Lots Of Busy Bees At Our Hive

We've been busy bees today as a slew of economic indicators have entered our hive. On balance, they show that the global economy is weak, while the US economy is strong, though the US banking system has some stress cracks. Consider the following:

(1) Moody's downgrades the banks. First and foremost, stock prices fell, while bond prices rose today on Monday's news (after the close) that Moody's cut the credit ratings of several small to mid-sized US banks and said that it may downgrade some of the nation's biggest lenders, warning that the sector's credit strength likely will be tested by funding risks and weaker profitability.