Finance

It’s The ‘Screw Everybody’ Market

Bulls and bears trading left jabs, and the black boxes just doing what they do, churning the market based on inputs of geopolitical and geo-financial (it’s not a word, I know) angst and inflammatory headlines.  All while a group of interest rate manipulators huddle to try to find the ‘just right’ (ref: Goldilocks) statement to…

No Matter What, Bitcoin Keeps Dipping

Swedish based Bitcoin exchange, Safello announced that a new banking partnership will now allow U.K. customers to hold deposits. According to Safello this is a huge opportunity, considering many start-ups in the U.K. have to conduct their Bitcoin banking outside of the country, as British banks do not allow Bitcoin deposits from start-ups due to…

The Real Leviathan

This is a graph of global consumer spending produced in 2012 by ATKearney. As you see, the figure for 2010 was $28 trillion which is projected to rise to $40 trillion by 2020. I’ve no idea if these figures are realistic or not, but what impresses me about them is the gargantuan size of global consumer…

Why Sun-Soaked Arizona Is Killing Solar Power

When it comes to energy and how you power your home… fear not, the government has you covered. That is, until it’s no longer financially beneficial to do so. Take the solar industry, for example. With all the tax credits, subsidies, and risky government-backed loans to solar companies and consumers, you’d think the government wants…

The Fed Will Continue To Tread Carefully

The forecasts for the year of 2015 are not bad, assuming that most central banks will still have expansive monetary policies. The exception will be the US central bank, which will probably raise interest rates over the course of the year. That should not bring the economy to its knees, however, as the Fed will…

Russian Contagion Spreads To European Banks: French SocGen, Austr

We recently noted the rise of counterparty risks in the financial system due to oil prices dropping (and leveraged derivative exposures) but as the Russia situation has deteriorated so dramatically this week, a renewed focus on bank exposures has sent stocks reeling (and credit risk soaring) among many European (and US) banks. As Bloomberg reports, Raiffeisen Bank International…