* Ship blocking Suez Canal is partially freed
* Biden this week will outline major infrastructure-spending proposal
* Growing list of firms warning of supply-chain bottlenecks, rising inflation
* Bond bulls question outlook for continued rise in interest rates
* Housing inflation is ramping up globally
* Investment banks take hit from hedge fund default on margin calls last week
* NYC is harbinger for US office space generally: most workers aren’t coming back
* Cold weather weighed on US consumer spending, income in February
* US Consumer Sentiment Index rises to one-year high in March
* NY Fed’s Weekly Economic Index revised to first growth reading in over a year:

Mixed performances for the global markets last week kept our proprietary strategies essentially unchanged for the week through Friday, Mar. 26. Nothing to brag about, but at least it’s better than the previous week’s sharp declines.

continue reading at The ETF Portfolio Strategist

● Capital Allocators: How the world’s elite money managers lead and invest
Ted Seides
Review via fin|news
Ted Seides wanted to pen an investment book that he would have kept on his desk as he went through his investment career.
The investor and host of the Capital Allocators podcast believes he has done just that with his second book, Capital Allocators: How the World’s Elite Money Managers Lead and Invest…
The book’s content was borne from the insights and best practices of guests appearing on Seides’ podcast, which began as a few friends talking with no particular objective in mind and has turned into an industry-acclaimed must-listen for many.
“One thing led to another, and now it’s four years later, five million downloads and 200 conversations. I wanted to take some of the best lessons and put them down on paper,” said Seides, the former president and co-cio of hedge fund-of-funds Protégé Partners who also worked under CIO David Swensen at Yale University’s investments office.

Continue reading →

In this issue:

• US REITs surged in a mixed week for global markets
• Portfolio strategy benchmarks rebounded this week

continue reading at The ETF Portfolio Strategist

Would you know an oversold or overbought market if you saw one? Wall Street is obsessed with the question. And so is every trader, and perhaps more than a few investors who otherwise think they have a long-term horizon.

Continue reading →

* Biden warns of ‘responses’ if N. Korea’s missile tests continue
* Fed’s Powell: economy recovering faster than expected
* Two prominent economists worry about inflation. The Fed disagrees
* China announces sanctions on UK re: charges of human rights abuses in Xinjiang
* Suez Canal may be blocked for weeks, disrupting global trade
* US consumer spending expected to fall in today’s report for February
* CBO overestimated rise in yields in past years. Is it right this time?
* US Q4 GDP growth revised slightly higher to 4.3%
* US jobless claims last week fell to lowest since pandemic’s start:

Holding bonds has been a mostly painful experience so far in 2021, although a few corners of fixed-income have escaped the damage, based on a set of proxy ETFs through yesterday’s close (Mar. 24).

Continue reading →

* North Korea launched missiles–second test in less than a week
* AstraZeneca reports lower efficacy rate for vaccine in updated data
* Signs to monitor to determine if the US economy is at risk of overheating
* Ship still blocking Suez Canal for third day
* Supply chain disruptions expected to worsen shortages and raise prices
* End-of-quarter rebalancing activities in focus after sharp fall in bonds
* Is BlackRock too big to fail? Treasury Secretary Yellen responds
* Fidelity Investments preparing to launch bitcoin ETF
* Cold weather reportedly takes a bite out of US durable goods orders in February
* US economic growth remains solid in March via PMI survey data:

In this issue:

• Is the rebound in emerging markets stocks fading?
• Global stocks ex-US looked ready to outperform the US, but that looks unlikely… again
• Palladium’s bull market is one of the strongest of any asset

continue reading at The ETF Portfolio Strategist

Shares in the energy patch continue post the strongest year-to-date performance for US equity sectors, based on a set of exchange traded funds through yesterday’s close (Mar. 23). The dramatic bounce from last year’s low has left the rest of the sector field in the dust in 2021. But some of the laggards are showing relative strength in recent weeks, suggesting that a leadership rotation may be brewing.

Continue reading →