Thursday, August 31, 2017

P.J. Media: Here's Why a Storm Surge in Gas Prices Should Settle Down Soon

By SIMON CONSTABLE
Ugh!
As if a humongous hurricane battering the Gulf Coast wasn’t enough of a problem, now gas prices are surging to their highest level in two years.
But don’t listen to the scaremongers. Sticker shock at the pump is most likely a temporary phenomenon. Unlike the storm itself, and the associated devastation, in a year you won't remember the surge in gas prices. Read more here.

U.S. News: Why You Should Consider Frontier Markets

By SIMON CONSTABLE
If you've never heard of frontier markets, then get ready. You are likely to do so a lot more over the coming years.
In the meantime, there is potential for savvy investors to profit. Read more here.

FS Insider: Economic Indicators Interview


By SIMON CONSTABLE

 

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

M.E.E.: Saudi economic future looks bleak amid falling oil prices

By SIMON CONSTABLE
Oil-rich Saudi Arabia faces a sticky problem.
Its economy is barely growing. Its government is spending way more than it receives. And its economic reforms, which would move the country away from reliance on oil, are operating at a snail’s pace.
If something doesn’t give, then the government may need to hold “a fire sale”. At least, that’s what one financial firm warns. Read more here.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

P.J. Media: Waiting Longer for an Ambulance When Seconds Count? Blame Obamacare

By SIMON CONSTABLE

If you’re waiting for the administration to replace the Affordable Care Act, you should pray that you won’t need an ambulance.
If you do call the 911 emergency services, then you’ll be waiting longer than you would have before President Obama’s signature healthcare reform was implemented. Read more here.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

U.S. News: 3 Do's, 3 Don'ts for Boosting Your Portfolio Returns

By SIMON CONSTABLE
Everyone wants their investments to grow faster, but the real question is how to do it.
There are legions of Wall Street professionals who struggle to beat the major indexes. So, how will the rest of us manage?
"It's all about the things that you can control," says Bob Stammers, director of investor engagement at the CFA Institute in New York. "A lot of people focus on the next new investing trend, or the next great fund." Read more here.

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Forbes: Still Sick -- Even Massive ObamaCare Subsidies Won't Help Low Income Adults

By SIMON CONSTABLE

ObamaCare ain't dead yet, but it's still suffering a congenital defect.
The problem?
It is doomed to fail some of the exact people whom it was aimed at helping, namely the poor.Read more here.

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

PJ: Panicking About North Korea's Nukes? The Stock Market Isn't

By SIMON CONSTABLE


No, the world isn’t heading into a nuclear war, at least not anytime soon.
That’s not PJ Media saying so. It’s not me, either.
It’s the stock market.
Read more here.

Monday, August 14, 2017

Forbes: How Esports Will Win The Future And So Will Activision

By SIMON CONSTABLE

When an investing firm which boasts about how few investments it makes, says it's excited about a company, then it's time to listen.
The operation in question is London-based J. Stern & Co., which describes itself as a private investment office -- somewhere between a family office and an investment manager. 
“We are very long term investors and since inception of the core portfolio in October 2012, we have traded only two or three companies a year,” says Chris Rossbach, chief investment officer at J. Stern. Read more here.
Photo by Alex Haney on Unsplash

U.S. News: The Outlook for Stocks for the Rest of 2017​

By SIMON CONSTABLE
Will stocks continue rallying for the remainder of the year? As with many things, the late baseball genius Yogi Berra summed it up well: "It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future."
Anyone who has tried to forecast the stock market knows that investing is no exception: It often makes fools of otherwise smart people. Read more here.

Friday, August 11, 2017

Forbes: Britain's Chicken and Egg Problem

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Britain has a chicken and egg problem, this time with its food supply.
Unlike the classic riddle involving the two items, we know which issue came first. Read more here.

Forbes: Corporate Pension Funding Gap To Hit Record This Year

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Ouch!

Just when you thought things were getting better, up pops another problem.
This time it's the pensions provided by the biggest U.S. companies. The level of underfunding at these plans is set to reach a record this year, according to the author of a recent report. Read more here.

Photo by Andre Taissin on Unsplash

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Street Fight: How an Italian Wafer Brand Targets U.S. Moms and Millennial Foodies on a Local Level

By SIMON CONSTABLE
Unless you grew up in a household of recent immigrants you may never have heard of Loackerwafers — but Crystal Black Davis, the VP of marketing and deputy to the president at Loacker USA, would like that to soon change. Read more here.


Monday, August 7, 2017

Forbes: Why God Would Get Fired On Wall Street

By SIMON CONSTABLE
In a recently published book, Wesley Gray, founder of Alpha Architect, poses an important question:
If God is omnipotent, could he create a long-term active investment strategy fund that was so good he could never get fired?
The stunning answer is that "God would get fired," he writes. Gray's emphasis.
He then goes on to explain why this would be so, even though God-like "perfect foresight has great returns." The reason that God would lose his job is that although the exceptional vision of the future would lead to great investing results the short-term journey to huge returns often leads to massive (temporary) losses. It's the sort of thing that gets you fired. Just like the rest of the business world, Wall Street preaches long term results but so often measures performance using short term metrics.
His analysis is detailed and clear. He's also is at pains to mention he means no offense by referring to God.
Gray's story is just one of the topics covered in a new book of essays on finance edited by veteran Wall Street investor Meb Faber. Published late July, The Best Investment Writing: Selected writing from leading investors and authors includes pieces by a host of people many of whom I know, have spoken to, or have met. Read more here.


WSJ: What to Consider Before You Buy an Emerging-Markets Fund

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Investors are flocking back to emerging markets, after dumping billions of dollars of emerging-markets securities and funds late last year.
For those who are thinking of following suit by putting their money to work in emerging markets, here are some important considerations. Read more here.

WSJ: What Is Risk Parity?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

An investment strategy known as risk parity has drawn attention lately because of the lack of volatility in the stock market and what might happen when volatility reappears.
“A risk-parity portfolio tries to derive equal risk from all the asset classes it’s involved with,” says Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank in Chicago. Read more here.

WSJ: Pakistan Status Grows In Indexes

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Pakistan has gotten a leg up from the indexing world and could get more attention from investors because of it.

In May, index provider MSCI Inc. decided to give Pakistan emerging-market status and added it to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. MSCI had previously classified the country as a frontier market. Read more here.

Pakistan's Flag
Photo by Abuzar Xheikh on Unsplash


Tuesday, August 1, 2017

U.S. News: Defense Stocks Are Booming and Won't Slow Down

By SIMON CONSTABLE
Is it time to bail on defense stocks, or is there more upside to come?

The sector, which includes giant companies such as Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT), Raytheon Co. (ticker: RTN), and United Technologies Corp. (UTX), is on an impressive run, beating the broader market index by a factor of nearly 2-to-1 over the past 24 months. Read more here.