Bulls, Bears & Bucks #73 Met abseilende indices

quote:

Icelandic government suggests removing the power of commercial banks to create money and handing it to the central bank

Iceland's government is considering a revolutionary monetary proposal - removing the power of commercial banks to create money and handing it to the central bank.
The proposal, which would be a turnaround in the history of modern finance, was part of a report written by a lawmaker from the ruling centrist Progress Party, Frosti Sigurjonsson, entitled "A better monetary system for Iceland".
"The findings will be an important contribution to the upcoming discussion, here and elsewhere, on money creation and monetary policy," Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson said.
The report, commissioned by the premier, is aimed at putting an end to a monetary system in place through a slew of financial crises, including the latest one in 2008.
According to a study by four central bankers, the country has had "over 20 instances of financial crises of different types" since 1875, with "six serious multiple financial crisis episodes occurring every 15 years on average".
Mr Sigurjonsson said the problem each time arose from ballooning credit during a strong economic cycle.

quote:

Minister Asscher haalt uit naar ING
Minister van sociale zaken Lodewijk Asscher heeft harde kritiek geuit op de ING-bank. De aanleiding is een artikel in de Volkskrant waaruit blijkt dat veel uitzendkrachten door de bank aan de kant gezet worden. ING zou vrezen hen anders na 1 juli de nieuwe ontslagvergoeding te moeten betalen.

Asscher stelt dat als waar is wat de krant meldt over een interne notitie van ING, hij dat 'schandalig' vindt. "Wat is de moraal van een bank die een salarisverhoging voor de top verdedigt die in de miljoenen loopt en tegelijk de meest kwetsbare werknemers iedere zekerheid wil onthouden? Is dat uit te leggen aan medewerkers? Aan klanten?", aldus de minister in een reactie.

[...]

quote:

"A small bubble is something that can be contained. If recent stock gains are signs of a mini-bubble, this is something I would welcome."

Akira Amari - 2015

quote:

"To fight this recession the Fed needs…soaring household spending to offset moribund business investment. [So] Alan Greenspan needs to create a housing bubble to replace the Nasdaq bubble."

Paul Krugman - 2002

quote:

Op vrijdag 10 april 2015 19:41 schreef SeLang het volgende:
Zoals bekend voorziet Paul Krugman de Japanse regering van advies. En dat zien we terug in een uitspraak van vandaag door de Japanse minister van Economische zaken Akira Amari:

[..]

We horen hier de echo van Paul Krugman uit 2002:

[..]

De Japanse centrale bank is overigens de enige centrale bank die er openlijk voor uitkomt dat ze expres een bubble opblazen in de hoop op een trickle down effect voor de echte economie (tot nu toe zonder succes). En niet alleen dat: de centrale bank koopt massaal aandelen op zwakke dagen om dit te bewerkstelligen.

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

quote:

Austrian Government to No Longer Guarantee Bank Deposits
- Austria will remove state guarantee of bank deposits
- Austrian deposit plan given go ahead by the EU
- Banks to pay into a deposit insurance fund over 10 years
- Fund will then be valued at a grossly inadequate ¤1.5 billion
- New bail-in legislation agreed by EU two years ago
- Depositors need to realise increasing risks and act accordingly
- “Bail-ins are now the rule” and ‘Bail-in regime’ coming

Bank deposits in Austria will no longer enjoy state protection and a state guarantee in the event of bank runs and a bank collapse when legislation is enacted in July. The plan to ensure that the state is no longer responsible for insuring deposits has been readied by the Austrian government in conjunction with the EU two years ago according to Die Presse.

quote:

Op maandag 13 april 2015 21:08 schreef Aether het volgende:

[..]

quote:

Ben Bernanke Will Work With Citadel, a Hedge Fund, as an Adviser

Mr. Bernanke will become a senior adviser to the Citadel Investment Group, the $25 billion hedge fund founded by the billionaire Kenneth C. Griffin.

http://www.nytimes.com/20(...)an-adviser.html?_r=1

quote:

Op donderdag 16 april 2015 14:09 schreef SeLang het volgende:

[..]

[ afbeelding ]

Ben Bernanke gaat werken voor één van de meest leveraged frontrunners van de QE aankopen door de Fed.

Natuurlijk mag hij doen wat hij wil nu hij geen Fed chairman meer is, maar ik vind het toch problematisch dat een zogenaamd onafhankelijke centrale bank wordt bevolkt door mensen waarvan het niet duidelijk is waar hun loyaliteit precies ligt en wiens belangen zij precies dienen. Zeker nu de laatste jaren de centrale banken steeds meer domein betreden dat eigenlijk een vorm van fiscaal beleid is dat daarmee niet meer onder democratische controle staat.

quote:

BOJ's Kuroda warns Abe about bond rules

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, second from left, and BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda, far right, attend a Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy meeting. The next one is scheduled for April 16.
TOKYO -- Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda earlier this year urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to make serious efforts to improve the nation's finances, sources said Tuesday.

Kuroda made the remarks Feb. 12 during a meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy at the prime minister's office. The comments were left out of the official minutes. Kuroda reportedly emphasized the seriousness of Japan's situation and stressed that the government should genuinely try to achieve a surplus in the primary balance by fiscal 2020.

Capital requirements

The atmosphere in the meeting was tense. At one point, Kuroda asked to speak off the record, citing the sensitive nature of what he was about to say.

After Tokyo decided last fall to postpone another consumption tax increase -- following one in April 2014 -- credit rating agencies downgraded Japanese government bonds. Under international capital regulations for financial institutions, "banks must set aside capital for foreign government bonds according to their ratings," Kuroda was quoted as saying. "If ratings are downgraded, banks are more likely to shy away from holding such bonds. In fact, some European banks decided to lower their ratios of Japanese government bond holdings."

Kuroda conceded that, so far, the impact has been limited. "Since foreign banks and others only accounted for 6-7% of JGB holders, [the downgrades] had little effect on interest rates on government bonds." About three weeks prior to the council meeting, Japan's long-term rates dropped to 0.195%. Still, the governor sounded more concerned about the future.

"What I'm going to tell you is rather serious," he was quoted as saying. "Countries such as Germany, the U.S. and the U.K. are insisting that banks should set aside capital when holding their own governments' bonds."

Under current regulations, banks' holdings of domestic government bonds are not deemed a risk. However, if Germany and other countries get their way, Japanese financial institutions might be forced to significantly increase their capital reserves, based on their JGB stockpiles. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, which sets international regulations, apparently started discussing the matter this year.

"It will be difficult to reach an agreement, as Japan and Italy are against the proposal, but it is possible that Germany and the U.S. will introduce such regulations on their own," Kuroda reportedly said.

If that happens, analysts might start drawing attention to the scale of Japanese banks' JGB holdings -- and their capital shortages, at least according to stricter standards. The lower JGB ratings go, the more capital would be needed. "Banks could sell off government bonds in fear of capital deficits," the governor said.

Market perceptions

Abe responded by saying it is important to remind rating agencies that, while Japan has liabilities worth 1,000 trillion yen ($8.29 trillion), its net liabilities -- government debt minus assets -- are comparable to those of other countries.

Kuroda agreed but added:

"When I was vice minister of finance for international affairs [in 2002], JGB ratings were similar to those of Botswana. I discussed this with the presidents of two credit rating agencies, but the ratings were not changed. And at that time, Japan's liabilities were about half of what they are now, in relation to gross domestic product."

The Japanese government is expected to draw up a fiscal reconstruction plan by summer. Kuroda wants the government to strive for fiscal soundness while increasing the economy's growth potential at the same time.

The BOJ's quantitative and qualitative easing program is supposed to be aimed at ending deflation. The governor, however, seems worried that the markets may see its purchases of JGBs as nothing more than an attempt to finance the government's deficit.

quote:

Handelaar opgepakt voor 'flash crash' in 2010

WASHINGTON (AFN) - Een beurshandelaar is in Groot-Brittannië gearresteerd op verdenking van fraude en marktmanipulatie bij de zogenoemde flash crash op Wall Street in 2010. Dat maakte het Amerikaanse ministerie van Justitie dinsdag bekend.

Op 6 mei 2010 ging de toonaangevende Dow-Jonesindex in een paar minuten tijd zeer sterk omlaag, waarna de index alweer snel flink herstel liet zien. De opgepakte handelaar wordt ervan verdacht een rol te hebben gespeeld bij de flash crash. De Amerikaanse autoriteiten hebben om zijn uitlevering gevraagd.

Volgens justitie heeft de 37-jarige handelaar uit Londen 40 miljoen dollar verdiend met frauduleuze handelspraktijken tussen 2010 en 2014. De Amerikaanse autoriteiten bestempelen hem als een ,,zeer belangrijke speler op de markt''.

Het is voor het eerst dat de Amerikaanse autoriteiten melden dat manipulatie van de markt een rol kan hebben gespeeld bij de flash crash.

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

quote:

Op vrijdag 24 april 2015 08:01 schreef SeLang het volgende:
Maar goed dat er geen bubbles zijn in China

[ afbeelding ]