I glanced at Yahoo Finance’s home page on Friday, and noticed ZNGA was very prominently featured: I figured using space that precious for a particular stock meant there was something very big going on. How much was Zynga up? 20%? 30%? 50%? I just had to check it out. Here’s the daily chart. The stock…
In the first quarter of 2015, it was suggested that the seasonal adjusting methodology understated economic growth in first quarters. Now in the second quarter of 2015, the scuttlebutt is that the inflation adjustment has overstated economic growth. My position is that the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ annualized methodology for determining headline growth magnifies normally…
by Chris Mayer, Daily Reckoning “Power utilities now face uncertainty of a kind that traditional phone companies faced when cellular technology emerged,” writes Bill McKibben in The New Yorker. It’s an apt analogy. The disruptor in this case comes from solar and other technologies, which reduce the demand for electricity. Consider this striking observation from…
Rate Hike Odds Increase The odds of a September rate hike rose Friday on the heels of a good, but not spectacular jobs report. The Financial Times reported “After Friday’s figures, traders expressed more confidence that rates would go up next month, with federal funds futures implying a 58 per cent probability of an increase…
Consumer spending again played a key role in boosting the economy in the second quarter. According to the “advance estimate” released by the U.S. Department of Commerce last week, the second quarter GDP rose 2.3%, compared to the revised 0.6% growth rate witnessed in the first quarter. The catalyst’s effect is likely to sustain for…
It was back in March when we were delighted to report that we had finally solved “The Mystery Of America’s Missing Wage Growth” – “mystery” because while those employees in positions of power had been abusing the availability heuristic for years, and extrapolating their own wage growth to the broader population, the reality was what…
If you don’t think the Fed and other central banks have transformed financial markets into debt besotted gambling casinos, consider the last few days of carnage in the media stocks. That sector is rife with bubble finance infections. To wit, hedge fund speculators feasting on zero interest carry trades and cheap options own 10% of the 15 companies which…
Monthly Budget Review for July 2015 (Bolding mine): The federal government’s budget deficit amounted to $463 billion for the first 10 months of fiscal year 2015, CBO estimates. That deficit was $2 billion larger than the one recorded during the same period last year. If not for shifts in the timing of certain payments (which otherwise…
Google (GOOG) conducted an exclusive event in August last year, and the main attendees were the Googlers. At this event, a debate took place between the Internet firm’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt and the CEO of Vodafone (VOD)– Vittorio Colao, who said “We love Google, but we fear Google.” Vodafone is a major opponent of Google in Europe….
Google (GOOG) conducted an exclusive event in August last year, and the main attendees were the Googlers. At this event, a debate took place between the Internet firm’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt and the CEO of Vodafone (VOD)– Vittorio Colao, who said “We love Google, but we fear Google.” Vodafone is a major opponent of Google in Europe….
