Finance

Vehicle Miles Traveled: A Structural Change In Our Behavior

The Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Commission has released the latest report on Traffic Volume Trends, data through September. Travel on all roads and streets changed by 2.3% (5.6 billion vehicle miles) for September 2014 as compared with September 2013 (see report). The less volatile 12-month moving average is up 0.19% month-over-month. If we factor in population growth,…

Morning Call For November 21, 2014

OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS December E-mini S&Ps (ESZ14 +0.69%) this morning are up +0.65% at a record high and European stocks are up +2.03% at a 1-1/2 month high after China cut interest rates for the first time in over 2 years. European stocks and government bonds received an additional boost after ECB President Draghi…

Europe’s New Scariest Chart

Recent polls show pro-default parties growing popular in peripheral euro-area countries such as Greece, Italy and Spain. As Bloomberg Brief’s Maxime Sbaihi notes, in a depressed economic environment, their promises to restructure public debt might soon bring them to power and tempt traditional parties to adopt their ideas. This return of political risk in the…

This Week’s Sizemore Insights: Hunting For Global Value

Here is a statement of the obvious if there ever was one: The market doesn’t always do what it’s supposed to. Expensive markets are supposed to correct, and cheap markets are supposed to rally as both revert to their long-term averages.  But there are long stretches of time where expensive markets get even more expensive and cheap markets get even cheaper….

Draghi Talks Euro Lower, Aso Lifts Yen

Official comments have injected volatility into the foreign exchange market.  As we anticipated, Japanese officials pushed back against the seemingly free-fall in the yen sparked by the aggressive BOJ action and the diversification of the government pension funds.  Finance Minister Aso expressed concern about the pace of the yen’s decline. However, comments by Abe-adviser Hamada underscored…