Nervousness About Global Banking Giants Intensifies; Central Banks Running Out Of Ammo

[Purveyor]

By PETER EAVISFEB. 8, 2016

An unsettling trend has emerged from the heavy selling that sent global markets tumbling this year: Investors are getting nervous about the world’s biggest banks.

The concerns about the banks are clearly reflected in the stock markets, where shares in banking giants are plunging. But there are also ominous signs in markets that investors use to bet on the perceived creditworthiness of large financial firms.

A crucial benchmark for the banking sector, the KBW Nasdaq Bank Index, was down more than 3 percent on Monday and had lost nearly 20 percent of its value this year.

There were other signs of nervousness.

Investors are again rushing into benchmark government bonds. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which falls as its price rises, declined to 1.75 percent on Monday; it yielded 2.27 percent at the end of last year. The price of gold is rising. The Vix, which measures investors’ expectations of volatility and is known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, rose over 10 percent.

But the plunge in bank stocks seemed to stir up the most concern.

MORE...

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/09/business/dealbook/nervousness-about-global-banking-giants-intensifies.html

Global Central Banks Are Running 'Out Of Ammo'

by Patrick Gillespie @CNNMoney
February 9, 2016: 10:52 AM ET

How do central banks keep struggling economies afloat?

Central banks are pulling out all the stops to turn around the global economy.

They're pumping money into their economies, creating negative interest rates and buying billions of dollars in bonds. Yet experts are worried some of these strategies will not be enough to turn around the slump in the world.

"Major central banks have run out of ammo," says Ed Yardeni, chief investment strategist at Yardeni Research.
Central bankers are trying to stabilize their economies and currencies as they navigate through the volatility of the global slowdown, market meltdowns and investors pulling cash out.

But many admit they don't know what to do next.

"The world is an uncertain place, and all monetary policymakers can really be sure of is that what will happen is often different from what we currently expect," Stanley Fischer, the No. 2 at the U.S. Federal Reserve, said in a recent speech.

MORE...http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/09/news/economy/global-central-banks-options/

[Human101948]

1. But...but...they are the Masters of the Universe!

How can they be unsure?

[99th_Monkey]

2. We can only hope Bernie makes it to the WH in time. nt

[leveymg]

3. Before the Central Banks run out of ammo, they should shoot the again failing "too big to fail."

Mercy, mercy.