The Economist – Beware of the bias IF THERE is an article of faith among investors, it is that equities are the best investment over the long run, far better than government bonds. But research from Elroy Dimson, Paul Marsh and Mike Staunton of the London Business School into returns since 1900, published this week… Continue reading Stocks For The Long Run?
The Wall Street Journal – Is Bull Sprint Becoming a Marathon? As U.S. stocks flirt with record highs, some investors are wondering if the long-term bear market that has bogged down returns for 13 years is in the rearview mirror. Despite a four-year run that propelled stocks from their March 2009 lows, the Standard &… Continue reading Bulls vs. Bears
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Yes, Virginia, There Was Growth in Fourth Quarter The U.S. economy didn’t shrink slightly at the end of last year like we thought. It — hold the presses — grew slightly. The Commerce Department said Friday in its latest report on the nation’s trade balance that the deficit narrowed… Continue reading Negative Q4 GDP Likely To Be Revised Away
The Financial Times – Lawrence Summers: US must do more than focus on deficit A weak economy and limited job creation make growth in middle class incomes all but impossible, pressure budgets by restricting tax revenues, and threaten essential private and public investments in education and innovation. Worse, it undermines the American example at a… Continue reading Fixing The Economy
The Wall Street Journal – Two Firms, One Trail In Probes Of Ratings The Justice Department last week went after Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services—not rival Moody’s Investors Service —with a $5 billion fraud lawsuit. Some former Moody’s employees think they know why. The Moody’s Corp. unit took careful steps to avoid creating a trove… Continue reading One Theory On How Moody’s Avoided Lawsuit
The Wall Street Journal – Companies Fret Over Uncertain Outlook Sensing better times ahead, investors have pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average up this year near its record high. But a different mood is pervading U.S. companies, where executives are less optimistic about the global economy and their own prospects, and many are lowering financial… Continue reading Uncertainty Holding Companies Back
Crain’s Chicago Business – Will Illinois flunk its next bond test? A $500 million state bond issue that was postponed indefinitely just hours before it was scheduled for auction on Jan. 30 was more than just a victim of a volatile bond market and bad timing. It was the first test of Illinois’ ability to… Continue reading Munis About To Test The Waters
The New York Times – Floyd Norris: By Gender and by Age, an Unequal Recovery SINCE the job market in the United States hit bottom more than three years ago, men have benefited from the recovery far more than woman have, with middle-aged women doing particularly poorly. From December 2009 through last month, the economy… Continue reading The Recovery By Demographic
MSN Money – As market rises, insiders bail Corporate types — who presumably have information that other investors don’t — are selling more than 9 shares for every 1 they buy. Should you be worried? Corporate insiders are aggressively selling their shares. This is worrisome because corporate insiders — officers, directors and the largest shareholders… Continue reading Insiders Sell
CNBC – Short US Government Bonds ‘Right Now’: Jim Rogers All that money printing has Rogers bearish on U.S. Treasury debt. He said he’s shorting government bonds and that if it’s indeed the end of the 30-year bond bull market, those shorts will pay off. In particularly he said it’s time to short long-dated U.S.… Continue reading Jim Rogers Is Also Short Treasuries
The Wall Street Journal – Fed’s Stein Sees Risks for Credit Markets A Federal Reserve official pointed to signs of overheating in some corners of the credit markets and raised uncomfortable questions for the central bank about how to address the trend if it continues. Federal Reserve Board Governor Jeremy Stein said there isn’t an… Continue reading Credit Market Risk