Economic Reports Review For January 20, 2015

Today’s economic reports showed a mixed picture for the global economy. In Germany, the ZEW Economic Sentiment gave a positive surprise. Its reading of 48.4 was better than the forecast of 40.1 and previous month’s reading of 34.9. This is a level of a diffusion index based on a survey of 275 German institutional investors and analysts. It is a leading indicator of…

Real and Nominal Rates Of Interest

Interest rates have real implications in the investment world. So does the forecast about them; hence, it pays to understand the concept of interest rates. Three fundamental factors impact the interest rates: Supply – this is the funds available with the savers, primarily households Demand – the demand for funds by the businesses to finance…

Freidman Vs. Galbraith Or Is It Keynes?

First was Paul Krugman, who mused Where Are the Friedmans of Yesterdyear? But there’s another important factor. Modern conservatism doesn’t have Friedman-like figures — people who would be prominent economists thanks to their research whatever their politics, who are also public intellectuals– because it doesn’t want them. The movement prefers hacks, who needn’t be even minimally…

Big Three Miss – A First Since 2011

For the first time since the fourth quarter of 2011, the Big three U.S. banks – Bank of America, Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase – missed consensus earnings estimates. Bank of America reported actual EPS of $0.25 compared to the mean estimate of $0.32; Citigroup reported EPS of $0.06 whereas the average estimate was $0.10; and JP Morgan Chase reported EPS…