Business

Submitted by $hane Obata

USD: Return Of The King

Falling oil prices, China growth fears, submerging markets, Brexit and Italian banks. All of those risks have one thing in common: They have not derailed the US economy. Despite concerns about a recession, it continues to grow at a steady pace. According to the Atlanta Fed, real GDP is expected to grow by 0.7% in Q1’16. That is not a great number; however, the series is extremely volatile.

sources: Bloomberg, @Not_Jim_Cramer

Submitted by Mike "Mish" Shedlock of Mishtalk

Italy Seeks “Last Resort” Bailout Fund to “Ringfence” Troubled Banks, Meeting Monday; Italy vs. Austria

Italy’s finance minister, Pier Carlo Padoan, wants to "ringfence" its troubled banks.

Padoan called for a meeting of executive of the troubled banks in Rome on Monday. The banks allegedly will come up with a “Last Resort” bailout fund.

Last resort or first resort, is there a difference at this point in time?

Submitted by Charles Hugh Smith from Of Two Minds

Japan Desperately Needs A Stronger Dollar, China Desperately Wants A Weaker Dollar: The Fed Can't Please Both

The FX market is about to blow up in the Fed's face, and there's nothing they can do about it.

Foreign exchange (FX) is a zero-sum game: if one currency weakens, another must strengthen. Since the value of a currency is relative to other currencies, all currencies can't weaken together: at least one currency must strengthen as others weaken.

We’re starting to see some concerning developments in the luxury real estate market. First, we observed as Urbancorp, one of Toronto’s largest property developers, quietly canceled a condo complex they had been working on, and instead converting the project into rental apartments. This was one of the first signs that demand for luxury real estate is declining. 

First it was the Saudis; then Russia announced another month of record oil production.

And now it is Iraq's turn. According to the state-run Oil Marketing Co., Iraq increased crude output to a record level in March, ahead of the long-awaited April 17 meeting in Qatar where OPEC members and other producers may or may not (they won't) agree to cap production to curb a global glut.