Ukraine's new resistance to Russia draws attention back to the macroeconomic fallout
<i>Friday's menu:</i> Ukraine heats up and fund winners and losers come into focus. Plus: Fed-speak clarity: an oxymoron? Bank loan funds fall victim to Fed policy, Obamacare drags us back to the 1950s and banks square off with Big Labor in Vegas.
Ukraine's push back against Russian troops is getting more confrontational by the day. Ignored or not, this is not a situation that is going to heal all by itself. The US and EU blame Russia
As the conflict surges back into the headlines, investors could be forgiven for wondering if they own funds that could lose — or gain — from the conflict. Here's some insight.
As Ukraine gets hotter, fund winners and losers come into focus
The Fed insists its focus on growth has not changed but that a slow-growth scenario won't influence tapering. In other words, the justifications for quantitative easing are now being used to reduce quantitative easing. Clear as mud, right? When monetary policy become passive
The flipside of the new era of Fed clarity is showing up in the form of net outflows from bank loan mutual funds. When yield looks more predictable, adjustable-rate loans lose some luster. 95 straight weeks of net inflows meets two weeks of net outflows
The effect of Obamacare is expected to turn health insurance into a fringe benefit from employers. Welcome back to the 1950s, folks. The migration away from employer-based coverage
Bankers discover that what happens in Vegas can sometimes find its way to Washington. Labor disputes gone wild. Big Labor drags banks to the bargaining table