A change of direction.  After seven months of negative inflation (see chart above), the EU registered a positive number of 0.6% in November.  According to Eurostat, most of the increase was in energy prices.  Core inflation (which excludes energy...

Dubai World requests a debt "standstill."  By now everyone has heard that Dubai World, the company that supervises investments and developments for the government of Dubai, has asked for a "debt standstill:" the delay of all debt payments until the...

    BDX, Becton Dickinson, from $0.33 to $0.37, quarterly; yield = 2.0%     BOBE, Bob Evans Farms, from $0.16 to $0.18, quarterly; yield = 2.8%     CPB, Campbell Soup, from $0.25 to $0.275, quarterly; yield = 3.1%     HRL, Hormel...

Two indices show prices faltering.  From the NYT: "The Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller home price index... a measure of the housing markets in 20 metropolitan areas, barely rose in September, rising 0.3 percent from August on a seasonally adjusted...

    AWH, Allied World Assurance, from $0.18 to $0.20, quarterly; yield = 1.7%     BF-B, Brown Forman, from $0.2875 to $0.30, quarterly; yield = 2.3%     CATC.OB, Cambridge Bancorp, from $0.33 to $0.35, quarterly; yield = 4.7%    ...