Bloomberg – What Stock Investors Need to Know, and Why What Stock Investors Need to Know, and Why With attractive returns such as haven’t been seen for quite a few years, investors in global stock markets have had a very good first half of 2017. Record levels for several widely-followed country indexes occurred in the context… Continue reading Can the Boredom Continue? Review of YTD Returns
Financial Times – US oil rig count drops for first time since January The number of rigs drilling for oil in the US has clocked its first weekly decline since January, a reversal which if sustained could start to put the brakes on rapid growth in American crude output. Baker Hughes, the oil field services… Continue reading Rig Count Finally Drops
Barron’s – RANDALL W. FORSYTH: Yellen’s Famous Last Words: No More Crises The Federal Reserve Chair predicts no more financial meltdowns will occur in her lifetime. Why we should probably be skeptical. In a true triumph of hope over experience, the world’s pre-eminent central banker last week predicted no more financial crises in her lifetime.… Continue reading Yellen Sees No More Crises In Our Lifetimes
The Wall Street Journal – Andy Kessler: For Whom the Bell Tolls, Sell Is this a bull market or a mania? You never know for sure, except in retrospect. So are we facing a raging bull market or a mania? Sadly, you’ll only know in retrospect. I’m not saying it’s a top today, though if… Continue reading Bull Market vs. Bubble, Andy Kessler Explains
MoneyBeat (WSJ Blog) – Banks Unleash Record Stock Buyback Plans Positive stress-test results for U.S. banks this week triggered the largest wave of share buyback announcements on record. U.S. banks disclosed plans for $92.8 billion in corporate repurchases on Wednesday, accounting for nearly all of the $93.1 billion that represented an all-time high, according to Jeffrey Yale… Continue reading Stock Buybacks Hit Another Record As Banks Get OK To Buy
The Financial Times – Be ready as dispersion ousts correlation as key for investors Keeping global monetary policy so loose for years was a necessary response to the global financial crisis. While such policies helped stabilise financial markets and economies, they have also made many investors too complacent. As central banks prepare to retreat from… Continue reading Could The Art Of Stock Picking Return As Fed Exits Markets?
Bloomberg Markets – Volatility Might Be Awakening From a Coma, But It’s Still Groggy Volatility is picking up again in markets after a prolonged period in the doldrums. The S&P 500 Index tumbled the most in six weeks on Thursday and Treasuries are heading for their worst four-day slump since March. Investors responded with a rush… Continue reading Where’s The Volatility?
The Financial Times – Central banks turn a blind eye to lowflation When inflation surprised on the downside after the oil price collapse in 2014, the major central banks eventually responded by aggressively adding to monetary stimulus (in the case of the ECB), or by postponing the intended tightening (the Fed). This time, the central… Continue reading Central Banks Continue To Ignore Subdued Inflation
Telegraph – Trump’s policy struggle means US should not expect growth boost, says S&P “It seems that he’s no closer to fulfilling his campaign promises than the day he took the helm of the world’s biggest economy,” said Beth Ann Bovino, US chief economist at Standard and Poor’s. “And markets have begun to reflect this view,… Continue reading S&P Doubts Trump’s Campaign Promises For The Economy
Barron’s – Beyond Bitcoin: How Blockchain Is Changing Banking The digital currency has taken off this year, nearly tripling in price. BITCOIN IS MORE THAN CASH you can trade over the internet. Unlike traditional currencies, the supply of which is controlled by central banks, new Bitcoins are mined about every 10 minutes by a global network… Continue reading Bitcoin Interest Reaches A New Peak With Barron’s Cover Story
The Wall Street Journal – Weak Inflation Continues to Hold Down Bond Yields Expectations of a fiscal stimulus have faded, boosting demand for Treasurys and driving down yields U.S. government-bond yields startled many investors in the year’s first half by falling, yanking the rug out from under expectations that a recovery in inflation would drain cash… Continue reading The Wall Street Journal and New York Times Have Opposite Views On The Bond Market
The Financial Times – Bond sell-off fails to derail Fed unwinding plans for QE US central bank appears unshaken by market turbulence and soft inflation readings A sustained run of weak US inflation readings has yet to derail the Federal Reserve’s plans to start unwinding quantitative easing as soon as September. The sensitivity of efforts to… Continue reading The Spike In Rates In Not Deterring The Fed From Unwinding Their Balance Sheet