Prices continued to rise last week in most markets around the world, based on a set of ETFs representing the major asset classes. Leading the winners during the five trading days through Feb. 3: emerging-market bonds. The only losers last week: inflation-indexed US Treasuries and broadly defined commodities.
Continue reading
Book Bits | 4 February 2017
● Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street
By Sheelah Kolhatkar
Review via Bloomberg BusinessWeek
Steve Cohen had a target on his back. The government was determined to prove that the hedge fund manager, known on Wall Street for eye-popping annual returns of 30 percent, made some of his billions trading on inside information. Sheelah Kolhatkar, a staff writer at the New Yorker (and a former correspondent for this magazine), has written a fast-paced tale of how the feds worked for almost a decade to build a case against him, and why they couldn’t indict him, in Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street
Continue reading
January Employment Rises Sharply
Private-sector employment rebounded in January, beating expectations by a wide margin, according to this morning’s release from the US Labor Department. US companies added 237,000 workers last month, the strongest monthly increase since last July and well above December’s modest gain of 165,000.
Continue reading
Financial Stocks Take The Lead As Energy Stumbles
The recent decline for the formerly high-flying energy patch has left financial stocks in the lead among US equity sectors for one-year total return, based on a set of proxy ETFs.
Continue reading
Risk Premia Forecasts: Major Asset Classes | 2 February 2017
The projected risk premium for the Global Market Index (GMI) was unchanged for a second month in a row in January, holding steady at the highest level in over two years. GMI, an unmanaged market-value weighted mix of the major asset classes, is currently projected to earn an annualized 4.3% over the long term – matching the two previous estimates (here and here).
Continue reading
ADP: US Employment Growth Rebounded Sharply In January
Is the labor market re-accelerating? It’s easier to make that case after reading today’s January update of the ADP Employment Report.
Continue reading
Major Asset Classes | January 2017 | Performance Review
Most markets around the world continued to rise in 2017’s opening month, building on last year’s broadly positive close. Leading the way higher in January: emerging-market stocks (MSCI EM), with foreign high-yield bonds in second place (Markit Global ex-US High Yield). Last month’s bottom performer: US real estate investment trusts via MSCI US REIT, which is unchanged so far this year.
Continue reading
Consumer Spending Is Economy’s Bright Spot
The trend in consumer spending posted an encouraging profile during the last full month of the Obama adminstration’s tenure, prompting some analysts to reaffirm the case for another round of raising interest rates.
Continue reading
Most Markets Posted Gains Last Week
Global markets were mostly higher last week, led by stocks in emerging markets and the US, based on a set of exchange-traded products representing the major asset classes. The losses were relatively contained, with US real estate investment trusts (REITs) taking the biggest hit.
Continue reading
Book Bits | 28 January 2017
● A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market
By Edward O. Thorp
Summary via publisher (Random House)
The incredible true story of the card-counting mathematics professor who taught the world how to beat the dealer and, as the first of the great quantitative investors, ushered in a revolution on Wall Street. A child of the Great Depression, legendary mathematician Edward O. Thorp invented card counting, proving the seemingly impossible: that you could beat the dealer at the blackjack table. As a result he launched a gambling renaissance. His remarkable success—and mathematically unassailable method—caused such an uproar that casinos altered the rules of the game to thwart him and the legions he inspired.
Continue reading
