So, what’s the Fed going to do?
The last time I wrote a story about the topic of parsing the Federal Reserve’s signals, it was rightly pointed out that I used stories too early in the day. So, I waited until after newspaper deadlines to look at the coverage in order to be fair. But the media’s focus was also vastly different. […]
Falcone admits he did wrong, pays a fine
The latest hedge fund manager to come under fire from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is Harbinger Capital Partners’ Phil Falcone. What’s different about this civil settlement is the admission of “wrong doing,” something that hasn’t typically occurred in the past. Here’s the story from the Wall Street Journal: Hedge-fund manager Philip Falcone admitted wrongdoing as […]
Federal Reserve says bank tests could be better
The good news is that banks have been passing their so-called stress tests. The not-so-good news is that those tests may need some improvement. The Federal Reserve continues to push banks to make sure the tests accurately reflect the ability to withstand an economic downturn. Here’s the story from the Wall Street Journal: The Federal […]
JPMorgan’s hiring investigated in China
It looks like JPMorgan Chase is once again in the press. For a bank that made it through the financial crisis relatively unscathed, the public relations hits seem to keep coming this year. Here’s the story from the New York Times that’s putting the bank’s Chinese hiring practices in the spotlight: Federal authorities have opened […]
Wal-Mart drops outlook and what that means
Stocks took a dive on Thursday as Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the U.S., lowered its outlook for the rest of the year and missed second-quarter predictions. This doesn’t bode well for the nascent economic recovery or the health of consumers. Here’s the story from the New York Times: Wal-Mart Stores, the nation’s largest retailer, […]
Examining coverage of JPMorgan trader charges
As if losing more than $6 billion wasn’t enough, traders at JPMorgan were charged Wednesday with trying to hide the losses, marking another round of press over the botched trading position. Here’s the story from the Wall Street Journal: U. S. prosecutors filed criminal charges against two former J.P. Morgan & Co. traders on Wednesday, alleging they […]
Justice Department tries to block airline merger
The U.S. Justice Department sued AMR (the parent company of American Airlines) and US Airways to try and block the pending merger. What’s different is that it defies recent department policy allowing airlines to combine forces with little resistance, the Wall Street Journal reported: The Justice Department filed suit Tuesday to block the merger of […]
What’s going to happen to BlackBerry?
For about six years I carried two phones – my personal cell phone and my BlackBerry. Guess which one got the most use? That’s right, the BlackBerry. When I was given a new touch screen model, I actually contemplated buying a personal one as well since it is so functional for email. But in the […]
The week’s economic stories
Given the many different economic stories out previewing the week, it’s hard to know what to think. Gauging sentiment as investors and money managers sort through the stories remains important, especially as many of the stories point the economy is moving in different directions. The Wall Street Journal piece talked about the decline in the […]
Detroit’s effect on the muni bond market
As Detroit goes through its bankruptcy filing, many speculated that it would have a negative effect on the market for municipal bonds. But it seems that even the business media isn’t clear on how the bankruptcy is shaping investors’ willingness to put money into munis. Bloomberg Businessweek ran a story under the headline, “Detroit’s Bankruptcy […]
