Saturday, September 19, 2015

Today's Headlines

Posted by Gary .....at 9:23 PM
Bloomberg: 
  • Greeks Expect More of the Same Hardship as They Vote Again. (video) As Greeks prepare to return to the polls this weekend, hope their election will lead to a break from a six-year economic crisis has turned into fear the result will just deliver more of the same. Kiki Kondyli, an Athens store owner, was formerly an enthusiastic supporter of Alexis Tsipras’s Coalition of the Radical Left, or Syriza. She says she won’t support the party this time because of the former prime minister’s U-turn on opposing spending cuts and tax increases to meet the demands of the nation’s creditors. In fact, she may not bother to vote at all.
  • Fed Officials Make Case for 2015 Liftoff After September Hold. Three Federal Reserve policy makers argued on Saturday for lifting the central bank’s key interest rate before year-end, countering bets by many traders that the Fed will wait until 2016. Laying out their rationale for a rate increase at one of the Fed’s two remaining meetings of 2015, the central bankers cited continued improvement in the domestic economy, including low unemployment, which they suggested overshadowed concerns about global conditions and volatile financial markets. San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker each spoke or wrote on Saturday, days after the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee voted on Thursday to leave rates unchanged. The central bank’s decision, and the way its deliberations were framed, were interpreted by many Fed watchers as a sign that the central bank might not raise rates this year. In holding rates steady, the Fed noted international uncertainties and subdued inflation.
Wall Street Journal:
  • A Progressive’s Pilgrimage: Francis Meets the U.S. Flock. The papal visit comes as changes in demographics and religious attitudes challenge the fabric of the church. When Pope Francis sets foot on American soil this week, he will be visiting a Catholic community that wields vast influence on account of its size, wealth and political power. But he will also be confronting a flock increasingly divided on the direction he is taking the Catholic Church.
  • Letting Clinton Off the Hook. A special prosecutor for Clinton’s emails is a dumb idea. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell likes to say there’s no education in the second kick of a mule. Maybe not, but Mr. McConnell might want to kick his deputy John Cornyn anyway for asking Attorney General Loretta Lynch to appoint a special counsel to investigate Hillary Clinton’s email transgressions. Mr. Cornyn, the senior Senator from Texas and number two in the Republican leadership, says that Justice’s political appointees can’t fairly investigate President Obama’s former Secretary of State. But as dumb political... 
MarketWatch.com:
Fox News:
  • Obama administration urged by police, GOP candidates to be more outspoken on cop killings. Obama administration officials are being urged by law enforcement and Republican presidential hopefuls to be more outspoken about police officers being targeted and shot, amid a recent series of fatal attacks. "This is the president's problem because he has not shown law and order to be the rule of the day," Republican presidential candidate and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie recent told Fox News.
CNBC: 
  • Fed's case for continued cheap money not compelling: Bullard. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said he argued against last week's decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve to hold interest rates steady, and felt other policymakers had not made a compelling case for yet again delaying a rate hike. Bullard does not currently vote on the Fed's policy setting committee and thus could not join Richmond Fed chief Jeffrey Lacker in dissenting from the decision to hold rates near zero for at least another six weeks. But he was sharply critical of the decision in remarks to a community banking group here. "The Committee has not, in my view, provided a satisfactory answer," to how near zero interest rates align with close to full employment and continued economic growth, Bullard said. Even though inflation is weak, rates will still be extraordinarily low even after an initial rate increase, Bullard said, and thus would continue to support economic growth and ultimately higher prices. "The case for policy normalization is quite strong," Bullard said, contending that the Fed's dual employment and inflation objectives "have essentially been met."
Zero Hedge:
Business Insider:
Reuters:
  • Fed's Williams still sees 2015 rate hike after 'close call'. An interest rate hike will likely be appropriate this year given the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision last week to stand pat was a "close call," a top Fed policymaker said on Saturday. John Williams, a centrist and president of the San Francisco Fed, said the arguments for and against beginning to tighten U.S. monetary policy are about balanced now that the economy is on solid footing, giving him confidence in continued economic and labor market growth. Williams, the first U.S. policymaker to speak publicly since the Fed's much-anticipated decision on Thursday, suggested he is almost ready to pull the trigger on a rate hike.

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