As sell-side firms continue cutting their IT spend in 2013, TABB Group says risk management is one of only two categories where spending is estimated to actually increase from 2012 levels, the other being pricing and reference data.

China's consumer confidence declined sharply in May to 99.0 from 103.7 in April. Of course household spending in China represents only around 35% of the GDP (according to the World Bank), while the US consumer is over 70%. Nevertheless taken together with China's manufacturing PMI, we may be seeing signs of renewed economic weakness.

The long-awaited "Great Rotation" of assets out of fixed income following an uptick in rates will not necessarily reverse the long-term decline in institutional trading volume in U.S. equities.

Utilities face diverse disruptions, but they have an unprecedented array of tools at their disposal to tackle the challenges ahead and update their businesses, according to Rodger E. Smith, senior vice president and general manager for the Oracle Utilities Global Business Unit.

Most Americans realize that coal companies have been contesting the decisions of federal regulatory agencies. But many do not see the infighting that has occurred between mining executives and their labor unions, which have a long and painful history that centers on working conditions and job security.

As discussed in the previous post, outflows from fixed income funds have been quite severe. However in spite of the various forecasts, the so-called "Great Rotation" out of bonds and into equities has not materialized.

Last year we discussed just how frothy the US fixed income valuations have become. Now in a matter of several weeks, the US bond markets have wiped out a year's worth of gains and then some. That includes all the interest income.

In another sign of recent weakness in the manufacturing sector, capacity utilization in the US has stalled, as demand remains soft. US industries are producing significantly below their capacity and "5.5 percentage points below long-run average" according to the Fed.

The chart below shows a clear divergence in trends of the total loans and leases on US banks' balance sheets and the broad money supply measure (M2). Loan balance growth is slowing, while the money supply keeps growing at a steady rate of around 7%.

The Directors and Chief Risk Officers group last week issued its guidance to organizations seeking to better govern risk through the identification and recruitment of Qualified Risk Directors to their boards of directors and risk committees of the board.

Protecting wildlife habitat and migratory fish has much to do with the amount of interest in rivers as hydrokinetic waterpower resources. The limited power-generating potential and the use of immature technologies might be seen as impediments, yet many companies are showing a desire to at least dip their toes in the river water.

As a follow-up to the discussion on "risk-on/risk-off", there is further evidence that the market dynamics that have been in place over the past four years have recently been altered.

Mortgage backed securities (MBS) have sold off sharply over the past month as fixed income markets face the new reality of rising rates. But unlike most other fixed income securities, MBS duration tends to increase with yield.

Ian McCafferty notes that "anyone under the age of about 45 will not have an adult memory of high inflation. "That is proof that the inflation genie has been successfully kept in the bottle. But it also means that there is a risk that the low and stable inflation of the past two decades is now being taken for granted".

US industrial production was unchanged in May 2013 and missed market expectations for a 0.2% increase. The main source of the downward surprise in May was a larger than expected decline in utilities production in the month, with output down 1.8% following the 3.2% drop in April.

Freddie Mac yesterday released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), showing fixed mortgage rates climbing higher amid a solid employment report for May. Since beginning their climb last month, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has increased over half a percentage point. Regardless, mortgage rates are coming off their all-time record lows, which is helping to keep homebuyer affordability high.

The headwinds that nuclear energy has faced are blowing once again. It's not just about the latest plant closures. It's also about the announced delays and potentially higher costs associated with two separate nuclear projects now underway. Despite all that, the industry is pushing back and making headway.

Since posting this chart of WTI crude oil price (sent by a reader) on Twitter, we've received a number of constructive replies. The technical trading term for this pattern is "symmetric triangle", which would typically result in a breakout to either side. Usually such breakouts are accompanied by rising volatility.

While yields on shorter maturity treasury notes have risen over the past month, money markets yields remain suppressed. The three-month treasury bills still hover around 5 basis points.

Speaking in Helsinki today, Paul Tucker considers the implications of the reforms of banking for the credit system. He outlines the possible shape of a Capital Accord for the future, catering for banks in distress as well as in health; tries to dispel some commonly held misconceptions of how macroprudential variations of capital requirements will affect credit conditions; and outlines some thoughts on how the reforms might influence the shape of the financial system.

As mortgage rates in the US reach the highs not seen since early 2012, many are asking the key question: would this rise in rates impact the housing market or consumer sentiment?

The natural gas boom in the US due to hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has provided the country with a cleaner burning, inexpensive fuel source that has lowered energy bills for industrial facilities and homeowners alike. The fracking process is still a hot topic of controversy wherever it is used to extract fuel.

Since the financial crisis, the correlation between treasuries and many credit assets such as high yield bonds (HY) has been strongly negative. With rates at extraordinarily low levels, HY price movements were driven mostly by spreads.

Summer is here and the beaches are open in the US, Europe and elsewhere. How appropriate then that the second wave of mandatory clearing has now hit US shores.

The rate curve implied by the Fed Funds futures has steepened considerably over the past month. The market now anticipates the Fed beginning to raise the overnight rate in May of 2015.

Managers reported at month end that it appears that economic data is finally starting to matter to the broad markets in the U.S. and globally as the progressively worse data of the previous three weeks in May were generally ignored with the month ending on a sour note that everyone heard.

The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday charged the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and an affiliate for various systemic breakdowns in their regulatory and compliance functions as a self-regulatory organization, including a failure to enforce or even fully comprehend rules to prevent abusive short selling.

The role of emerging Asian markets has changed and these markets are now the engine of profitable growth for global consumer products (CP) companies and retailers.

A bill to clarify the oversight of coal ash is dusting itself off now that a compromise bill has cleared a key congressional House panel. The measure would give the states control over regulating the coal combustion byproduct but would do so with input from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Using data to manage is nothing new. But using big data to manage IS new, offering unprecedented challenges, opportunity, and risk. Senior executives need to learn and learn quickly. They must be prepared to ask penetrating questions when their data scientists bring them a new idea.