Quantitative easing, for those that are not in the know (if you're one of them, which rock have you been stuck under?), is a program of massive asset purchases by the Federal Reserve. While needed to stimulate a flagging economy and while it is a popular decision, many analysts and economists are expecting it to increase the long-term risks of uncontrolled inflation and devalue the US dollar significantly. But say what you will, it is a necessary evil and there was no way the Federal Reserve was not going to do it. It is merely a question balancing out the long-term and short-term risks. Amongst the latter you can count deflation and a double-dip recession, and that was a far less palatable option to the risks posed by the long-term use of this policy. Since quantitative easing might ease short-term risks, it was always going to be implemented. But even in the short term, there are risks  [...]

Gordon Gecko (he of Wall Street fame) is a savvy market participant in the global financial markets in that he likes to stir the pot and ruffle a few feathers while making away with as much money as he can. He just watches what everyone does and makes his move based off that, and that is the mark of a savvy investor, but why talk of a make believe character? Simply because there are parallels to be found in real life and reel life. A century ago, large investors were the big fish everyone wanted to reel in and call their own, posing with “their catch” with the kind of pride a parent might show when posing for a photo with a high achieving child. Think of the legendary American investor Jesse Livermore, a major player on the global financial markets in the 1920's. Let's hit the fast forward button and move forward a few decades just because we can, since we have the benefit of hindsight  [...]

The time for waiting is now done with. After a two month surge on the part of the US stock market, the day of reckoning is almost upon us. Some investors, having put their money where their mouth is, will now see if they got their hearts deepest, darkest, desire; an increased say for the Republicans in the White House and loads of money for nothing. The American stock market have factored in the Republicans winning more seats thanks to the mid-term elections and many investors have their fingers crossed over this as it is a prospect that will be received as being largely business-friendly. Couple that with the Federal Reserve pumping billions through quantitative easing and purchasing Treasury debt and you will understand just why it is the final countdown for many that have invested themselves in this scenario. Tuesday is the day we understand the power-play of politics and just how it  [...]

The crumbling facades and the laundry lines straddled by clothes of varying sizes and hues lines the streets of Istanbul's middle-class Balat district. But when Emrah Gultekin looks at the neighborhood, he doesn't see a district that is home to Istanbul's working class. He sees the future, replete with prosperity and the best panoramic views you can get in all of Istanbul, and to reflect it the region will boast some of the highest prices in all of Istanbul is Emrah has his way. Gultekin is the CEO of a locally based property development firm and has rummaged through his pockets and that of like minded investors to come up with $140 million that will be channeled towards a makeover of the buildings that lie in Balat. Most of these buildings date from the early to the middle period of the 19th century and are crying out for renovation. Gultekin's plans are extremely ambitious; he plans  [...]

It's the kind of big buyout you read about in the papers all the time or watch on the idiot box as it all unfolds. Terra Firma, a Europe-based private-equity enterprise, was mulling over whether they should pick up music company EMI and within the corridors of Terra Firma the deal was referred to simply by its operational code name: Project Dice. Eventually, Terra Firma did roll the dice but they must be wishing they could roll back time instead and take away that one throw of the dice. In May 2007, which was the time that Terra Firma did pick up EMI for a figure amounting to £4 billion ($6.3 billion), the deal seemed like a sensible one with benefits involved for all parties. Today, that deal looks like an absolute rip-off, with EMI worth a mere £1.8 billion. With stars such as Lily Allen and Robin Williams on the roster, EMI isn't exactly a big dog as music companies go and it makes  [...]

In what can only be dubbed a very surprising move, the price of stocks and commodities took a tumble as China's central bank implemented an interest rate hike that no one ever saw coming. After weeks and months of being pilloried by the Western world to act as a more global citizen instead of just looking out for their own interests, China has taken cognizance and begun to move along the path to being a better economic citizen of the world. Investors had a lot to mull over, with mixed housing data, corporate earnings and selling reports by influential groups of bondholders making things even more murky. Many of these bondholder groups have been posturing with the Bank of America to pick up bad mortgages to the tune of $47 billion. These bad mortgages had been looked after by Countrywide, a division of the Bank of America that is now a problem child for big daddy. China hiked its Prime  [...]

In a quick response to the monetary policy as exercised by the Federal reserve, Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO) has recently announced that it will indeed be selling U.S bonds. This is a sign that investors might be starting to lose faith in American instruments as the economy shows no real signs of strengthening after a period of prolonged weakening and erosion. The report first ran in Bloomberg, and they specifically reported that Bill Gross, the top dog of the world's single largest bond fund, reduced his interest and holding in government debt to 33% of all the assets he holds as opposed to 36% the month before that. Gross pulls the strings of the $252-billion Total Return Fund, and he also maneuvered to increase his interest in mortgages to 28% of his assets, up from a previous figure of 21% the month before. PIMCO's Chief Operating Officer (COO) Douglas Hodge declared in  [...]

Managing money is a crucial aspect of these days. We all see every one running after money; many doing lots of hard work to earn money anyhow in faster manner. But have you have ever noticed that the money which you earn by working so hard gets vanished so soon? Are the higher needs the reason for this? Is improper utilization of money in the way required missing? Or, miss management is the reason for this? These four questions can help to you solve you worries in relation to money very nicely. So, as soon as you read these questions and find that miss management of money is the main reason for your worries then join us quickly at our site as you are now about to read a post which talks about effective Money Management. Many people think that managing money is very difficult, many think that it is a technical job, many says its not my cup of tea, and many more mitts like this, but let  [...]

If you want further proof of the growing clout of Asia as an economic force, look no further than the bond markets of these countries, for they are booming and have expanded over the course of this last decade. The west all too often takes for granted the manner in which they can borrow in their local currency, and symptomatic of this is the ease with which the Federal Reserve was able to issue 30 year Treasury bonds even at the height of the crisis that grips the world. Not many nations can claim to do this, for it is a luxury. And emerging nations just aren't able to do it on the same scale as the U.S. has. More often than not they turn to the foremost capital market in the known world, namely the U.S. Dollar market. South Korea is a prime example of just how Asian markets have developed. Let your mind wander back to 1997 when the Asian financial crisis pummeled the region like a boxer  [...]