Sober Look's Blog

The Greece-Eurozone dispute has received a great deal of attention in the media in recent weeks. It seems however that contradicting statements and polarized views - many tainted by various political agendas...

The Canadian housing market is very expensive. Median house price to median household income is higher in Vancouver than it is in Sydney, London, and New York. If rates rise or if commodity prices continue to...

Diplomatic efforts are once again under way to establish a more lasting ceasefire in eastern Ukraine via the "Minsk peace talks redux". While Angela Merkel's diplomatic efforts should be applauded, chances for...

We are about to witness a historic showdown between the major euro area institutions and Greece. Greece's newly appointed finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, a staunch bailout critic, will lead the negotiations on debt haircuts.

The market expects the banking system to be flooded with liquidity generated by quantitative easing for a long time. The area's banks will therefore prefer lending to each other at negative 8-12 basis points to depositing...

Unlike a number of other nations — especially some countries in Europe — the U.S. is currently not dealing with general price declines. However, the risks of such an occurrence have increased materially. This for example can be seen in...

With all the focus on falling crude oil prices as well as sharp reductions in the cost of gasoline (including retail), jet fuel, and heating oil, it's easy to miss the fact that prices of other energy products have been hit quite hard as well...

And so it begins… Collapsing crude prices are starting to make their way through the North American energy sector, as the most unprofitable oil & gas rigs are mothballed. Those flashing red numbers are not just on your screen any more.

If Mario Draghi was lacking ammunition to initiate an outright quantitative easing program in the Eurozone, he certainly has it now. Even the staunchest opponents will have a tough time arguing against...

The latest US payrolls report presents a challenge for the Fed. Labor markets are continuing to heal, suggesting that the rate "normalization" should be a serious consideration for the central bank. However, the recent deterioration...