The big news of the last two days was yesterday’s FOMC where Fed Chairman Bernanke confirmed the end of QE2. I also felt bad for him as he looked like a child who just was informed that there is no Santa Claus as he lowered the Fed’s growth and GDP forecasts, all but admitting that these extraordinary measures haven’t worked.

In a way, I feel bad for him as he is getting NO help on the fiscal side of the equation, and trying to keep the economy afloat with monetary policy alone won’t work. Cue the debate over the debt ceiling, which is due to expire in early August which could put pressure on politicians to finally take action, as doubtful as it may seem. Bernank Read more…

A new store in the tiny town of Elma, NY has turned the town into a tour bus destination. The store: Made in America, where everything is manufactured in the United States of America.

Shop owner Mark Andol climbs aboard a bus and tells the riders that shopping here is a patriotic act.

When you walk through them doors, I guarantee when youre shopping — the homeworks been done — its 100 percent made-in-America products. Made in this country by American workers, and the money stays in our economy. So, enjoy yourself, he says.

Customers pour into the spacious building, which used to be a Ford dealership. Ame

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June 22 – Guinness Peat Group, the investment company formerly led by Ron Brierley, will halt trading in its shares next week to make its capital return to shareholders of some $158 million.

Trading in the company’s London Stock Exchange-listed shares will be suspended from June 28 and the NZX-listed stock will be halted on June 29, with both resuming trading on July 6.

Trading in the ASX-listed CHESS Depository Notes will halt on June 30, with deferred trading beginning on July 7 and normal trading resuming on July 21.

The temporary suspension will let GPG complete its share cancellation, which was approved by shareholders at the June 8 annual meeting, held for the first, and probably last, time in New Zealand.

GPG is in the process of winding itself down after several years of lacklustre performance from U.K.-based threadmaker Coats Plc., its biggest holding.

The investment company overhauled its governance after a shareholder revolt last year, with Brierley stepping down as chairman in December, and Sydney-based Gary Weiss relinquishing his seat at the board in April.

New Zealand-based Tony Gibbs departed last year after a boardroom showdown over the future of GPG, while the last of Brierley’s lieutenant’s, Blake Nixon, gave up his executive role last month.

Shares in GPG were unchanged at 78 cents in trading yesterday, and have gained 8.3% this year.

Bond tumbled sharply following a better-than-forecast reading for retail sales. Earlier data from China also showed a still-bustling economy helping to undermine global slowdown theories. Yields on U.S. benchmarks responded by rising back above 3% as investors deployed cash into riskier asset classes.

Eurodollar futures – Longer-dated futures contracts fell by as much as 10 basis points after dealers were pleasantly surprised by a smaller dip in retail sales activity during May. Investors had been braced for a sharper 0.5% slide while the report showed a modest 0.2% dip. N

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On Tuesday, a WSJ article indicated that Germany was considering to be less strict in its conditions on further aid for Greece. At the same time, there was a lot of market talk that the EU was making progress on a new aide package for Greece. This sparked a wave of global investor optimism. EUR/USD extended its rebound off the recent lows.

EUR/USD traders experienced an extremely boring trading session on Monday, but a simple press article was enough cause fireworks on Tuesday morning in Asia. A WSJ article said that Germany was considering dropping its push for an early rescheduling of Greek debt.

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NY Times:

The benefits of driverless cars are potentially significant. The typical American spends an average of roughly 100 hours a year in traffic; imagine using that time in better ways — by working or just having fun. The irksome burden of commuting might be lessened considerably. Furthermore, computer-driven cars could allow for tighter packing of vehicles on the road, which would speed traffic times and allow a given road or city to handle more cars. Trips to transport goods might dispense with drivers altogether, and rental cars could routinely pick up customers. A

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Currencies: Risk aversion and strong USD send CE currencies into defensive mode
Fixed Income: NBP’s Belka: Market expectations reasonable

The Czech koruna remains in a defensive mode as the negative interest rate differential continues to weigh on the Czech currency. Also the spike in risk aversion on euro zone peripheries in light of Spanish regional elections could have weighed on the regional currencies by the end of the week. N

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