Investment Watch Blog

From Business Insider: The economy is robust, unemployment is sitting at 3.7%, its lowest mark in nearly half a century, and interest rates, though moving upward, are still relatively low. So why are credit-card delinquencies, application rejections, and involuntary account closures all on the upswing? That’s what the Federal Reserve Bank of New York would like to know. The Fed … Read more

In the wake of the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue in October, acclaimed Hollywood director Steven Spielberg believes now, more than ever, is when people must confront the alarming rise in hateful ideologies. Spielberg’s Academy Award-winning film about the Holocaust, “Schindler’s List,” is returning to select theaters this week in honor of its 25th anniversary. It’s a story … Read more

He was a patriot, a hero, a ­genial gentleman and a great American. You can’t pick up a newspaper or go near a television without hearing leftists gush with praise for the late President George H.W. Bush. Who knew they felt this way? And you are not mistaken if the outpouring of previously unknown affection for … Read more

by John Rubino Alasdair Macleod on the coming “inflationary credit crisis” … Bill Black: Deutsche Bank is a criminal enterprise that might bring down the global financial system … Jim Rickards explains the coming “monetary reset” … Peter Schiff: “We’re in a recession and this is a bear market. Gold should be a lot higher” … Read more

BY PATRICK WATSON By most measures, the US economy is performing okay. GDP growth is still near 3.5%. Unemployment is below 4%. Inflation is up a bit but still historically low. Yes, the data has flaws. There’s plenty of regional variation. Your mileage may vary. But conditions could be a lot worse. The problem: Sometimes the … Read more

The U.S. stock market capitalization as a percent of GDP (Warren Buffett's favorite indicator) shows that we're at 1929 and dot-com bubble valuations: https://t.co/yAKYS3DTNv $QQQ $SPY pic.twitter.com/cGCXFh9bVf — Jesse Colombo (@TheBubbleBubble) December 4, 2018 https://twitter.com/hks55/status/1070091893642452992 https://twitter.com/Montyrumbold_/status/1070036519929421824 $VIX Bollingers almost at max oversold..still some potential room to the downside but I’m getting interested at these levels … Read more

via Michael Hudson: Adapted from …and Forgive Them Their Debts: Lending, Foreclosure and Redemption from Bronze Age Finance to the Jubilee Year. Islet. November 15, 2018.  There has been an explosion of discussion about whether to cancel student debts. Critics of the idea point out that wealthy people would be the main gainers, posing moral hazard. The debate … Read more

There was a time when European governments couldn’t utter a fiscal policy statement without mentioning the word “austerity.” Now, the concept seems to have all but disappeared from public discourse. Is the era of austerity finally over, and did austerity policies — essentially, those encompassing spending cuts and tax increases — achieve what they were … Read more

via CBSNEWS: Wells Fargo says a computer glitch is partly to blame for an error affecting an estimated 545 customers who lost their homes. The giant bank filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission last month, revealing it incorrectly denied 870 loan modification requests. About 60 percent of those homeowners went into foreclosure. Legislators, … Read more

via knowledge.wharton: Deutsche Bank faces its most severe test yet in the wake of police raids on its Frankfurt offices last Thursday over suspicions of helping its clients in money laundering. The scene was dramatic: 170 officers descended on six Deutsche Bank buildings, including its headquarters, and seized documents and files, according to an NPR report. German … Read more