Slope initially began as a blog, so this is where most of the website’s content resides. Here we have tens of thousands of posts dating back over a decade. These are listed in reverse chronological order. Click on any category icon below to see posts tagged with that particular subject, or click on a word in the category cloud on the right side of the screen for more specific choices.
The previous post of the same title was put up by a bemused blogger to express the idea that the big brains on the FOMC must think we are a bunch of drooling idiots, we Americans… and we global financial market participants. Similar sentiments have been expressed on this blog in the past with my personal favorite nugget from popular culture era gone by:
I read an interesting piece last night over on ZH about how Goldman Sachs is expecting The Bearded One to announce a $600 billion program tomorrow to keep gutting the country's future for his banking friends.
As the quote shows below, ZH expects gold to go stratospheric. Judging from the action today (all assets are up, with the notable exception being precious metals), I'm not so sure.
Last night I also noticed a big bump in my Twitter followers. Curious, I checked my timeline, and I discovered Slope was featured in a list of Top Finance People to Follow on Twitter, an inclusion I appreciate. If you aren't following me yet, help get us over that 7,000 mark and Subscribe today!
As the world awaits the Greek election, there was news today right here in Wonderland:
Treasurys rise after record-setting auction
Our great nation is selling more bonds (AKA debt) this week to keep itself afloat. Guess what? Demand was strong for 10 year notes.
Next up, 30 year debt will be peddled on Thursday. With the Fed on the bid, either in action or in implied waiting, one might expect that to be another bumper day.
"On Tuesday, the government garnered weak demand at its sale of 3-year notes. That could have been due to expectations for more Twist from the Fed, which may entail selling that maturity. That logic would also have lent support for the 10-year auction, and presumably the long bond sale in the coming session."
The indisputable message of this chart is that gold generally goes in alignment with the 30 year/2 year yield spread.
With today's Fed announcement out of the way now, we see that no new Fed monetary easing programs are underway.
Instead, the U.S. is still left with this…their growing national debt. This is something that the Fed cannot solve…it's up to the politicians, and, still, I've heard nothing this year that leads me to believe that any part of this is being tackled. Instead, it seems to be the dirt that is lingering under the carpet, never to be dealt with until, perhaps, after the November election, or, perhaps, not at all.
With issues such as declining Durable Goods Orders and Core Durable Goods orders since 2001 and 2002, respectively, as shown on the graphs below (data released on Wednesday), declining consumer optimism, and housing numbers still at 2009 recessionary lows, I would have thought that politicians would have acted more responsibly to reduce the debt while finding measures to stimulate their economy.
