● Collusion: How Central Bankers Rigged the World
By Nomi Prins
Interview with author via KALW
Prins argues that since the global financial crisis, big banks have massively profited from access to cheap money. She writes, “No significant regulations have been introduced to fix the structural problems behind the last financial crisis. Banks and the markets have been subsidized by conjured-money policy.” She calls it a heist that enables the most powerful banks and central bankers to run the world. How can this rigged system be dismantled?
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US companies added 168,000 workers in April, moderately more than the 138,000 gain in the previous month, which marked the softest increase since last September, the Labor Department reports. The advance kept the annual trend steady, which suggests that moderate growth for the labor market overall remains a reasonable forecast for the near term.
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The Equity Risk Premium in 2018
John R. Graham and Campbell R. Harvey (Duke University)
March 27, 2018
We analyze the history of the equity risk premium from surveys of U.S. Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) conducted every quarter from June 2000 to December 2017. The risk premium is the expected 10-year S&P 500 return relative to a 10-year U.S. Treasury bond yield. The average risk premium is 4.42% and is somewhat higher than the average observed over the past 18 years. We also provide results on the risk premium disagreement among respondents as well as asymmetry or skewness of risk premium estimates. We also link our risk premium results to survey-based measures of the weighted average cost of capital and investment hurdle rates. The hurdle rates are significantly higher than the cost of capital implied by the market risk premium estimates.
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US-China trade talks end with no deal: Bloomberg
US warns China over militarization of the South China Sea: Reuters
US job cuts fall 40% in April after surging in March: CG&C
Jobless claims in US rise after falling to lowest level since 1969: MW
Worker productivity in US rose at sluggish rate in Q1: WaPo
US Services PMI ticks up to 3-mo high in April, signaling solid growth: IHS Markit
ISM Mfg Index: growth downshifts in US services sector in April: CNBC
Solid pace of US factory orders points to ongoing mfg growth: Freight Waves
S&P 500 tests 200-day moving average intra-day and then bounces higher:

A wobbly equity market, expectations for higher interest rates and weaker economic growth in the first quarter have inspired some pundits to claim that bear-market risk for stocks has spiked higher in recent weeks. Perhaps, but there’s still room for debate, based on a review of key indicators.
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Fed leaves rates unchanged but remains on track for more hikes: WSJ
Fed appears to be tolerant of higher inflation: Bloomberg
Trade talks between US and China set to begin in Beijing: Reuters
Trump will likely withdraw from Iran nuclear deal: Reuters
Giuliani says Trump paid hush money: NY Times
Eurozone inflation data surprises with softer rise in April: Reuters
ADP: US private employment growth slowed in April but remained solid: MW
Uptick in global mfg PMI inspires forecasts of stronger global growth: Bloomberg

The Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates unchanged in today’s monetary policy announcement, but firmer inflation in recent months lays the foundation for hikes in the months ahead.
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Legal showdown approaches for Trump’s lawyers with Mueller: CNN
US auto sales post slide in April after strong rise in March: Reuters
ISM Mfg Index for US slumps as prices for raw materials accelerate: MW
US Mfg PMI rises to highest level in 3-1/2 years in April: IHS Markit
Construction spending in US tumbled in March: MW
Fed funds futures: no change in rates for today’s FOMC announcement: CME
US Dollar Index jumps to highest level since January: Reuters
2yr Treasury yield edges up to 9yr high ahead of today’s Fed announcement: MW

Commodities bounced back in April, topping the performance list for the major asset classes. Rebounding after two straight monthly declines, a broad measure of raw materials jumped 2.6%, based on the Bloomberg Commodity Index.
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Trump delays metal tariffs on EU, Mexico and Canada: Reuters
Special Counsel Mueller has far-ranging questions for Trump: NY Times
US consumer spending and price inflation picked up in March: Reuters
Pending homes sales in March for US point to subdued growth: CNBC
Dallas Fed Mfg Index: mfg activity rebounded “strongly” in April: Dallas Fed
Chicago PMI edges up in Apr, remains relatively subdued vs. recent history: MW
Fed expected to hold rates steady this week and raise rates in June: Reuters
Rising gas prices on track to deliver most expensive driving season since 2014: AP
Initial Q2 GDPNow estimate for US economy is a strong 4.1%: Atlanta Fed
US Treasury in Q1:2018 borrowed the most since 2008: Bloomberg