refinancing operations by 10 basis points to 0.05%. In addition, the interest rate on its marginal lending facility was reduced by 10 basis points to 0.30% and the interest rate on its deposit facility was reduced by 10 basis points as well to -0.20%.
The S&P 500 recently hit a new high as it drove through the 2000 mark for the first time in history on the day that Burger King announced that it would purchase iconic Canadian fast food chain Tim Hortons.
Indeed, some of the numbers are downright scary just now, both in nominal value and in terms of red-light factors blinking on the horizon.
Vladimir Putin had a chance to back down from his aggression in the Ukraine after Russian separatists shot down a Malaysian passenger jet.
Unfortunately, he didn’t.
Six years after the financial crisis, the SEC finally concluded a four-year battle with financial industry lobbyists to toughen regulations governing money market funds.
The saga of Portual’s Banco Espirito Santo is a sure sign to investors that the European financial crisis is anything but over.
“Markets are priced to perfection.
Signs of late-cycle behavior and thinking are abundant.
The great economist Hyman Minsky coined the term “Ponzi finance” to describe the situation when borrowers use more borrowed money to pay their debts.
The U.S. government engages in Ponzi finance every day since it is incapable of repaying the more than $17 trillion it has borrowed.
On a smaller scale, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has been engaging in Ponzi finance – but unlike the United States, Puerto Rico can’t simply keep printing more money to pay its debts.
In recent weeks, it has become apparent that Puerto Rico and the holders of its municipal bonds are going to have to pay the piper… Full Story
The post This Could End Up as the Biggest Ponzi Finance Scheme in History appeared first on Money Morning – Only the News You Can Profit From.
Official measures of inflation tell a very different story from the reality facing consumers as they shop for groceries, gasoline, insurance, healthcare, and other everyday goods.
Financial markets are experiencing a significant divergence in 2014 between the direction of stocks and bonds.