Editor's Choice for June 22

Libor?

Is Libor "useless" as the FT Alphaville's blog posits? Izabella Kaminska noted in her post on June 22 that "central banks have successfully driven down Libor rates thanks to the Fed's TAF facility." What does that bode for the longer-term macro-economic situation? This is sure to become the subject of more debate as wealth managers continue to adjust their own and clients' long-term expectations for their borrowing, portfolios and recovery. In order for banks to lend again and real recovery to take hold, rates for lending must reach some sort of real equilibrium with enough incentive for them to lend but low enough attract consumers–and of course they need to have enough capital to lend. So far, the lending is not apparent, however, according to the latest report on lending from the Treasury Department.