Forbes: Blame The Banks For Low Productivity Growth

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Economists have long wondered why productivity growth slowed over the past few decades. But now there could be an answer.

The banks did it, at least according to the conclusion of a recent study from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

What's more, the authors have a stark warning about the reliance on finance for economic growth. Read more here.

Forbes: Will Venezuela Get The Government It Needs?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Earlier in September the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, joined a group of people on the street who were protesting the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro.

“We need your voices to be loud, and I will tell you going to tell you the United States voice is going to be very loud,” Haley said.

Her words raise the chances that Venezuela's rotten regime may bite the dust, which has the potential to be great for the downtrodden people of that country and also for investors. Read more here.

Nicolas Maduro

Photo by Eneas De Troya,

CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>,

via Wikimedia Commons

Barron's: The Euro Is Due for a Rebound

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The euro looks set to bounce.

The rebound will come once investors perceive that the European Central Bank is becoming more assertive in managing the common currency area’s monetary policy.

“It’s not yet priced into the financial markets,” says Axel Merk, founder and chief investment officer of money management firm Merk Investments. Read more here.

Forbes: Jeremy Corbyn A Bigger Threat To London Than Brexit

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Move over Brexit, the biggest threat to London's status as Europe's leading financial center is now Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain's increasingly left-leaning Labour Party. Read more here.

Jeremy Corbyn

Photo by David Martyn Hunt from Warwick, UK,

 CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, 

via Wikimedia Commons

Korn Ferry: The United Nations’ Entourage

They descend each fall into New York City, ambassadors and consuls attending the annual United Nations General Assembly. And as they give speeches and make headlines, each dignitary comes along with a retinue of diplomats, helpers, and hangers-on—a little noticed but key entourage. Read more here.

Forbes: Why The Mid-term Elections Means Stocks Will Surge

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Smart investors should consider buying stocks now.

The reason is that the market usually does far better in the fourth quarter (October through December) in years when there is a midterm election than when there is not one, new research shows.  Read more here.

Barron's: Turkish Stocks Might Be Ready for A Bounce -- If You Hurry

By SIMON CONSTABLE

There’s potential for some trading profits in Turkey.

 

So far this year Turkey’s stocks and currency have taken a hammering. But the recent stabilization of the Turkish lira may be paving the way for a bounce in stocks. “We think that the lira has fallen so much that it has gone from overvalued to undervalued and now is cheap from a fundamental perspective,” says Sergi Lanau, deputy chief economist at the Washington D.C.-based Institute of International Finance. 

Read more here.

Photo by Meg Jerrard on Unsplash

Korn Ferry: Do We Really Need To Meet Again?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It sounds like something out of a Dilbert cartoon—having a meeting about a meeting—but it happens more often than many leaders want to admit, and this week it’s happening at the highest echelons of government.

Starting Wednesday, leaders in the European Union will be meeting in Austria to decide whether they should have another confab in mid-November. Blame the negotiations over Brexit, Britain’s exit from the EU bloc, for the sudden proliferation of such gatherings. This week’s effort will be an additional meeting to the already scheduled regular one for mid-October. The October date is considered too soon to expect any progress in the wrangling over how the EU and United Kingdom will interact with each other after the split. Read more here.

Korn Ferry: Beyond Theresa May

The talk is gettering louder—months after questions about Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May’s tenure first made news. Now, the opposition Labour Party claims it could come into power by year-end, forcing even skeptical UK executives to consider what that might mean to their business—particularly the HR side of it. Read more here.

Barron's: ObsEva -- A Small Biotech With a Promising Pipeline

By SIMON CONSTABLE

A small Swiss biotech company focused on women’s reproductive health has three promising treatments reaching key development stages in the next few months that could pay off for investors. Read more here.

Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

John Batchelor Show: Aramco IPO fail, Venezuela's petro fail, Turkey lira fail, Brexit unknown

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Forbes: Central Banks On Gold Buying Spree Over Dollar Worries

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The world's central banks are on a gold buying spree that has lasted more than a decade. That's the longest period of consistent gold acquisition by the so-called official sector in more than half a century.

But this time the motivations of the buyers are different than they were back in the 1950s, and they are worrying. That's why investors should take note, including anyone who owns the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) exchange-traded fund, which holds bars of solid bullion.

In the distant past, central banks had to buy gold because of its vital role in the global financial system. Now they are choosing to do so because they are worried about the dollar. In other words, they've been scared into this bullion buying binge. Read more here.

Gold Bars

Photo by Roger Attington on Unsplash

WSJ: What Is Market Breadth?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Some stock-market strategists are increasingly concerned about something called “market breadth,” or rather the current lack of it. But what does it mean, and why should you care?

Market breadth is a measure of how many stocks are moving the major indexes. It can serve as one indicator of how much staying power a rally is likely to have. Read more here.

Photo by Mark Finn on Unsplash

Korn Ferry: Coke’s New Caffeine Lift

Almost from its creation over a century ago, Coca-Cola has been synonymous around the world with fizzy, caffeinated soft drinks. But now the company’s leaders want to the company to branch out into a considerably different type of caffeine charge. Read more here.

Briefings: Lessons on Borrowing...$200 million at a Time

By SIMON CONSTABLE

There I was, saying it in all seriousness: “Hey, fella! Can you spare $200 million?” The reply was nonchalant: “Let’s see what we get.” A few hours later, back came $220 million in the electronic equivalent of cold hard cash. The next day, a similar discourse. “How about another $200 million?” “We’ll find out soon enough,” was the response. The result: $195 million to add to the $220 million. Read more here.

BBC TV: No, Globalization Isn't Over