18 Nov 2011

Posted at 12:05h in The Friday Brief by
Global investors and credit rating agencies alike are closely watching dramas on two world stages. The first is playing a very small stage with no audience and a limited run. The final curtain call for the Congressional Super-committee to reach their plan for cutting $1.2 Trillion from the federal deficit is just four days away, if you count the 48 hours required by the Congressional Budget Office to score it. The actors are evenly divided between protagonists and antagonists (depending upon your political point of view of course) working from the same economic script. In stark contrast, the second stage spans an area roughly the size of the southern and eastern United States, the actors are all protagonists, but in this drama each actor must work both from his own economic script while crafting a common script to save their European Union, their banking system, and their respective economies. 

29 Feb 2008

Posted at 16:14h in The Friday Brief by
The economy’s momentum in the fourth quarter of last year came almost entirely from exports as domestic spending evaporated. Gross domestic product rose at a 0.6% annualized rate following a 4.9% gain in the third quarter according to the Commerce Department. The government reported today that consumer spending rose 0.4%. But that increase is mostly due to rising prices. The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation climbed 0.3%, the most in four months.

16 Nov 2007

Posted at 16:02h in The Friday Brief by
Since Greenspan made his comment in February of this year that theUScould be in recession by the end of this year investors and economists have largely taken the rosier view; that is until the last few of weeks. Oil flirting with $100, the dollar in freefall, anemic retail sales, housing in the depths, and a sub-prime mess, the extent of which is still unknown, have seemingly aligned forces against this economy. The majority view remains on the favorable side, but comments from the minority have grown louder and bolder.

16 Dec 2005

Posted at 15:56h in The Friday Brief by
In a huge turnout, 11 million Iraqis cast their ballots yesterday in their parliamentary elections, which, if the estimate holds, would put the overall turnout at more than 70%.  The main story was the lack of violence.  The Wall Street Journal notes that the election marks a significant milestone in Iraqi politics since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime.  It is the first political event deemed legitimate by a large swath of Iraqis, including Sunni Arabs who had shunned the political process, the Journal notes.