Almost 40% of appraisers surveyed from Sept. 15 through Nov. 7 reported experiencing pressure to inflate values, according to Allterra Group LLC, a for-profit appraiser-advocacy firm based in Salisbury, Md. That figure was 37% in the survey for the previous year. “If you thought what was happening before was an embarrassment, wait until the second…
During the Great Financial Crisis, Hyman Minsky was rediscovered. Minsky’s insight was that long periods of steadily rising asset prices encourages financial engineering and leveraged bets that assume a continued rise in asset prices. The so-called Minsky moment comes when the asset prices stop rising and even fall. The virtuous cycle turns vicious. We are now…
In December’s Gold Videocast, Peter Schiff responds to the Swiss voters’ rejection of the “Save Our Swiss Gold” initiative. He explains why the results of the referendum spell the end of a stable Swiss franc, but also the long-term success of gold. With no truly sound, safe-haven currencies left in the world, both Swiss and international…
Ascena Retail Group Inc. (ASNA – Snapshot Report) reported first-quarter fiscal 2015 adjusted earnings from continuing operations of 28 cents per share, a penny ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate and in line with the company’s expectations. However, adjusted earnings fell 22.2% from the prior-year earnings of 36 cents per share due to negative comparable store sales (comps)…
Miho Koike in her office in Tohoku University / Photocredit: Tech in Asia As CEO of Material Concept, she steers the company towards a big breakout in the field Solar cell makers in China, Taiwan, and Europe have bombarded Miho Koike with product orders. Koike is the CEO of Material Concept, a small solar…
Chinaccelerator, one of the most active startup accelerators in China, hosted a demo day for its latest batch of startups this Tuesday. Ten projects covering a broad range of industries showcased their products in front of a throng of investors, mentors, fellow entrepreneurs and reporters. The ten startups are run by teams with international backgrounds and passion for entrepreneurship. Here’s a full list…
Three major FX pairs are closing in on rates where the big figures start with 120. The ones that have my interest are: USDJPY = 119.40 EURCHF =1.2030 EURUSD = 1.2335 USDJPY looks like it wants to cross 120 in a matter of hours. The question is what happens when it does. My guess is…
$5 Billion Down the Drain Russia’s Gazprom has finally thrown the towel on the South Stream pipeline, after spending $5 billion on it. This follows repeated attempts by the EU to shoot itself in the foot using its “competition rules” as a pretext. These nonsensical rules are employed as a pretext for a great many…
ADP reported non-farm private jobs growth at 208,000. This should be again be considered a strong report. What is interesting this month is that the rolling averages have been unchanged for the last 4 months. Follow up: The market expected 205K to 240K (consensus 225K) versus the 208K reported. These numbers are…
Recent statements by Federal Reserve officials would lead just about anyone to believe that one of the bank’s central missions has always been to guard against the lurking threat of deflation. They warn that since official inflation has remained below the Fed’s 2 percent target for almost two years, the country is liable to fall into a stagnant morass unless…
