Preparing for the Next 'Black Swan'

WSJ.com - Preparing for the Next 'Black Swan' http://on.wsj.com/dm477j

After a decade-long bear market and two years of turmoil that saw the stock market plunge by 57%, investors are betting on still more financial pain in the months ahead.

Bond yields are near record lows. Gold continues to soar. And stocks are whipsawing as traders try to predict the direction of an economy that remains, in the words of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, "unusually uncertain." ...

China's Investing Turns to Neighbors

China's Investing Turns to Neighbors

China is looking more to its Asian neighbors' currencies and debt markets in its bid to lessen its reliance on the dollar.

'Just a bad trend' - 500,000 jobless claims

'Just a bad trend' - 500,000 jobless claims

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A government report Thursday brought bad news for workers and the economy: The number of unemployed Americans seeking a financial lifeline has reached its highest level in nine months. ...

Why the U.S. may not be the next Japan

Why the U.S. may not be the next Japan

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The fashionable thing for economists to worry about these days is deflation.

It's hard to go a day without someone proselytizing that the United States is the next Japan and that a Lost Decade looms on the horizon -- or might already have even begun. ...

China Cultivates Taste for German Cars

China Cultivates Taste for German Cars

As Chinese Drivers Snap Up Germany's Luxury Exports, Berlin Frets That Its Economy Rides Too Much on One Customer

By VANESSA FUHRMANS

Germany's resurgent export economy is presenting the country's policy makers with a new worry—a growing reliance on China.

Germany's economy expanded at an annualized 9% rate in the second quarter, its strongest pace in more than 25 years. ...

Stanley Druckenmiller Retiring: Why Success Is Much Harder For Many Hedge Fund Managers - CNBC

Stanley Druckenmiller Retiring: Why Success Is Much Harder For Many Hedge Fund Managers - CNBC

To many hedge-fund managers, news that Stanley Druckenmiller was quitting the business symbolized the difficulty of chasing returns in such a volatile market environment. ...

Creole Trail LNG

Creole Trail LNG
Facility Type: LNG

Scope: New Construction
Owner: Cheniere Energy, Inc
Location: Cameron Parish, Louisiana United States
Region: North America
Modified: August 17, 2010

Invest in Muni Bonds Carefully: Vanguard Manager - CNBC

Invest in Muni Bonds Carefully: Vanguard Manager - CNBC

By: Michelle Lodge
Special to CNBC.com

Investing in municipal bonds, or munis, has plusses and minuses, a Vanguard manager told CNBC Wednesday, but overall he recommends putting money in select ones. ...

(EUR) ELLI default rate falls to 17-month low - Leveraged Commentary & Data

(EUR) ELLI default rate falls to 17-month low - Leveraged Commentary & Data

The lagging 12-month default rate for the S&P European Leveraged Loan Index (ELLI) fell to 5.9% in July, a 17-month low, from 6.2% in June, based upon par amount outstanding. At the end of 2009, the rate stood at 10.5%, the highest level since LCD started tracking the ELLI default rate in June 2007.

In the 12 months ended July 29, the ELLI tracked €8.2 billion of institutional loan defaults, down from €8.7 billion at the end of the June and €14.9 billion during 2009.

The ELLI default rate measured by number of issuers remained unchanged in July, at 8.9%, the lowest level since the 8.2% reading in February 2009. During the 12-months ended July 29, 21 issuers defaulted or started the restructuring process, which is equal to the comparable time period ended July 1. At the end of December, the tally was 39. ...

Asian Economies Are Hot Again, And So Are Stock Markets - CNBC

Asian Economies Are Hot Again, And So Are Stock Markets - CNBC

As the US and European Union economies struggle through the hangover of a deep financial crisis, countries in Asia that suffered their own crisis a dozen years ago are posting some of the fastest growth rates in the world. ...