3-Month Treasury Bill Yields Turn Negative

This is not a good sign. The last time this happened was last year right around the Lehman blow up. The fact that yields are negative on the 3-month bills indicates that investors are staying on the sideline. Which raises the question of why (and how) equities have rallied so much if the money is [...]

Real Estate Industry Wants Expanded TALF Program

Apparently the TALF program is not yet attractive enough to bring in large scale investors. According to the WSJ, the “real estate industry” is lobbying the FED to expand the loan terms from 3 years to 5 years under the TALF (Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility) program.
This is likely a result of two reasons. One, [...]

Blitzkrieg on Interest Rates as US, ECB, Sweden, Switzerland, China, UK Cut Rates

In what is likely an unprecedented step today, major central banks across the world cut interest rates in what was a concerted effort.
The United States, Bank of England, European Central Bank (ECB) cut rates by 0.5% each. The benchmark rates for each country are now as follows:

United States – 1.5%
ECB – 3.75%
Canada – 2.5%
UK – [...]

GE To Cut Real Estate Portfolio by More Than 10% Next Year

Costar is reporting that GE is planning a $10B haircut to its real estate holdings next year. This comes at a time when the cost of capital is increasing, its availability decreasing, and the supply of real estate assets available for sale will be spiking (think Lehman, AIG, Merrill, just to name a few).
The Fed has talked [...]

Federal Reserve Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged

The Federal Reserve has chosen to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged at 2.00%. The Fed also hinted that the rate could stay there for some time, and cited the risks of inflation and slow-down as threats to the economy.

Credit and Equity Markets In For Massive Turmoil According to RBS

The Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) chief credit strategist Bob Janjuah has issued a report to its clients to be prepared for a global credit and equity crash. Bob Janjuah forewarned against last year’s looming credit crisis. According to his report, the next three months will be nasty.
The report includes warnings that the S&P could fall by [...]

Short Term Rates Down, Long Term Rates Up, Economy Down

The Fed’s recent actions to help stabilize economic conditions are not impressing foreigner’s holding US debt instruments. The inflationary actions of the Fed have resulted in foreign buyers of US debt to essentially boycott government auctions for treasuries.
Over the past eight weeks, the share of foreign buyers participating in these auctions was somewhere around 25%. [...]