Bond Market Collides With Stevens as Inflation Bets Rise: Australia Credit - Bloomberg

The Reserve Bank of Australia is showing no signs of raising interest rates at a time when fixed- income markets are signaling the biggest increase in inflation expectations in more than a year.
RBA Governor Glenn Stevens will leave the overnight cash rate target at 4.75 percent tomorrow, with a 52 percent chance he won’t […]

After post-holiday sales come post-holiday closures

Red and yellow “everything on sale” signs are scattered in a handful of local stores being liquidated - one of the telltale signs that spring is on the way.
It’s part of the annual post-Christmas purge of the weakest retailers who can no longer scrape by in the brutal retail world.
The casualty list in the St. […]

In gloomy times, Irish voters ripe for change

Unemployment is above 13 percent, Irish taxpayers have reluctantly become bank owners, the value of the family home has plummeted and the nation is in hock to the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
No wonder every party campaigning in Ireland’s national election is promising change.
Ireland’s 3.1 million voters make their choices on Friday, with […]

Home prices plummet in most big US cities

Home prices are hitting new depths in most major U.S. cities and are expected to fall further over the next six months.
In a majority of metro areas tracked by Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller, prices have fallen to their lowest points since the housing bubble burst.
High unemployment, stricter lending rules and fears that prices will continue to […]

Spending habits: Back to old ways?

Like many consumers, Jennifer Smelyanets, claims she has changed her ways since the recession.
The 25-year-old marketing professional used to blow her biweekly paycheck, even buying a new Acura TSX, while saving nothing aside from a minimal contribution to her 401(k).
"I was optimistic, thinking, I’m only 23, I can spend now and save later," she […]

Trichet Declines to Comment on Report Irish Bank Borrowing Raised Costs - Bloomberg

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet declined to comment on press reports saying Ireland’s Anglo Irish Bank Corp. and Irish Nationwide Building Society caused a surge in overnight borrowing costs.
“First of all, I will not discuss the process at all,” Trichet said at a briefing in Paris today after a Group of 20 meeting, […]

Stocks turn higher in midday trading

Stocks reversed earlier losses and edged higher in midday trading Thursday, as investors weighed an unexpected jump in jobless claims against a strong manufacturing report.
The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of people filing for unemployment benefits rose 25,000 from the previous week. That was more than economists expected.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia […]

U.S. Mortgage Demand Falls to Two-Year Low as Refinancing Drops - Bloomberg

The number of applications for U.S. mortgages fell last week to the lowest level in more than two years as higher borrowing costs depressed refinancing.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of loan applications decreased 9.5 percent in the week ended Feb. 11, dropping to the lowest point since November 2008. The group’s refinancing measure slumped […]

SEC investigates LaBarge

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s staff plans to recommend a “civil enforcement action” against LaBarge Inc., the company revealed today.
LaBarge, an electronics manufacturer based in St. Louis, said it received a “Wells notice,” from the SEC.  A Wells notice informs a company that it is the target of an investigation, and gives the company a chance to respond.
In a […]

Tax code in constant flux flummoxes Americans

If you’re itching to get your hands on an income tax refund, you have an extra reason to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year.
You also have a reason to write a not-so-sweet note to your representatives in Congress. Because they waited until mid-December to pass major tax law changes, the Internal Revenue Service couldn’t begin accepting […]