It seems as if there is a little more complexity taking place in mortgage finance, and therefore the housing “market”, as the simplified idea of rates running the show isn’t holding water. On the surface, the general theme is one that contours to the outline of conventional mortgage interest as it ran through last year’s selloff. It stands to reason [...]
The ECB continues to sell the recovery in Europe despite any actual pickup in activity, Germany excepted. In financial terms, which are all that matter these days for policymakers, lending continues to contract. Despite the outward appearance of asset prices and certain economic accounts, there is no intent to extend further credit across the European zone. The latest figures through [...]
I don’t want to devolve into a Clintonian argument over the basic meanings of certain words, but that may be the best course in analyzing and discussing Europe’s circumstances in the very new age of negative interest rates. Reuters says there is “clear proof” that Draghi’s desperation and new bluff is “gaining traction.” An all-time low for euro zone money [...]
It was just over a year ago that the ECB began courting rumors about an ABS addition to its monetary toolkit. With the obvious lack of credit flowing in the real economy flying directly in the face of all monetary convention and expectations, you can understand the desire to dust off the idea. Just over a week before the ECB’s [...]
The foregone conclusions regarding currency devaluation in orthodox policy prescriptions are being turned inside out in Japan, where trade is behaving exactly contrary to all policy expectations. Getting from A to B sounds so tantalizingly easy and simple, but financial complexities (arising out of constant and persistent appeals to financialism itself) go beyond muddying the waters. The same holds true [...]
The most common question I receive about gold relates to the means through which an increase in leasing/lending activity is negative for gold prices. It appears that the mechanism by which this is accomplished is unclear and counterintuitive. By all accounts, an increase in the demand for gold as collateral to obtain “cash” should be positive for gold since it [...]
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