Washington and politics dominated the news once again this week. The federal government is still mostly shut down, and Democrats and Republicans have dug in their heels over raising the debt ceiling, whose deadline is Oct. 17. The CEOs of major companies, many of whom funded Congressional politicians, came to the conclusion that they have no sway over House GOP members. However, by the end of the week, there was hope that a deal could be struck as President Obama sat down with House leaders.
What follows is our weekly wrap-up of Money and Markets articles.
The week started with pessimistic predictions from the IMF and the World Bank for future growth rates in Asia and Europe. According to the groups’ analyses, economic growth in those regions is likely to slow, putting a brake on global growth.
For investors considering buying gold, Larry Edelson revealed what he said was the truth about the precious metal that you need to know before making a decision.
Doug Davenport illustrated how irrational investors tend to behave. He shared his views on when, and how, this turbulence will end.
Data released at the beginning of the week suggested that economic confidence plunged to its lowest since the collapse of Lehman Brothers five years ago.
Bill Hall issued a warning to investors who have grown more bullish by the Fed’s decision to delay the taper — he believes such policies are no guarantee against a financial crisis.
On the debt ceiling, J.R. Crooks highlighted the ideological differences that caused the political stalemate. He concluded that we shouldn’t worry about “politics as usual.â€
President Obama nominated Janet Yellen as Ben Bernanke’s successor at the Federal Reserve, which gave investors hope that the central bank’s stimulus programs may last longer than expected.
Mike Burnick recommended that investors turn to the worst-performing stock markets for attractive values.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos won a court case against IBM for a $600 million CIA “cloud†contract.
Those who follow Mike Larson might have already noticed that his predictions for interest rates and the bond market have been spot on — here is what he thinks a savvy investor should do next.
The government shutdown has halted the publication of the monthly employment report. Doug Davenport, however, wrote that the job market hasn’t been this good in years. Still, millions of people have fallen out of the labor market in the past five years, which distorts the real jobless rate.
Best wishes,
The Money and Markets Team
