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Fed Warns of Fiscal Tightening in 2013

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:28:41 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The Federal Reserve warned of fiscal tightening in 2013 if Congress doesn't reach a plan for the federal budget.

The announcement came Wednesday as part of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in April, as the central bank also stated that it would consider QE3 if the recovery falters.

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Jobless Claims Fall 1,000 to 367,000

Thu, 10 May 2012 08:32:26 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. jobless claims for the week ended May 5 fell 1,000 to 367,000. ...

U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls Rise 115,000

Fri, 04 May 2012 08:32:32 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The U.S. work force added 115,000 jobs in April; the unemployment rate was 8.1%, the Labor Department said Friday.

Bank Stocks to Have 'Long, Hot Summer': Bove

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:52:13 EDT

By Jeff Cox, CNBC.com Senior Writer

NEW YORK (CNBC) -- Though he has been telling investors to buy bank stocks with all their might, analyst Dick Bove says this summer could require a strong stomach for those who followed the advice.

In his most recent missive on the state of financial shares, the widely followed vice president of equity research at Rochdale Securities cautioned of a "long, hot summer" in which "the fundamentals of the banks would be quite good but the market will not be." ...

Fed Sticks With Status Quo

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:05:49 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The Federal Reserve once again left its interest rate target alone on Wednesday, making very few changes to its policy statement from last month.

The central bank stuck with its zero to 1/4% range for the federal funds rate and said it still believes economic conditions warrant "exceptionally low levels" for interest rates at least through late 2014.

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'This Is Not a Recovery at All': Stanford's Lazear

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:47:03 EDT

By Bruno J. Navarro, Producer

NEW YORK (CNBC) -- The U.S. economy grew at a rate of 2.4% since the second half of 2009, which hardly represents a comeback, Stanford University economics professor Ed Lazear said Wednesday.

"The problem is, this is not a recovery at all," he said on CNBC's "The Kudlow Report." "We haven't made up for the lost ground, and that's unprecedented." ...

Fed's Fisher Changed Vote on Crisis Rates Over Lunch

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 08:50:49 EDT

By John Carney, Senior Editor, CNBC.com

NEW YORK (CNBC) -- Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher initially provided the only "No" vote on a motion before the Federal Open Market Committee at the height of the financial crisis--only to reverse his vote after an unrecorded lunch break, according to a heavily redacted transcript of Fed documents released Monday afternoon.

The vote took place during the first day of a two-day meeting of the FOMC on December 15 and 16. The subject of the vote is not revealed by the minutes released by the Fed. A large passage of the discussion prior to the vote is redacted. ...

Goldman CFO, JPMorgan's Dimon Differ on Euro Fix

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 07:02:52 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Goldman Sachs sees a "material decline" in the likelihood of a meltdown in the European economy as a result of recent loans by the European Central Bank, but JPMorgan ChaseChairman and CEO Jamie Dimon appears more cautious.

At the start of the year, Goldman Sachs had expressed concerns about a disorderly Greek exit from the European monetary union leading to a massive European bank run. However, in comments Tuesday during the company's first-quarter conference call, Goldman Chief Financial Officer David Viniar praised the European Central Bank's Long-Term Refinancing Operation -- ultra-low interest loans to banks in the eurozone. JPMorgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon

"We believe the probability of a tail event in the euro area has materially declined in light of the LTRO," Viniar said. A tail event is Wall Street speak for economic catastrophe, as occurred when Lehman Brothers defaulted in 2008. ...

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10 Signs That the Job Market Is Improving

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:30:00 EDT

By Cindy Perman, CNBC.com Staff Writer

NEW YORK (CNBC) --Job growth hasn't been as robust as many were hoping for (I'm looking at you, March jobs report) and projections are that it will take at least until 2014 to regain the millions of jobs lost during the recession -- even longer, if the March pace turns out to be a trend and not an anomaly. I saw one projection of 2020 that nearly made me swallow my tongue.

But this is America, where anything is possible -- our glass can be half full if we want it to! ...

5 Reasons the Housing Market Will Not Crash (Again)

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 22:21:29 EDT

By Andrew Jeffery NEW YORK (Minyanville) -- Three years of wrong predictions notwithstanding, perma-bears are emerging from a winter's hibernation with tall tales of another impending collapse in home prices. They could not be more wrong.

For pundits, academics, bloggers and others who get their market "color" from crunching numbers and poring over 50-page-long analyst reports, the situation is dire: Foreclosure machines are whirring again with the big attorney general settlement behind us, employment conditions remain tepid, and getting a mortgage isn't getting any easier.

And while we may be years away from renewed, sustainable appreciations, there is little actual evidence to support the thesis that home prices are about to implode again. All the above statements by the likes of Zero Hedge may be true, but they only tell half the story and amount to a thinly veiled attempt at fear-mongering, whose real time for glory was in 2006, not 2012. More from Minyanville Can Facebook's Lowliest Millionaires Afford to Settle Down? The 5 Cheapest Homes in Palo Alto How Much Money Has Rick Santorum Cost Mitt Romney? Drive, Talk, and Surf? Automakers Pushing Media Gadgets Despite Dangers ...

Debate Rages Over Loan Forgiveness at Fannie, Freddie

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 09:57:36 EDT

By Diana Olick, CNBC Real Estate Reporter

NEW YORK (CNBC) -- The man at the center of the controversy over writing down mortgage principal on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans isn't wavering. He may be reconsidering previous loss formulas, factoring in new government subsidies for principal write-down, but his opinion seems largely unchanged.

After beginning a speech Tuesday morning about all the so-called "Enterprises" (Fannie and Freddie) have done to help millions of borrowers behind on their mortgage payments, and reminding listeners of his agency's mandate to, "preserve and conserve the assets of the Enterprises," FHFA Acting Director Ed DeMarco took a left turn. ...

Kudlow: Economy Isn't Collapsing, Nor Will Stocks

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:48:09 EDT

By Larry Kudlow, CNBC Anchor

NEW YORK (CNBC) -- Despite the disappointing jobs report for March, it's very difficult to make a realistic case that the economy is falling off a cliff, or that some kind of double-dip recession is on the way. Or that a Ben Bernanke QE3 is likely.

Sure, the 120,000 gain in nonfarm payrolls -- roughly half of expectations -- is causing a downgrade in growth psychology. Ditto for the 31,000 drop in household employment. But if you smooth out these numbers over three months, payrolls have averaged a 212,000 increase, while small-business household jobs are still up a big 415,000. ...

Obama Mortgage Policy Key to Election Narrative (Update 1)

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:38:49 EDT

Updated from 6:19 a.m. ET to add Federal Housing Finance Agency's analysis on principal reductions.)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Housing has been among the top priorities for the Obama administration heading into the election year, with the government announcing a slew of measures aimed at providing relief to troubled borrowers in the past few months.

Many of the recent proposals are just tweaks to existing programs and the jury is still out on whether they will provide enough relief to borrowers to prevent them from defaulting and losing their home to foreclosure. ...

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U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls Rise 120,000 (Update2)

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 12:15:44 EDT

Updated from 9:33 a.m. EDT with economists' comments on the government's March nonfarm payroll report.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The government said Friday that U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 120,000 in March while the unemployment rate fell to 8.2% from 8.3% in February.

On average, economists surveyed by Briefing.com were expecting payrolls to increase by 200,000 and the unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 8.3%. The worse-than-expected payroll number boosted bonds but hurt stock futures. ...

Bernanke's Unspoken Message in Today's Speech

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:21:33 EDT

The following commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet's guest contributor program, which is separate from the company's news coverage.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Anyone who doubts Ben Bernanke's willingness to put the monetary pedal to the metal should read the text of his speech today at the National Association for Business Economics Annual Conference.

He argues that buying demand for products and services remains predominantly a cyclical problem, not a secular problem. That's a fancy way of saying: "If we just add a bit more stimulus to the U.S. economy, we can find 'escape velocity' and achieve a sustainable path to economic recovery." In other words, "QE3, here we come!"...