Michael Ashton

E-PIPHANY

Contributor since: 26 Feb 2010

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• From Sizzle to Simmer, Overnight

  Published 12 March 2012 | viewed 0 times

  Have we forgotten how to trade anything except Europe? Bonds today were unchanged. The S&P ended with a gain of 0.02% after trading in a…

• The Second-Slowest Prey

  Published 09 March 2012 | viewed 0 times

  Finally, we can perhaps put Greece in the rear-view mirror. The result of the exchange "offer" produced around 83-85% commitment (there are several conflicting calculations…

• QEnull - What's The Point?

  Published 08 March 2012 | viewed 0 times

  I feel guilty when I have not much to add atop someone else's words, but for the second time in a fairly short period of…

• Not That Surprising

  Published 06 March 2012 | viewed 0 times

  As the Thursday deadline for the Greek PSI deal approaches, some trepidation is apparently developing. Stocks and commodities dropped 1.5%, while Treasuries rallied (although less…

• Dueling Prophets

  Published 05 March 2012 | viewed 0 times

  What promises to be a fairly interesting week started slowly. I expected that over the weekend we would have started to hear about private holders…

• Inflation Stable, But Only In Passing

  Published 01 March 2012 | viewed 0 times

  It's a busy day for me, with month-end just past (and month-end was a busy day for many, with the first pan-billion-share day on the…

• Zombies Multiplying But At Least We Learned Something

  Published 29 February 2012 | viewed 0 times

  While some elements of the economic and financial landscape seem to be clearing up, others are getting murkier. This is always the case, of course…

• Spooky Action At A Temporal Distance

  Published 28 February 2012 | viewed 0 times

  The parallels of the current equity market rally to the August 2010-February 2011 rally following Chairman Bernanke's hints about QE2 (a parallel I mentioned first…

• Model vs. Reality: Reality Wins

  Published 24 February 2012 | viewed 0 times

  The bond market ended Thursday nearly unchanged, although short TIPS did very well because energy markets continued to trend higher. Gasoline rose 0.8% to $3.1136/gallon…

• Neither Trumpets Nor Bomb Blasts

  Published 23 February 2012 | viewed 0 times

  Today, finally, we can focus on the domestic situation. While the matters in Greece are far from resolved, and are generating the usual amount of…

• Subprime Sovereign Europe Still the Focus

  Published 21 February 2012 | viewed 0 times

  Like everyone else, I want to believe that the Greek bailout this time really is 'done.' Of course, my main reason for wanting that outcome…

• Inflation: As 'Contained' As An Arrow From A Bow

  Published 17 February 2012 | viewed 0 times

  Is 15 months in a row of rising core inflation 'contained?' Year-on-year core CPI has now risen for 15 consecutive months. At some point, it…

• Mister Market Is Cheery For Now

  Published 16 February 2012 | viewed 0 times

  There was no news from Greece today, although optimistic journalists penned excited articles indicating "progress" such as the idea that the ECB (headed by Mario…

• An Umbrella, Just In Case

  Published 16 February 2012 | viewed 0 times

  Greece, Greece, Greece. I've had it up to here with Greece. I'm tired about writing about Greece. Apparently, I am not alone; after the conference…

• Greek Spring

  Published 14 February 2012 | viewed 0 times

  Ah, spring is in the air, and that must mean: firebombs. Yes, last year we had the Arab Spring, with violent protests and governments overthrown…

• Not Again

  Published 10 February 2012 | viewed 0 times

  Once again, dawn broke on Thursday with great excitement. A Greek deal was at hand! Stocks were higher, although not very much higher, and commodities…

• Deal Or No Deal? Yes

  Published 09 February 2012 | viewed 0 times

  Although it didn't happen until after the U.S. market had closed - funny how that happens - there is yet another delay in the Greece-Euro…

• Super Bowl Hangover

  Published 06 February 2012 | viewed 0 times

  Wow, people really did spend the day on Monday talking about the Super Bowl. Volume on the NYSE was only 644 million shares: the slowest…

• Promising Isn't The Same As Delivering

  Published 05 February 2012 | viewed 0 times

  Yet another weekend appears to be poised to end without the promised big-picture agreement on Greek debt. The BBC was reporting earlier today that talks…

• Disowned

  Published 01 February 2012 | viewed 0 times

  The data today were weaker-than-expected, but I can't characterize them as weak. ADP missed expectations by 45k when revisions are included, but if we can…