Financial Crisis
Next US Financial Crisis
When there is a loss of confidence in financial assets, investors around the world sell them at the same time, which results in a financial crisis. These assets will, of course. be worth a fraction of what they were before. Financial institutions that own these assets may not have enough money to cover them. This causes financial institutions not to lend to people, because they have no liquidity. Without credit available in an economy from financial institutions, an economy contracts.
This is how a financial crisis translates into an economic contraction. This is why governments step in to provide liquidity to the banks—quantitative easing—in order to keep the economy from further contracting on itself. A financial crisis can bring an economy to its knees. The government’s job is to ensure there is no loss of confidence in the first place, because this is what triggers a financial crisis.
The New Hidden Eurozone Risk
By Sasha Cekerevac for Investment Contrarians | May 16, 2013
Complacency among investors is extremely dangerous. Many investors, both retail and institutional, have very short memory spans.
It wasn’t too long ago that the eurozone was in the midst of a financial crisis. While the worst appears to be over—at least temporarily—economic growth still remains elusive for the eurozone.
Yet in spite of all the dangers, investors have returned to the eurozone en masse. Spain recently sold one-year bills yielding just 0.994%, the lowest since 2010. Demand is extremely strong for these periphery nations, even though it’s clear that many parts of the eurozone are lacking economic growth.
Currently, Spanish 10-year bonds yield approximately 4.29%, which is down from last summer when they were yielding 7.75%. (Source: Benoit, A., et al., “Spain Sells Bill at 3-Year Low Yield as Banks Hired for Bond,” Bloomberg, May 14, 2013, accessed May 14, 2013.)
Investors are becoming complacent yet again. Instead of simply dipping their toes into the water, they’re plunging into some of the riskier parts of the eurozone that have the least potential for economic growth, and these investors are hoping that if things don’t work out, the European Central Bank (ECB) will bail them out.
The danger is that the ECB has previously stated that it will only consider short-term duration investments for possible support, not the long-term bonds. Either way, economic growth needs to re-ignite for long-term investments in the eurozone to make sense.
However, recent data from even the strongest eurozone member, Germany, indicate that a rebound in economic growth is far from certain.
According to the Center for European Economic Research (ZEW), its index of investor expectations … Read More
Why the Eurozone Recession Is Important for America
By George Leong for Investment Contrarians | May 1, 2013
George Soros knows a thing or two about making money from big bets. In 1992, Soros made a $10.00 short wager on the British pound and walked away with a billion dollars in profits.
Soros is now convinced Germany needs to rethink its strategy toward the sustainability of the eurozone and, in a draconian manner, believes the country should leave the euro.
Of course, should this happen, the 17-country eurozone would collapse, triggering a massive economic Armageddon and financial crisis in Europe that would ultimately generate chaos for the global economy.
Now, I doubt Germany or France—the two pillars integral to the eurozone—will exit the euro, but the reality is that the situation in the economic zone remains in a financial crisis with little hope of revival.
The problem is that the eurozone is firmly in a financial crisis and recession, trying to find its way out.
Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Italy are a drag on the ability of the eurozone to get out of its financial crisis. The unemployment rate in Greece and Spain is over 25% and worsening.
Italy just formed a new government, but there’s tons of work left for that debt-ridden country before it can exit its own financial crisis that has been building for years.
With all of this bad news, it’s not surprising to see people in the eurozone feeling the despair. According to the European Commission, economic morale in the eurozone remains weak after declining in March and April. (Source: Emmot, R., “Economic mood in euro zone sours again in April,” Reuters, April 29, 2013.)
And it appears that the solution will again … Read More
Why Today’s Weak Durable Goods Numbers Foreshadow Low Confidence
By George Leong for Investment Contrarians | Apr 26, 2013
Consumers appear to be holding back on buying non-essential goods, and this could impact the economic recovery.
The durable goods orders contracted a dismal 5.7% in March, according to the United States Census Bureau, representing the largest decline in seven months—a far cry from the 4.3% rise in February and well below the Briefing.com estimate calling for a four percent decline.
Taking out the volatile transportation portion, durable goods fell 1.4%, versus the Briefing.com estimate of -0.1%, equaling the second straight month of declines.
The durable goods readings have largely been inconsistent, as reflected in the chart below, and suggest the economic recovery may be at risk.
Chart copyright © Lombardi Publishing Corporation, 2013;
Data source: United States Census Bureau, April 25, 2013
When consumers are more confident, they tend to spend more on major purchases in the retail sector, such as homes, vehicles, furniture, appliances, and travel. This will impact the economic recovery, gross domestic product (GDP) growth, and the ability of companies to expand their businesses.
But whether it’s the added taxes or the fragile confidence from the lack of strong jobs growth, the decline in the demand for goods that are deemed non-essential should be a red flag that not everything is proceeding along smoothly, which could affect the economic recovery.
The fact remains that jobs creation is fragile and not expected to ratchet higher until 2014 and 2015, due to the slow economic recovery.
The recent 88,000 jobs created in March was weak, so it will be interesting to see what happens with the April non-farm payrolls reading due next Friday.
Retail sales have also been … Read More
Eurozone Could Collapse Sooner Than Many Think
By George Leong for Investment Contrarians | Apr 12, 2013
The eurozone and the euro are still around, but the more I see what is happening in that region, the more I think something must be done, given the financial crisis.
You have the eurozone in a recession and a financial crisis specifically driven by turmoil in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, and Ireland.
Greece is broke, and it could take decades to recover from its financial crisis. Heck, Greece may have to go and ask for another round of bailout money if the financial crisis in the eurozone holds.
The financial crisis in Cyprus is a red flag that needs to be watched. And despite the small size of Cyprus’ economy, the country is a mess, with no recourse but to seek more bailout funds or risk a default and exit the euro.
The two pillars of the eurozone, Germany and France, are stalling. Germany contracted 0.6% in the fourth quarter and is another negative quarter away from a recession. France is in a similar predicament and will need to wrench its way out of its potential financial crisis.
Even big-time investor George Soros, who knows a thing or two about economies in trouble having made a billion dollars shorting the pound decades ago, is pretty convinced that Germany needs to rethink its strategy and consider leaving the euro to avoid its own financial crisis.
The problem that arises is that Germany is the major reason why the eurozone is still intact, when it maybe should have looked at kicking out Greece and Cyprus.
But as long as Germany is staying in the eurozone, the probability of survival, in … Read More
Danger: Market Sentiment Too Bullish in This Sector?
By Sasha Cekerevac for Investment Contrarians | Apr 11, 2013
One of the most dangerous periods for an investor is when they become too complacent. As the combined view of all investors, market sentiment ends up becoming overly bullish, running far ahead of the fundamentals. This has now occurred in several sectors, but one that investors should be aware of is in bank stocks, especially in Europe.
Bank stocks around the world have risen tremendously, pushed higher by a wave of positive market sentiment. The general consensus is that following the financial crisis over the last few years, the worst is over. I would caution investors that there are still significant hurdles for many global bank stocks.
Recently, the Bank of England stated that many investors are underestimating potential risks. As we all know, the global economy is still weak, yet share prices have soared, including bank stocks. Market sentiment has shifted from massively bearish to extremely positive over the past couple of years.
As the minutes of the Bank of England’s last meeting note, the committee recommended that bank stocks in the U.K. raise an additional $38.0 billion for potential pitfalls related to the euro area as well as their real estate exposure. (Source: Moshinsky, B., “BOE Says Investors May Be Taking ‘Too Rosy’ a View of Stresses,” Bloomberg, April 5, 2013.)
Investors have piled into bank stocks with positive market sentiment on the belief that the worst is over, especially in Europe. Many bank stocks within Europe are closely intertwined with other nations on that continent. As we’ve just seen from the recent Cyprus fiasco, there are still significant pitfalls ahead.
Market sentiment is clearly being pushed upward … Read More
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