The Wall Street Journal – Skepticism Mounts on Junk Bonds Despite nervousness, a global search for yield continues to push up valuations Unease is starting to grip the junk-bond market: Even as yield-hungry investors buy in, many traditional buyers are selling out. About 20% of high-yield investors said in May that they hold below-average positions in… Continue reading High Yield
The Wall Street Journal – TALENT BATTLE: HEDGE FUNDS VS. SILICON VALLEY The battle for quantitative talent has turned some of the richest money managers into underdogs. Why? Because they are up against the likes ofAlphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. for hiring the world’s top minds. “Google is trying to hoover up every data scientist… Continue reading Human (Carbon) vs Computer (Silicon) Traders. Who To Work For?
The Financial Times – Passive investing is worse than… the misuse of antibiotics There’s little reason to think that a world in which passive investing dominates is a world where everyone only invests in a S&P 500 tracker fund. As Bloomberg reported earlier this month, there are now more indices than stocks. “Passive” investing involves a… Continue reading You Daily Installment In “Passive Investing Will Destroy The World”
Barron’s – Bitcoin and Tech Stocks: A 21st Century Tulipmania? Investors’ enthusiasm is reminiscent of the mania that struck the Dutch in the 1600s. What brought that to mind was the overheard conversation of a couple of fellow travelers last week, in which one extolled the potential of Bitcoin, whose price has gone parabolic in… Continue reading More On Bitcoin
Barron’s – Ford Races Toward an Exciting Future New CEO Jim Hackett looks like an inspired choice to rev up Ford’s self-driving car efforts and lift its stock Investors seem divided on whether the appointment of Jim Hackett as chief executive of Ford Motor this past week was an act of panic or window dressing. Hackett,… Continue reading The Future Of Business
The Financial Times – Departures signal a changing of the guard in HFT Quantlab’s Smith is looking for ‘fun’ elsewhere and he is not the only one For a decade, high-frequency trading was the hottest ticket in town. Then it was reviled as the scourge of Wall Street. Now some key figures from the generation that… Continue reading Leaving HFT For Gluten Free Pizza!
Bloomberg – China’s Hand-of-State Tightens Grip on Market With Yuan Move Chalk up another win for the visible hand in China’s markets over the principle of the private sector determining prices. A move by authorities to smooth out daily changes in the yuan’s fixing versus the dollar, taken on its own, suggests a shift away from any… Continue reading China Adjusts its Grip on the Yuan
Bloomberg – Low Volatility Is Market’s Most Significant Danger The excess amount of capital chasing opportunity is resulting in more, not less, risk. Today’s risks differ meaningfully from those of a decade ago. However, the excess amount of capital chasing opportunity at increasingly aggressive terms is similar. The competition to put money to work, then, like… Continue reading Your Daily Installment of ‘Low Volatility is Going to Ruin the World’
CNBC – Here’s how Trump’s 3% economic growth target stacks up against past presidents The White House has pinned its budget agenda on hitting — and maintaining — a 3 percent economic growth target. But recent history suggests that’s a tall order, and the U.S. risks inflating its debt if the growth falls short. Of the… Continue reading An Interactive Look At Economic Growth And The Debt Ceiling Under Past Presidents
Business Insider – Investors are pouring billions into the hottest part of the stock market No area of the stock market has been hotter than tech since the election, and it seems investors still haven’t gotten their fill. They poured $1.8 billion into the largest exchange-traded fund tracking the sector on Tuesday, the biggest single-day inflow… Continue reading Daily Inflows Into The Largest Tech ETF Hit A Record Yesterday
Bloomberg View – Gary Shilling: Fed Is Losing Its Influence Over the Bond Market So the fed funds rate is simply a reference rate with little practical meaning. Market participants believe it measures Fed policy, but the emperor may have no clothes. That’s why the central bank has considered alternatives such as paying enough on… Continue reading The Fed vs The Bond Market