The looming elections in Greece have triggered higher volatility across asset classes as they remind of the so-called “Grexit” (Greece exit from the EU) episode that played out in 2010-11. The first round of Presidential election will be held next week in Greece and if the government/ruling party fails to secure 2/3rd majority, the crucial third round will be held …
One Man’s Opinion: Are The Real Job Gains For November Higher Than Reported?
Despite the solid November nonfarm payroll report, the “doves” of the Federal Open Market Committee are likely to “shake it off” because policy makers tend to always remind investors one report doesn’t make a trend, said Carl Riccadona, an economist at Bloomberg. However, it’s bit of a new norm in November for the labor market because if the economy is …
One Man’s Opinion: Should Investors Prepare For A Higher-Rate Environment Next Year?
Black-Friday might be an interesting event to measure consumer confidence in the US and increasingly in Europe, but it’s the central banks that investors really need to watch, said Niall Quinn, managing director at Eaton Vance Management. The strong consumer confidence in the US shows the US economy is improving, despite the Federal Reserve moving toward normalization of interest rates. …
One Man’s Opinion: Do China, Japan And Europe Need To Undertake Structural Reforms To Realize True Potential?
The People’s Bank of China (the Chinese central bank) cut interest and deposit rates to boost growth Friday. China has a political problem and Chinese leaders need economic growth to provide legitimacy for the communist party, said Jamie Metzl, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Beijing is trying to steer a little bit toward slower growth to rebalance and reform …
One Man’s Opinon: US Markets Historically Have Performed Better With A Democratic President And A Republican Congress
US equities will only get stronger from here and the strongest six months is yet to come, said Sam Stovall, Chief Equity Strategist at Standard & Poor’s. The seasonal period of November through April has outperformed May through October by a 7.0 percent versus 1.4 percent, respectively. Also, the six-month period after mid-term elections gets even better with an average …
One Man’s Opinion: Are Wages Stuck Because Of Slack In The Labor Market?
The latest jobs report showed US labor force participation rate rose to 59.2 percent in October, the highest since July 2009. Yet the US economy needs to add another 5 million jobs to really reach the pre-recession employment levels, said Edward Lazear, a professor of economics at the Stanford University. The population has grown significantly since before the recession and …