Forbes: New Book Reveals The Tawdry Truth About Redlining And Other Dodgy Lending Practices

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It should be clear when it comes to money the playing field of finance has been heavily skewed against many groups, including women, African Americans, Native Americans, and even the indigent white population. Loans to given to some people with ease are frequently denied to otherwise similar folk due to prejudices of the lender.

While most Americans know that "redlining" meant residents of specific neighborhoods wouldn't get loans, there's far more to the appalling history of excluding many groups from participating in mainstream finance. That matters because while money makes the world go around (and it does) anyone treated unfairly will be disadvantaged.

Acclaimed financial historian Robert E. Wright brilliantly tackles the topic with his usual thoroughness in his new book Financial Exclusion: How Competition Can Fix a Broken System. It's published by the American Institute for Economic Research earlier this month. Read more here.

Forbes: Trump's Mexican Tariff Plan Could Make Illegal Immigration Worse

By SIMON CONSTABLE

When you try to fix something the first thing to do is make sure you don't make it worse.

But it looks like President Donald Trump hasn't read that memo with respect to his new move against Mexico. Read more here.

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Korn Ferry: A Prime Minister…or a CEO?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It’s always a weird feeling when the boss gives two-weeks notice. Employees are hoping that the new boss hired has the qualities that make for a successful leader. 

It’s even more unusual when the boss who’s quitting is the UK Prime Minister. Between now and June 7, when Theresa May steps down from the post, members of the ruling Conservative Party are tasked to determine who among an increasing number of potential successors has what it takes to be a successful leader of the country. Read more here.

Forbes: Three Things For Stock Investors To Worry About

By SIMON CONSTABLE

There's trouble brewing in corporate America, and it could hurt your stock holdings.

Here are three things you need to know:

TheStreet: How the Rain-Soaked Midwest Will Crush the Corn Crop and Send Prices Jumping

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Biblical-style flooding in the Midwest is hampering the corn planting season and sending prices for the grain to their highest level in three years. 

And the rally could go further in the autumn by as much as 20% over current levels, analysts say. Read more here.

Forbes: Will The Ghost Of Daimler Haunt Fiat Chrysler's Merger Ambitions?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Not again?

That should be the question following Monday's proposed merger between Italian-U.S. carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and France's auto manufacturer Renault, best known for its eponymous brand of vehicles. The deal would create a mega-manufacturer of light vehicles with annual sales of almost $200 billion. Read more here.

Featured in "Seeking Alpha"

While fiscal and monetary policies can extend cycles by "pulling forward"future consumption, such actions create an eventual "void" that cannot be filled. In fact, there is mounting evidence the "event horizon" may have been reached as seen through the lens of auto sales.

I recently discussed this point with my friend Simon Constable specifically. He is right. Following the financial crisis, the average age of vehicles on the road had gotten fairly extended, so a replacement cycle became more likely. This replacement cycle was accelerated when the Obama Administration launched the "cash for clunkers" program, which reduced the number of "used" vehicles for sale pushing individuals into new cars.

See full seeking alpha post here.

Forbes: A Win For Trump In The 2020 Presidential Election -- At Least That's What The Bond Market Suggests

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The bond market suggests that president Trump will win the 2020 presidential election.

Prices for corporate bonds point to a heating up of the U.S. economy early next year. And when it comes to who wins the White House, the strength of the economy always ranks high in the voting booth.

"Trump's economy will reaccelerate in 2020," says David Ranson, director of research at financial analytics firm HCWE & Co. "2019 will mislead some people into believing that Trump is on the edge." Read more here.

Photo by Michael Vadon, CC BY-SA 2.0, 

via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes: Panicked Investors Flee China Amid Trade War Worries

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Investors in China have hit the panic button in a big way.

They've pulled $5.32 billion from that country's stock market in the two weeks through May 17 as fears of a growing U.S.-China trade war sent a chill across Wall Street.  Read more here.

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Forbes: Why Now's The Time To Bet On European Stocks

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It's time to invest in European stocks.

A sophisticated analysis of the relationship between movements in the currency markets and the subsequent stock market performance shows that Sweden and the eurozone (Europe's single currency area) should outperform those in the U.S. and other major markets over the coming year. Read more here.

Featured in "OilPrice.com"

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

Apart from hopes that U.S. and China will reach a trade agreement, investor appetite for commodities is also boosted by signs of rising inflation—an environment in which commodities typically outperform other assets, The Street’s Simon Constable writes.

Read the full OilPrice.com story here.

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

Featured in "GoldSeek"

“They are snapping up the metal at the fastest rate in almost half a century in a trend that looks set to continue. Over the 12 months through March 31, they purchased a whopping 715.7 metric tons of gold bullion worth around $29.4 billion, according to a recently published report from the industry group World Gold Council.” – Simon Constable, The Street.

See full GoldSeek post here.

PHGCOM, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Featured in "Sputnik News"

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

"By most economic measures, Britain's economy is performing far better than comparable economies across the channel in mainland Europe," Simon Constable of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics wrote. "As they say on Wall Street, gridlock in government is good because it means our politicians don't do anything bad."

Read the full Sputnik story here.

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Korn Ferry: Vacations That Won’t Happen

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The American worker has a long history of being innovative and resourceful. But ask them to take a true vacation—a real break from the office—and a remarkable number continue to struggle.

On the eve of the Memorial Day weekend that launches the country’s traditional summer break, a new Korn Ferry survey suggests that while 19 out of 20 US residents are planning to take a vacation lasting at least one week long this year, the majority (71%) still check in with the office one or more times each day. And that’s just part of the sad trend: two out of three respondents said they’ve cut short a break or canceled one for work reasons. Read more here.

TheStreet: A Global Energy Crisis Looms

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The world faces a global energy crisis unless something changes fast.

Supplies of energy, such as oil and natural gas, look set to fall short of even a modest forecast of rising global demand. Read more here.

Korn Ferry: UK’s Return to Real Pay Raises

By SIMON CONSTABLE

British leaders may be divided over Brexit and which team to root for in the all-English Champions League Final, but they do seem to agree on one issue: employers should pay their workers more.

In the first quarter of the year, wages in the United Kingdom rose 3.5% versus the same period a year ago, according to data from the UK’s Office of National Statistics. It’s the best increase Britain’s workers have had since the financial crisis more than a decade ago and helps reverse a period when the real, or inflation-adjusted, rates of pay declined. Read more here.

Photo by Christopher Bill on Unsplash

TheStreet: Crude Prices to Jump as Shortage Leaves Europeans 'Scrambling' for Oil

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Get ready for a surge in Europe's benchmark oil price: Brent crude.

There's a shortage of crude in Europe, and the price of Brent futures contracts doesn't reflect that stark reality, according to a new report. 

"We expect the tightness in the physical market to impact the financial market, and see Brent rising to $75/[barrel] over the coming weeks," UBS wrote in a recent research note. "The physical market in Europe is scrambling to obtain sufficient barrels." Read more here.

Korn Ferry: The Three Fs of Innovation

By SIMON CONSTABLE

When entrepreneur Elon Musk started production of Tesla’s electric vehicles in 2004, it must have looked bizarre. There was effectively no market for such cars anywhere, with fewer than 2,000 on the road within the next year and virtually no public charging stations. That’s only slightly more than all the 1,549 747 jumbo jets that aircraft maker Boeing has ever built. But we know how this story has shaped up: within a decade, Musk’s prescience was proven, with around 1.9 million battery-powered electric vehicles of all brands on the road in 2017, along with 430,000 public chargers. Read more here.

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Barron's: Plastic’s Woes Have Made Bayer Spinoff Covestro a Very Cheap Stock

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Here’s something to add a spark to your portfolio.

German materials company Covestro (ticker: 1COV.Germany or COVTY), which makes high-tech plastics, is not only in a prime position to benefit from the need for high-performance materials in electric vehicles, but it’s also woefully undervalued. Read more here.

TheStreet: Central Banks Going Gaga Over Gold

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Central banks are going gaga over gold.

They are snapping up the metal at the fastest rate in almost half a century in a trend that looks set to continue. Read more here.

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WSJ: What is Divergence in Markets?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

When market analysts use the word “divergence,” it often isn’t clear what they mean. That’s a problem because how it is used and in what context has implications for investors. Read more here.

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Barron's: How to Use ETFs to Invest in Commodities

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Commodities are soaring this year, reminding investors of their potential to fortify a portfolio. The S&P GSCI commodity index, which follows a basket of commodity prices, including crude oil, industrial metals, precious metals, and foodstuffs, gained 15% in the first quarter, versus 13.1% for the S&P 500 index.

If you’re looking to increase your exposure to the asset class, consider doing so through exchange-traded funds instead of playing the futures market—or by purchasing physical bars of bullion. ETFs are simple, and they can help reduce overall risks and add to returns. Read more here.

Darden: Crowded Out? Government Spending and the Private Sector

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Does government spending pull resources away from the private sector?

It’s a question that has long vexed economists. 

One widely held theory, the crowding-out effect, asserts that yes, government spending eats up resources that otherwise would be available for businesses.

However, new research shows that crowding out doesn’t necessarily happen, as long as the economy isn’t running at full capacity, producing to its full potential. Read more here.

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Darden: Bad Medicine? The Side Effects of Central Bank Mispricing

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Big medical problems often require significant doses of strong pharmaceuticals. Unfortunately, the medicines often come hand-in-glove with unwanted side effects.

The same is true in economics. Read more here.

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Korn Ferry: HR Is (Still) Battling #MeToo Challenges

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The MeToo era may have laid bare how many organizations have a long way to go to create a harassment-free workforce, but the last few days has shown where some of the toughest challenges lie: the human resources department. Read more here.

Photo by Mihai Surdu on Unsplash

TheStreet: Defense Company L3 Technologies Smashes Expectations With Q1 Results

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Defense company L3 Technologies smashed analysts' expectations with its first-quarter results Wednesday.

L3 reported earnings of $2.71 a share in the first quarter. Earnings adjusted for non-recurring items were even better at $2.89 a share, up from an adjusted $2.34 a share in the same period a year before. 

Analysts expected the company to earn $2.51 a share. Read more here.

TheStreet: Amgen's First-Quarter Earnings Slump as Expenses Jump

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Amgen posted first-quarter earnings that fell from a year earlier but the results beat analysts' expectations. 

The biotech company reported earnings per share of $3.18 for the first three months of the year vs. $3.25 for the same period in 2018. Adjusted earnings in the quarter were $3.56 a share, above forecasts of $3.48. Read more here.

TheStreet: Massachusetts Hits Wynn Resorts With $35 Million Fine

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission hit Wynn Resorts with a $35 million fine and slammed CEO Matt Maddox over his mishandling of the sexual misconduct allegations against founder Steve Wynn.

The casino company, however, will get to keep its gaming license in the state. Read more here.

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