Financial News Friday – January 16, 2015
Switzerland bank & currency (Forbes, Chart Via FT)
Until this week, the Swiss central bank has capped its currency against the devalued Euro in order to keep the Swiss Franc competitive. This week, the SNB removed that cap, which led to the vertical move against the Euro in the chart above. The Swiss central bank was right to remove the cap, but the move shocked currency markets.
Elon Musk: Hyperloop Test Track Planned (BBC)
Elon Musk announced that he would be taking steps toward making his Hyperloop transport system a reality.
A proof of concept test track may be built in Texas in the next several years to demonstrate the viability of the concept.
She’s No Greenspan: Yellen Signals She Won’t Babysit Markets in Turmoil (BusinessWeek)
Yellen says she will not utilize the Fed’s tools to combat short-term market volatility. Instead the Fed will focus on long-term growth outlook for the country. As William C. Dudley, President of the NY Fed puts it “Let me be clear, there will be no Fed Equity market put”.
Global Monetary Policy (Business Insider)
Click the image above to zoom in.
BATS Exhcange Group To Pay Record $14M SEC Fine (Reuters)
The exchange group was fined $14 million by the SEC due to its preferential treatment of high frequency trading firms to the detriment of other clients.
The Most Not Hated Bull Market (Mebane Faber Research)
Despite the voiced misgivings of many investors, the bullish sentiment for the current market is near all-time highs. The average annual return following high bullish sentiment is 0.1%. Ranging from a low of -17.4% to a high of 15.6%.
Bill Gross Fired From PIMCO (The Big Picture)
Bill Gross confirms that he was essentially fired from PIMCO, the world’s largest fixed income manager that he helped co-found.
How To Protect Yourself From A Tax Audit (Yahoo Finance)
Yahoo Finance has an informative write-up about the steps you need to take to protect yourself should you be the one of the lucky ones chosen for an auidit.
Summary of Global Markets for Friday January 16, 2015
Click the image above to zoom in and see the full Global Market Summary.