links for 2010-04-10

China reports rare trade deficit Officials blame the $7.2bn deficit on rising volumes and prices of the raw materials the country needs to import to power its economy. The officials, who announced the figures at an economic conference in Hainan, say the deficit is likely to be a short-term phenomenon. (tags: China economy) LA faces … Read more

links for 2010-04-08

Former Fed chief Greenspan: 'I was wrong 30% of the time' – ABC News From the councils of government to the paneled boardrooms of Wall Street, the idea of Alan Greenspan erring once would have seemed rank heresy. Those days, however, are long gone. Pressed Wednesday to defend his stewardship of the U.S. economy in … Read more

links for 2010-04-07

Home Depot Is Adding Jobs for First Time in 4 Years (Update1) – Bloomberg.com Home Depot Inc., the largest U.S. home-improvement retailer, is adding store jobs for the first time in four years in anticipation of a rebound in sales. (tags: HomeDepot economy jobs)

Federal Reserve Minutes Unhinge Monetary Policy from “Extended Period” Timetable

For most of this year, I have interpreted the Federal Reserve’s policy to maintain “exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period” as the equivalent of low rates for at least the next six months from each new confirmation. This interpretation came from a January interview with New York Federal Reserve … Read more

links for 2010-04-06

Is the Stock Market Cheap? …every time the P/E10 has fallen from the first to the fourth quintile, it has ultimately declined to the fifth quintile and bottomed in single digits. Based on the latest 10-year earnings average, to reach a P/E10 in the high single digits would require an S&P 500 price decline below … Read more