The Financial Times – Why Japanese stocks may at last get some love The Japanese carry trade is taking on a whole new meaning for equity investors. For years, the yen revolved around borrowing or selling short Japanese securities, to take advantage of the reliably low yields and weak currency, and parking somewhere else where… Continue reading Reaching For Yield In Japanese Stocks
Actual footage of the BoE trying to wrest away long bonds: pic.twitter.com/NfjUjv82Ll — Tracy Alloway (@tracyalloway) August 10, 2016 <Click on cartoon for larger image> <Click on graphic for larger image>
Conference Call Presentation/Charts of the Week Audio [audio:https://www.biancoresearch.com/bianco/SubscriberArea/081116.mp3|titles=Conference Call ] Topics Covered This Week Include: U.S. Surprise Index U.K. Surprise Index Eurozone Surprise Index Hikes Are Gone Easiest Post-Crisis Period Ever? Did Central Banks Panic After Brexit? Latest Fed Probabilities No Hike This Year Central Bank Balance Sheet Growth The Global Bull Market In Bonds… Continue reading Conference Call Presentation/Charts of the Week
Comment On August 11, 2016 at 9 AM CT (10 AM ET, 7 AM PT and 15:00 BST) Bianco Research, in conjunction with Arbor Research & Trading, will be hosting a webcast/teleconference moderated by Jim Bianco. Join us Thursday as we discuss helicopter money. How does it work and why could it be critical for… Continue reading Helicopter Money And Interest Rates
<Click on chart for larger image> Comment As the bottom panel of the chart above shows, the U.S. had three consecutive quarters of negative productivity for the first time since 1993. Restated, this has been the worst stretch of U.S. productivity in 23 years. The Wall Street Journal – Productivity Slump Threatens Economy’s Long-Term Growth… Continue reading U.S. Productivity Falls For 3rd Straight Quarter
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – FT Explainer: BoE bond buying hits turbulence Holders of long-dated gilts resist selling, and rally in short-dated paper takes yields negative Why the impasse between long-term gilt holders and the BoE? The short answer is that holders of long-term government debt define the meaning of… Continue reading The BoE Can’t Find Enough Gilts To Buy
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg Business – Negative Yields Have Turned Bond Trading Into a Commodity Market Negative yields are upending bond investing. Sub-zero bond yields are causing all sorts of headaches for investors, since those who buy now and hold until maturity will receive less money than they paid. Yet buyers can also make… Continue reading Negative Yields
<Click on graphic for larger image> Bloomberg Markets – U.S. Profit Recession Means Debt Fuels Most Buybacks Since 2001 Debt-backed repurchases increased to 30 percent of total The willingness to borrow shows how loath chief executives are to give up what has been the most consistent source of demand for equities the last few years.… Continue reading Debt Fuels Most Stock Buybacks
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Four themes from the US earnings season Investors give their verdict after five quarters of lower profits After five consecutive quarters of earnings declines, investors have patiently awaited a recovery in profitability by the largest US companies. While they will probably have to hold out… Continue reading More On Earnings
<Click on graphic for larger image> LPL Financial Research – Fear the Fed? Should Friday’s strong jobs report (released August 5) lead investors to sell stocks and worry more about their bond portfolios? First, on the stock side, keep in mind that the stock market has historically done well after the initial Federal Reserve (Fed)… Continue reading A Historical Look At Stocks During Fed Rate Hike Campaigns
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg Business – Barclays Debunks the Prevailing Wisdom on Hedge Fund Returns Bigger isn’t always better Barclays Plc just upended one of the most common narratives for why hedge funds are struggling to repeat the glory years: they found it’s not the number of funds that’s causing returns to… Continue reading Smaller Hedge Funds Outperform Larger Funds
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg Business – Saudi Arabia Said to Report Record Oil Output on Summer Demand Production said to be 10.67 million barrels a day in July Gasoline shipments from Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, grew to 213,000 barrels a day on average between January and May, up by… Continue reading Saudi Arabia’s Oil Output Near Record