Wall Street Journal (August 26)
Former Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Alan Blinder writes that “the Fed has already spent its most powerful ammunition; only the weak stuff is left.” Blinder examines the Fed’s remaining options for perking up the economy. He suggests tweaks, such as buying private assets rather than Treasuries, to strengthen the remaining options.
Former Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Alan Blinder writes that “the Fed has already spent its most powerful ammunition; only the weak stuff is left.” Blinder examines remaining options for perking up the economy. He suggests tweaks, such as buying private assets rather than Treasuries, to make the remaining options more effective.
Financial Times (August 23)
High-frequency traders are being scrutinized by the Financial Industry Regulatory Association (FINRA). Broker-dealers that provided clients with direct market access may be fined if they did not implement required risk-management controls. The Financial Times thinks this is a good thing. During the May 6 “flash crash” U.S. stocks dropped almost 1,000 points, yet “officials still do not fully understand what happened.” Regulators need to “catch up.” Technical fixes and new rules can help “ensure markets serve the non-professional users who access them.”
Tags: Broker dealers, FINRA, Flash crash
Barron’s (August 21)
General Motors (GM) is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO). This is not just any IPO. President Obama has pledged that taxpayers will get their entire $50 billion investment back. Barron’s is not optimistic. “We figure that the company’s market value could be around $66 billion, or $118 a share.” That would value GM higher than Ford or Daimler, but “it would take a price of around $135 a common share” for taxpayers to get their full $50 billion back.
