26 March 2019 FT — Articles to Read

26 March 2019

 

Question: According to MSN: Money, what is the average credit card debt?

 

White House pick for Fed board attacked by economists – Pg. 4

–          “Steve is an amiable guy but he does not have the intellectual gravitas for this important job”, wrote Mr Mankiw, a Harvard University professor and former chair of George W Bush’s council of economic advisers, on his blog, “Mr Moore should not be confirmed” (Prof Note: Whoa!)

–          The main concern about the choice of Mr Moore is that it marks a blatant attempt by Mr Trump to place a political ally within the Fed after months of attacks on the institution from the outside

–          Mr Moore’s nomination, which must be approved by the Senate, is likely to reignite concerns about Fed independence which have already ratcheted up a notch in the Trump era

 

Negative-yielding sovereign debt vaults back over $10tn as growth fears intensify – Pg. 19

–          The amount of government debt with negative yields has vaulted back over the $10tn market after the US Federal Reserve’s unexpectedly downbeat outlook exacerbated concerns over the health of the global economy and sent investors scurrying for the apparent safety of sovereign bonds

–          Bond yields have sagged lower for much of 2019 as fixed income investors have remained skeptical that growth will pick up again

–          The ECB this month restarted a crisis-era bank lending programme and last week the Fed shelved plans to raise interest rates this year – unexpectedly cautious moves that have raised questions whether officials see a downturn coming

–          The total amount of debt trading with nominal yields below zero is now $10.07tn….up from a low of $5.7tn in early 2018.  The last time the total moved through the $10tn mark was September 2017

 

Answer: $6,814