J.D. Swampfox's blog

Rosenberg argues the nominal yield curve would be inverted right now if it were not for the fact that short term rates are essentially at zero.

"… excess savings flowing in from Asia and the reckless lowering of interest rates by the Federal Reserve Board; the relation between executive compensation, short-term profit goals, and risky lending; the housing bubble fueled by low interest rates, aggressive mortgage marketing, and loose regulations; the low savings rate of American people; and the highly leveraged balance sheets of large financial institutions." - Richard Posner

We have two choices for what to do with our savings: 1) we can “park it” in existing assets (stocks, bonds, mattresses), or 2) we can invest it in new capital formation. What makes us choose one over the other?

I feel it appropriate to help distribute Karl Denninger's video response to the currently in vogue effort of the government-subsidized media to discredit those AMERICANS who question current government policy and who suspect that the economy will get worse before it gets better.

There is debate (and confusion) over whether the average American has actually increased his saving rate or whether this is a mirage. Ha!... Felix Salmon points out that some economists actually think that buying stocks and bonds is consumption - not saving. Much of the confusion arises from the need to distinguish between "investors" and "savers".

Richard Ripp compares top-down to bottom-up estimates and concludes that top-down estimates have proven to be more accurate over time.

June held good news for Housing, unless one looks at the full story.