Surprise! The Bank of Japan moves to crush the yen and restore economic growth and inflation

Following hard on the heels of a surprise interest rate increase from the Banco Central do Brasil, which sparked a huge rally in Sao Paulo, today the Bank of Japan expanded its promise of purchases of Japanese Government Bonds to 80 trillion yen ($727 billion), an increase of 30 trillion yen. The Government Pension Fund will increase its allocation to stocks to 50%

U.S. GDP up 3.5% in the third quarter but with big boost from falling energy imports and government spending

U.S. GDP up 3.5% in the third quarter but with big boost from falling energy imports and government spending

The first read on third quarter GDP put U.S. economic growth at a 3.5% rate. That’s down from the 4.6% in the second quarter but well above the 3.0% growth expected by economists surveyed by Briefing.com. And the two-quarter trend of 4.6% growth in the second quarter and 3.5% growth in the third quarter is the strongest back-to-back numbers for the economy since the last six months of 2003.

Cummins returns to the growth sweet spot

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Might the Fed say anything today to keep this rally going (maybe) or to cause a reversal (unlikely)?

Recent financial market volatility seems closely connected to shifts in expectations about when the Federal Reserve will start to raise interest rates. With the Fed’s Open Market Committee set to provide a press release at 2 p.m. New York time today—but no press conference—the markets are looking at potential grounds for another shift in sentiment

Use Goldman’s call for $74 a barrel oil as an indicator of a trading bottom

Use Goldman’s call for $74 a barrel oil as an indicator of a trading bottom

Yesterday’s Goldman forecast that U.S. crude oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate was headed to $74 a barrel for 2015 took down the price of oil and the prices of oil-related stocks. I don’t think Goldman has any better read on the uncertainties of oil sector fundamentals than any of the other commodities specialists. Where Goldman does have superior information, however, is on trading positions and the structure of the commodities market

More evidence that the books were cooked on China’s 7.3% GDP growth for the third quarter

Last week, you’ll remember, skeptics said it was unlikely that GDP grew by 7.3% when other, more difficult to manipulate indicators were pointing to a slower rate of growth. For example, electric consumption grew at an annual rate of just 2.7% from September 2013 to September 2014. Rail traffic fell 6.2% in that same twelve-month period. Well, today, the skeptics have gained more ammunition