The Wall Street Journal – Inexpensive Stocks Take Lead in Rally Investors are homing in on shares seen as bargains, a shift that bulls say could keep this year’s epic stock rally going in 2014. Leading the S&P 500 this year are stocks with characteristics that broadly place them in the “inexpensive” category: those with… Continue reading Equity Valuations
Barrons – Betting on the House It’s no secret that U.S. home prices have enjoyed a healthy rebound in 2013 after the nightmarish 33% drop over the previous five years that triggered an orgy of mortgage defaults and wealth destruction. These days, monthly home-price reports regularly show double-digit percentage jumps over the year-earlier period, whether… Continue reading Home Prices
The New York Times – Academics Who Defend Wall St. Reap Reward As energy companies and traders have reaped fortunes by buying and selling oil and other commodities during the recent boom in the commodity markets, Mr. Pirrong has positioned himself as the hard-nosed defender of financial speculators — the combative, occasionally acerbic academic authority… Continue reading Defending Speculators…For A Price
MoneyBeat (WSJ Blog) – This Bull Market Is Par for the Course The U.S. stock market’s relentless march to all-time highs has grabbed plenty of headlines this year. Yet it looks unremarkable by historic metrics. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has set 50 record closing highs, while the S&P 500 is up 29%, on track… Continue reading Comparing Bull Markets
The Wall Street Journal – Rising Rates Favor Shorter Junk Bonds Sales of long-term “junk” bonds are lagging and prices are down, the latest sign that investors are flocking to shorter-term securities that are less vulnerable to rising interest rates. Companies have issued $361 billion of low-rated bonds in the U.S. this year, a record… Continue reading Junk Bonds
The Financial Times – Wolfgang Munchau: Don’t fret about soaring asset prices – this time is different Back in 2006 and 2007, commentators (including this one) warned about the rise in stock prices, housing credit and other forms of risky lending in several advanced economies. House prices are rising again. Stock indices have broken records.… Continue reading This Time Is Different
Bloomberg.com – Abenomics Drives Japan Hedge Funds to World’s Top Performers Japanese hedge funds are heading for record returns this year as investors bet that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s policies will succeed in reviving the world’s third-largest economy. Stratton Street Capital LLP’s warrant fund returned more than 300 percent, while the Hayate Japan Equity Long-Short… Continue reading Japanese Hedge Funds Take Advantage Of Abenomics
The Financial Times – Fed getting it wrong tops list of investor concerns Even if markets ended the year in bullish mood, however, there is plenty that could go wrong in 2014. The share rally is based on expected, not actual, profits growth, but economic prospects remain fragile – especially in stressed European regions. The… Continue reading Concerns Heading Into 2014
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The Wall Street Journal – Stock Rally Fails to Spur Big Inflows Into Mutual Funds Individual investors keep tiptoeing back into the U.S. stock market. And that might be a problem. According to data provider Lipper, investors put $5.6 billion into U.S. stock mutual funds in the week ended Wednesday. The move puts total inflows… Continue reading Mutual Fund Flows
The Wall Street Journal – With Rising Rates, Corp Debt May Hit a ‘Maturity Wall’ Thanks to the Federal Reserve’s policy of keeping interest rates pinned to the floor while it buys $85 billion of bonds a month, corporate debt issuers have never had it so easy. Debt issuance, in fact, had already set a… Continue reading The Return Of The Debt Cliff
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Treasury 10-Year Note Yields Reach Highest Level Since September Treasury 10-year note yields touched the highest in more than three months after initial jobless-benefit claims fell more than forecast as the Federal Reserve prepares to cut back on its monthly bond-buying. The extra yield investors can get… Continue reading 10-Year Hits 3%