Not Your Grandfather’s Rate Hike With the Fed funds rate set to rise for the first time after years of extraordinary and unprecedented monetary policy, we believe that market psychology will make for a difficult investing environment. This anxiety is compounded by the fact that these rate rises will not be, Read more…
Herded Into Disaster: Yield Chasing, Liquidity, and ETFs In 2002, addressing Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman on his 90th birthday, former Fed chair Ben Bernanke acknowledged the role of the Federal Reserve in worsening the financial crisis of the Great Depression rather than helping it. He said, “You’re right, we Read more…
“Winner Take All” in E-commerce… and Who’s Protected On June 11, the European Union opened a probe of e-book pricing by Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), continuing the rumbles that have surrounded allegedly anti-competitive practices by the online giant. Last year, AMZN and publisher Hachette squared off over similar issues, with prominent Read more…
Chinese Market Swoon Puts the Western Press in Panic Mode The western press has been full of news about China’s 30 percent market fall and the Chinese government’s strong reaction to firm up share prices. China has seen several has 30 percent market declines before the current one. Some of Read more…
Bond Liquidity Risks As we noted last week, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published its annual report, in which it had some harsh words for the world’s financial authorities. Unless they start to normalize their policies, the BIS said, they may cause distortions in global financial markets that will Read more…
Volatility Flash Points May Give Buying Opportunities Greece Greece is a country of about 11 million people and not really that significant in terms of its economic activity. Yet the shenanigans of the Greek politicians, the chronic tax avoidance by many Greek citizens, and the country’s habitual fiscal irresponsibility have Read more…
Overview of Europe — Good News? The slow-moving train wreck that is Greece is moving along with new developments. The Greek banking system is experiencing a run, and accordingly the European Central Bank (ECB) is continuing to throw them a lifeline of emergency liquidity. Eurozone bankers are trying to keep Read more…
Investment Summary World economic optimism is rising, and as a result, demand for government bonds is receding. Inflation is starting to be felt in some Asian countries, especially India. We note that new jobs and higher wages are a trend in the U.S., and we expect this trend to gain Read more…
Why We Believe that U.S. Long-term Interest Rates May Rise this Year The Federal Reserve is likely to raise interest rates in September. However, whether it does or not, longer-term rates will rise over the next few months. The Fed does not have control over long-term rates; they have only Read more…
Notable Trends in Global Markets Let’s look around the world at a few big trends. Trend number 1: inflation is coming back in the U.S. and in some countries where the currencies are falling — and this means interest rates, if not rising worldwide, will rise in the U.S. and Read more…
12400 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 820 Los Angeles, CA 90025
1 310 826-8600
Mon-Fri 6:30-4:30
