Bloomberg Business – Blockchain Is Banks’ Secret Sauce Here’s some good news for bank shareholders: Profits are about to rise. Sorry to inform the hundreds of thousands of people who work in the various transaction-verification processes, but that will come at the expense of your jobs. UBS, Deutsche Bank, Santander and Bank of New York Mellon… Continue reading How Blockchain Will Change Banking
Bloomberg Business – A Year After Stocks Armageddon, It’s Smooth Sailing for Markets August 2015 was a terrifying time for investors, with the imminent withdrawal of Federal Reserve stimulus and China’s currency devaluation sending stocks on their wildest ride in four years. Twelve months later, it’s nothing but calm. Stock turbulence has been banished as… Continue reading Calm Markets A Year After August 2015 Volatility
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Financial Times – Pensions and bonds: the problem explained Bond mathematics and the scale of pension deficits Bond yields have fallen globally since the UK vote on leaving the EU on June 23. This has made even more acute a problem for financing pensions, which has been growing for… Continue reading Pensions And Bond Math
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<Click on chart for larger image> CNBC – Economists and the market diverge on Fed rate hike forecast. Here’s why Economists believe the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at least once this year, but market participants are betting policymakers will stand pat once again after seeing them threaten to take away the punch bowl only… Continue reading Non-Stop Fed Hike Talk
<Click on chart for larger image> <Click on graphic for larger image> <Click on graphic for larger image> Barron’s – The Black Swan Election The unprecedented 2016 elections could yet throw markets for a loop. A Trump victory or upheaval in Congress could tank the Dow. … Markets will be anxiously awaiting clarification from Fed Chair Janet… Continue reading An Election Update
<Click on graphic for larger image> Business Insider – The ‘great rotation’ isn’t happening Stocks are susceptible to a pullback in September, according to UBS chief equity strategist Julian Emanuel. Emanuel wrote in a note to clients on Wednesday that this trouble is because a likely seeming and recently touted source of fund inflows may not materialize: The… Continue reading The Myth Of The Bond-to-Stock Great Rotation
The Financial Times – Adam Posen: Negative interest rates are not the drama they seem Division among central bankers reflects errors that have distorted debate This is too much fuss over just another policy instrument. The drama and division among central bankers reflect two intellectual errors that have distorted monetary policy discussions. These are the… Continue reading A Defender of Negative Rates
Barron’s – Why Oil Stocks Will Continue to Gush The energy sector has returned nearly 20% this year. But oil stocks, hurt badly, still have a ways to run. At the beginning of the year, I recommended buying oil stocks, even while I observed it would take a hope and a prayer to get them moving… Continue reading A Bullish Argument For Oil
Barron’s – Hedge Fund Investors Stop Paying for Bad Returns After years of inflows, investors have pulled money for 3 straight quarters. Better performance can change that. There’s a parallel these days between politics and hedge funds. After more than a year of listening to Donald Trump’s fiery rhetoric, voters from his party suddenly seem to… Continue reading Hedge Fund Misery
Reuters – Bank of Japan’s rush into stocks raises fears of market distortions The Bank of Japan’s near doubling of its purchases of Tokyo shares is causing investors to worry the central bank will dominate financial markets, which could lead to price distortions as it continues to grease the economy. The BOJ’s buying spree will make… Continue reading Another Perversion Of Capitalism
CNN Money – This Stock Indicator Hasn’t Been This High Since the Start of the Last Bear Market If history is any guide, there’s a 66% chance that a bear market is lurking just around the corner. A key gauge of frothiness in the market has officially hit its highest reading since the start of the… Continue reading Today’s Installment In Stock Market Worry