According to its most recent financial report, the US Federal Reserve is insolvent. That is, its net worth is negative: As of last quarter, the Fed had losses of $66.5 billion in its securities holdings, while its capital stands at $39.1 billion. That may be ironic for an institution tasked with ensuring that major banks have sufficient capital to maintain ...

Along Santa Barbara’s cherished Pacific beachfront, old campers, modified pick-up trucks and shabby cars are parallel parked on the adjacent road. It’s growing dark, and the denizens of these cramped, four-wheeled apartments are settling in for the night. California remains a land of great beauty and soaring promise, with dynamic industries and spectacular vistas. But if the state does not ...

Hurricanes, severe winter storms, wildfires, droughts and several recently issued reports have raised fresh concerns about climate change and the threat it may pose to the planet. The first thing investors should do in reaction to the global warming issue is not panic. Steven Koonin, a theoretical physicist who served as undersecretary of energy and science in the Obama administration, ...

The sorry truth is that both progressives and neoliberals still don’t get it and that seems to be true in France most of all. Since the election of President Emmanuel Macron in 2017, I have read or heard that he is the leader of the free world, the hope for Europe and a model for the US. Instead, he increasingly ...

President Donald Trump is mad at General Motors Co. He’s been mad at the automotive giant since late last month, when GM announced a major overhaul that would likely involve closing four US factories (and three foreign ones) and shedding thousands of jobs. This week, he reiterated his displeasure in an interview with Fox Business, calling GM’s action “nasty.” This ...

Conservative lawmakers in the UK voted on one question, but decided another. Their choice may not make the path for an orderly Brexit any easier, but it may make a disorderly Brexit a little less likely. The ballot presented to 317 Tory members of parliament was straightforward: It asked them whether they had confidence in their party leader, Prime Minister ...

Bloomberg If Jason Daw is right, some of the world’s biggest investors are setting themselves up for a major disappointment. The Singapore-based strategist at Societe Generale, one of the few to anticipate the slump in emerging markets beginning in January, sees no imminent turnaround for the asset class. He said the modest rally in currencies since September, led by Brazil’s ...

Bloomberg The worst thing you can call a cryptocurrency project isn’t a “scam” — although many have been called that. It’s a “security.” By casting digital assets in with stocks and bonds, the more stringent rules governing those traditional asset classes will be applied to cryptos. For proof of what that can mean for the nascent market, look no further ...

Bloomberg Canada’s biggest banks suffered the worst decline in bond trading revenue since 2011 as volatility pushed investors to the sidelines. Revenue from trading fixed income, currencies and commodities fell 8.1 percent to C$6.32 billion ($4.72 billion) at the six large Canadian lenders in the latest fiscal year, a further erosion from the 6.1 percent decline in 2017, according to ...

Bloomberg Peru’s central bank held borrowing costs unchanged as tame inflation allows it to keep stimulating the economy after growth slowed in the third quarter. The central bank board, led by President Julio Velarde, kept benchmark lending rate at 2.75 percent for the ninth consecutive month. That matched the forecast of all 11 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. “The board considers ...