I received the following Member e-mail from the CFA Institute. It discusses the state of the current financial reform regulations being pushed through Congress and stresses the areas that need further attention. I think it does a good job of highlighting the real risks that are still prevalent in the industry, even if this recent round of reforms become law. Read below: “Dear Member: After significant debate, the House of…
This is a great article from the Economist. It really highlights why the recent recovery is facing significant dangers ahead. The shift from government funded recovery to privately managed recovery is a process that will be extremely difficult to manage. (Click here to read Economist.com article)
I think this is a very timely article regarding gold prices and investment returns over the last several decades: (Click here to read Bloomberg.com article)
It will be interesting to see if other banks follow suit. The pay czar’s restrictions on compensation, seems to be the biggest motivator for BofA to find ways to exit its TARP obligations, seeing as it has been unsuccessful at find a new CEO to lead the bank, under the current restrictions. (Click to read Economist.com article)
Not a financial story, but a fascinating one: (Click here to read article)
The current Dubai crisis regarding Dubai World’s inability to pay its debt obligation in a timely manner: (Click here to read article)
Fixed 30-year mortgage rates dropped to an average of 4.78% this week. 15-year mortgage rates averaged 4.29%. If you have the equity in your house and can refinance, the window of opportunity is still open. (Click to read article)
Interesting survey about retirement expectations in the NW: (Click to read article)
Today the National Association of Realtors released numbers on existing US home sales. It was a surprise to the market, feeding a run-up in equities, with the anticipation that the housing recovery may be a durable one: (Click to read Bloomberg article)
Tight bank credit and high unemployment are cited in the article as some of the key reasons the Fed will not raise the Fed Funds target in the near future: http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN1651494020091116
