Farewell, Mr Volcker

Paul Volcker, the venerable former chairman of the Federal Reserve, is credited with slaying the dragon of 70s stagflation during his tenure as U.S. central bank chief.  Long afterwards, he was still pushing for sound monetary policy and financial regulations through his think-tank, the Volcker Alliance.  He died Sunday at Read more…

January 19, 2017

The Markets In 2017:  Inflation, Stocks, Bonds, and Gold   Despite headlines declaring that the post-election rally is running out of steam as we head towards Inauguration Day, we continue to be optimistic about the prospects for the U.S. stock market for over the next several months.  Later in the Read more…

October 27, 2016

Market Summary The key to global stock markets is the U.S. dollar and U.S. interest rates.  We have all seen U.S. interest rates rise, and that is potentially difficult for developed and emerging markets.  Developed markets will be impacted as yield instruments become more competitive compared to stocks.  Emerging markets Read more…

June 08, 2015

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…

April 07, 2015

Don’t Fight The Central Banks European QE is ongoing, and we believe it will have the same effect in Europe that it did in the U.S. — boosting stock prices. We think that dividend-paying exporters will do particularly well. Europe is not the only place where easing is still ongoing. Read more…

February 2, 2015

Executive Summary 1. Low inflation in the crosshairs of global central banks. From rate cuts in India, Canada, Singapore, and Peru, to the initiation of a large sovereign-bond purchase program in Europe, governments and central banks around the world are stepping up their fight against the anemic inflation — or Read more…