Bloomberg.com – Mohamed El-Erian: What Macron Can Do for Free Markets Everywhere He can help open the way for better economic governance in the West rather than just setting the stage for a bigger political shock. Once the initial market relief plays out — that, even during an unprecedented “anti-establishment” wave in both Europe and… Continue reading Macron’s Victory
Barron’s – The Stock-Buyback Jig Is Up The stock-buyback game has been going on longer than a round of three-dimensional Monopoly. But the market finally looks to be losing its fondness for share repurchases. The stock-buyback game has been going on longer than a round of three-dimensional Monopoly. But just as the board game… Continue reading Stock Buybacks
Barron’s – Is the 8-Year-Old Bull Market Near Its End? While pockets of exuberance may exist, the case for a broad, near-term correction is mixed at best. Making the case for overvaluation was Robert Shiller, the Yale economics professor and Nobel Laureate who famously saw the bubble in tech stocks in 2000 and then in… Continue reading Shiller & Siegel Argue Over CAPE
Bloomberg Business – Labor Slack’s Vanishing Act Signals U.S. Wage Gains Coming Soon The unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 4.4 percent, the lowest since May 2007, Labor Department data showed Friday. The underemployment rate, which includes discouraged workers and those who are working part-time but would prefer full-time positions, declined to the lowest since November 2007,… Continue reading Wage Growth
The Financial Times – Trading volatility? Good luck catching that sharp knife Despite the mounting worries about Vix ETNs, it is an increasingly vibrant market The father of the Vix index, Professor Robert Whaley, was becoming worried in early 2010 that the stock market was due for some turmoil, so he bought a newfangled exchange-traded… Continue reading Trading Volatility
Bloomberg.com – Bogle Says If Everybody Indexed, Markets Would Fail Under Chaos Vanguard founder says chance of everybody indexing is ‘zero’ Warren Buffett praises Bogle for lower fees, better returns Investors wouldn’t have a way to capture value in the stock market if it were entirely held by passively managed funds, according to Jack Bogle,… Continue reading Making The Case For Active Management
Reuters – From two would-be Fed leaders, the central bank needs to change Unemployment is at a decade low, the American economy is growing, and inflation is nowhere in sight, yet for two leading candidates to head the Federal Reserve, the central bank needs shaking up. The Fed is credited by most economists for its rapid… Continue reading Looking For Yellen’s Potential Replacement
The Financial Times – Central bankers cannot blow bubbles alone Excessive faith in low rates is as big a risk as low rates themselves Despite the historical record, the pernicious idea that valuations are now permanently high because interest rates are now permanently low is now in circulation. Rates may or may not be at a… Continue reading Blowing Bubbles
The Financial Times – GAM plans to leave London’s upmarket St James’s Area has become too expensive for Swiss asset manager under pressure to cut costs GAM, the Swiss asset manager embroiled in a battle with an activist investor, is planning to move its London headquarters out of the upmarket St James’s district as it… Continue reading Cost Cutting In The Hedge Fund Industry
The New York Times – GRETCHEN MORGENSON: Should Free Markets Govern the Bond Rating Agencies? There’s a lot not to like in the Financial Choice Act, the deregulatory construct put forward by House Republicans on April 28. Dubbed by its creators the “alternative to the failed Dodd-Frank Act,” it aims to repeal the 2010 law’s… Continue reading Who Should Govern The Rating Agencies?
The Financial Times – Federal Reserve warned over maintaining big balance sheet Debate ramps up about plan for unwinding interventions in financial markets The Federal Reserve risks political interference and losing its independence if it maintains a large balance sheet in the longer term, former Fed officials have claimed, as debate intensifies over the central… Continue reading The Federal Reserve
Barron’s – Gene Esptein: Who Says Retail Employment Is Dying? Yes, big-box stores are hurting. But boutique employers are hiring. We had neither a Trump jump nor a slump, but a reversion to the mean: After a way-below-the-mean rise of 79,000 in nonfarm payroll employment in March, April’s gains rebounded to 211,000. Over the… Continue reading Brick And Mortar Retail