Yahoo Finance – WARREN BUFFETT: The foundation of every market bubble is a ‘sound premise’ On May 26, 2010, Warren Buffett was interviewed by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC). In newly released transcripts, we see that the FCIC asked Buffett several questions regarding what he thought caused the housing and credit bubble, which eventually… Continue reading Buffett On Bubbles
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Bond Traders Give Fed Green Light to Lift Rates as Soon as June Futures market lifts odds of an increase by mid-year to 50% Benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbs to six-week high The Bank of America analysts found that the amount of Fed tightening has been “closely… Continue reading The Odds Of A Hike
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Gavyn Davies: The end of negative rates, but not central bank alchemy Why do risk assets apparently abhor negative interest rates? After all, bond yields have fallen in response to negative policy rates, and in the past other asset prices have usually benefited from a… Continue reading Negative Rates
The Financial Times – Exchange-traded product commodity investing pitfalls Precious metal ETPs are straightforward because they own the underlying physical commodity. By way of illustration, if I had $50m to invest it would buy me just over a tonne of gold, but for iron ore I would get 1m tonnes. The storage implications for the… Continue reading The Roll Matters To Commodity ETF Returns
Factset – Earnings Insight for March 11, 2016 Earnings Growth: For Q1 2016, the estimated earnings decline is -8. 3%. If the index reports a decline in earnings for Q1, it will mark the first time the index has s een four consecutive quarters of year-over-year declines in earnings since Q4 2008 through Q3 2009.… Continue reading 2016 Earnings
<Click on chart for larger image> CNBC – Gold funds have become the ‘gorilla’ of the ETF market Investors can’t seem to get enough of gold this year. As gold has seen its best start to the year since 1974, exchange-traded funds that track the metal have surged in popularity. According to Stacey Gilbert of… Continue reading Gold ETF Flows
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Equity funds draw investors for first time in 2016 Investors poured into US equity funds for the first time in 2016 as a string of better than expected economic reports and a stock market and commodity rally allayed fears that the country’s economy was on… Continue reading Equity Mutual Fund Inflows
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Inflation Target Draws Fire From All Sides Central bankers over the past two decades pursued 2% inflation as a Goldilocks standard—neither too hot nor too cold. After years of undershooting in advanced economies, some economists now say that target should be adjusted. Trouble is,… Continue reading Targeting Inflation
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – China Economic Data Paints Gloomy Picture Industrial production weaker than forecast for first two months of 2016, while retail sales miss usual Lunar New Year jump Factories and retailers in China put in weaker-than-expected performances in the first two months of the year, as… Continue reading Chinese Economic Weakness
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – There’s Only One Buyer Keeping S&P 500’s Bull Market Alive Demand for U.S. shares among companies and individuals is diverging at a rate that may be without precedent, another sign of how crucial buybacks are in propping up the bull market as it enters its eighth year.… Continue reading Stock Buybacks
<Click on graphic for larger image> <Click on graphic for larger image> The Economist – Fracking companies: DUC and cover Rising oil prices will not quickly rescue the beleaguered shale industry n preparation for higher oil prices, producers from the Bakken field in North Dakota to the Permian and Eagle Ford in Texas have reported… Continue reading Oil Supply & Demand