05-05-2017, 09:40 AM
Those who think surveys of expectations have predictive power for spending and saving might therefore conclude the uptick bodes well for America’s growth outlook. However, a closer look at who exactly is excited about the future suggests there is less here than meets the eye. Deutsche Bank’s Torsten Slok points out that the improvement in expectations is entirely due to Americans without a college degree, rather than those with greater spending power and higher earning potential. Americans with degrees have been getting steadily less optimistic since mid-2015
America’s rising consumer confidence mostly due to the elderly and less-educated | FT Alphaville
Le Pen said could use capital controls if she wins the presidential election and triggers a flight of money out of France. "I found her comments strange because, by saying that, she essentially admitted her policies would cause that kind of turmoil," said Charles Lichfield of Eurasia Group.
Marine Le Pen floats idea of capital controls if she wins presidency
ForceShares has introduced two new exchange-traded funds that deliver four times the returns, either higher or lower, of S&P 500 futures. The ForceShares Daily 4X US Market Futures Long Fund and ForceShares Daily 4X US Market Futures Short Fund are designed to return 400 percent of the performance of the index. While such "leveraged" ETFs are hardly new — a plethora of products offer double or triple up or down movements in various parts of the market — this marks the first time a quadruple fund has been launched. Some market participants worry that the temptation of such outsized returns will be impossible to resist, with dire results possible.
'Market crack': New ETFs that can quadruple gains — or losses
The CBOE Volatility Index is often referred to as the "market fear gauge," since it tends to rise as investors become more and more willing to pay for protection against a decline in equity prices. But just because the index is plumbing 10-year lows this week, that does not necessarily mean that complacency has overtaken the market.
The real reason the ‘fear index’ is at 10-year lows
But there are reasons to stay hopeful, too, especially if you're someone who's tried toughing it out on protein shakes and salads and still failed to see results. Plus, a growing body of research on fasting suggests that in addition to helping with weight loss, the method could have other beneficial health outcomes, such as potentially reducing the risk for certain cancers and even possibly prolonging life.
Fasting for weight loss: Newest research, science - Business Insider