Forget the omicron variant of COVID-19 for a moment, there’s another threat to the financial markets: A potential invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Read more here.
Monday, December 20, 2021
Forbes: Will Putin Invade Ukraine And What It Would Mean For Wall Street?
Forget the omicron variant of COVID-19 for a moment, there’s another threat to the financial markets: A potential invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Read more here.
Sunday, December 19, 2021
Forbes: A Key Economic Metric Shows Bad News For President Biden And Dems
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Almost a year into his presidency and a key economic metric shows some bad news for President Joe Biden, and by extension the Democratic Party.
While growth of the economy remains robust despite the continued COVID-19 pandemic, that’s not what voters tend to focus on when they go tot he polls. And there’s Biden’s issue, because the bulk of the problem falls on the Federal Reserve, which doesn’t look likely to fix the matter any time soon. Read more here.
Thursday, December 16, 2021
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Featured in U.S. Congressional Research Report on Markets.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Discussion of markets and price discovery regarding index funds referred to a WSJ story written in 2017. Read more of the Congressional report here.
Photo by Darren Halstead on Unsplash
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Forbes Greece: Γιατί η Κίνα θέλει να συμμετέχει στην ανασυγκρότηση του Αφγανιστάν
Η Κίνα γλυκοκοιτάζει ήδη τον τεράστιο ορυκτό πλούτο του Αφγανιστάν. Μάλιστα, το Πεκίνο "θέτει” υποψηφιότητα για την αξιοποίησή του, προβάλλοντας ως δικαιολογία ότι θέλει να βοηθήσει στην ανοικοδόμηση της διχασμένης από τον πόλεμο χώρας που κυριαρχείται κατά κύριο λόγο από τους Ταλιμπάν.
Briefings Magazine: When Bellies Talk, It’s Time to Listen
Monday, December 13, 2021
Forbes Brazil: Prepare-se! Se o Brasil sofrer outra seca nas próximas semanas, seu cappuccino pode ficar mais caro
By SIMON CONSTABLE
“Se as chuvas não ocorrerem [no Brasil], fazendo com que a florada deixe de ser abortada, o mercado de café pode ficar muito animado novamente”, afirma um relatório recente da Hackett Financial Advisors, uma empresa financeira especializada no mercado de commodities.
Read more here.
Featured Work Published in Professional Pensions
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Over a decade ago, taxpayers helped save the global financial system. Now the finance sector could repay the favour by helping save the planet, experts told attendees. Read more here.
Briefings: A New Production Cycle
If you’re making products in China that sell big in the US, the steady talk about tightening trade between the superpowers certainly can’t be great news. In fact, it’s terrible news.
CityWire: How technology helps Cadre to stay competitive in commercial real estate
Thursday, December 9, 2021
Monday, December 6, 2021
WSJ: When People Refer to ‘Fiscal Space,’ What Does It Mean?
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Investors may hear economists and market analysts using the term “fiscal space.” Those who are invested, or plan to invest, in countries with high debt levels should know what it means. Read more here.
Thursday, December 2, 2021
Time Magazine: How the Enron Scandal Changed American Business Forever
It’s the kind of historic anniversary few people really want to remember.
In early December 2001, innovative energy company Enron Corporation, a darling of Wall Street investors with $63.4 billion in assets, went bust. It was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. Some of the corporation’s executives, including the CEO and chief financial officer, went to prison for fraud and other offenses. Shareholders hit the company with a $40 billion lawsuit, and the company’s auditor, Arthur Andersen, ceased doing business after losing many of its clients.
It was also a black mark on the U.S. stock market. At the time, most investors didn’t see the prospect of massive financial fraud as a real risk when buying U.S.-listed stocks. “U.S. markets had long been the gold standard in transparency and compliance,” says Jack Ablin, founding partner at Cresset Capital and a veteran of financial markets. “That was a real one-two punch on credibility. That was a watershed for the U.S. public.” Read more here.
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
Forbes: More Bad News For China’s Sorry Real Estate Market, UBS Says
By SIMON CONSTABLE
The hits keep on coming for China’s economy.
This time the news is the country’s already beleaguered real estate sector is set for more bad news. Read more here.
Forbes: Omicron Variant Won’t Stop S&P 500 Hitting New Records, Yardeni Says
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Will the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus be like “deja vu all over again”?
Read more here.
Friday, November 26, 2021
Forbes: Whitehouse Drilling Move Could Send Gas Prices Higher
By SIMON CONSTABLE
It might be time to buy a bicycle.
The Biden Administration just made an announcement that could send gasoline prices higher and keep them elevated for longer. It’s a strange announcement that comes after efforts by the government earlier this week to try to mitigate sky high gas prices. Read more here.
Thursday, November 25, 2021
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
Barron's: 3 Reasons Why High Gas Prices Will Stick Around for a While
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Bad news for your wallet: Eye-watering pump prices for gasoline are likely here for a while.
Worse still, Tuesday’s announcement by the Biden administration to release oil from the strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) likely won’t have a prolonged effect on dampening pump prices, experts say. Read more here.
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Forbes: More Room For The Market To Rally Before Year-End
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Stocks could have more room to soar by year end.
Yes, the market has already had a good run since the October low, but there is a good chance of seeing a lot more, according to a recent report. Read more here.
Photo by Ryoji Iwata on Unsplash
Sunday, November 21, 2021
Forbes: Yet Again, COVID-19 Could Send Europe’s Economy Into A Tailspin
By SIMON CONSTABLE
The specter of COVID-19 related lockdowns have reared their ugly head again in Europe. And they could send the continental economy into a tailspin, experts say. Read more here.
Friday, November 19, 2021
Featured in MoneyWeek: Look beyond Japan’s Olympic omnishambles
By SIMON CONSTABLE
"Still, the long-term case for Japan is encouraging, says Simon Constable in The Wall Street Journal. The market was once shunned for its poor corporate governance, but reforms have forced Japan’s boardrooms to take shareholder value seriously. Schroders reports that the market’s average return on equity, a key gauge of profitability, has risen from 5% in 2013 to 6%-7% in 2019. That should spark more interest from global investors once the Olympics omnishambles has been sorted out."
Read full MoneyWeek story here.
Thursday, November 18, 2021
CityWire: Financiers should look beyond profit/loss to help save the planet
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Investors have long had a single focus: a searing eye on the bottom-line profit or loss in pounds and pence. Now, experts say change is needed in the financial sector if the world is to successfully tackle climate goals, experts told attendees at COP26. Read more here.
CityWire: How the finance industry is essential to reaching climate goals
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Over a decade ago, taxpayers helped save the global financial system. Now the finance sector could repay the favour by helping save the planet, experts told attendees. Read more here.
Featured in MoneyWeek: Investors lose faith in Brazil
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Featured in the November 5, 2021 edition of UK publication MoneyWeek.
"You would think that soaring energy, mineral and food prices would be good news for a commodity exporter such as Brazil, says Simon Constable in Barron’s."
See full MoneyWeek story here.
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
WSJ: Environment and Climate-Focused Funds Dominate ESG Investing
By SIMON CONSTABLE
For funds focused on ESG (environmental, social and governance) principles, the “E” remains king as a magnet for investors. Read more here.
Financial Analysts Journal: Boosting the Equity Momentum Factor in Credit
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Investors can double alpha in the credit markets by using simple equity momentum strategies enhanced by applying machine learning with boosted regression trees. Read more here.
Financial Analysts Journal: ESG Rating Disagreement and Stock Returns
By SIMON CONSTABLE
This study examines the extent of the disagreement by different rating agencies over ESG (environmental, social, and governance) ratings. Companies with high disagreement in their ratings face higher risk premiums but better stock returns. Read more here.
Photo by Yiorgos Ntrahas on Unsplash
Thursday, November 11, 2021
Sunday, November 7, 2021
WSJ: What Is ‘Carry’ in Investing?
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Sometimes Wall Street veterans use the term “carry” when referring to the attributes of different asset classes. But to make matters more confusing, the term also refers to a type of sophisticated trading strategy. Read more here.
Friday, November 5, 2021
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
Saturday, October 30, 2021
Forbes: Bullish News For Crypto -- CME Bitcoin Shorts Hit Extreme Level
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Extreme short bitcoin futures positioning on the CME suggests prices for the cryptocurrency could be set for a bounce. Read more here.
Photo by Aleksi Räisä on Unsplash
Forbes: China’s Demographic Problem Set To Torpedo Its Economy, Report Warns
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Forget all the other worries about China. The big problem is that the country is going to run out of its most productive workers. Read more here.
Photo by Lin Zhizhao on Unsplash
Thursday, October 28, 2021
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Forbes: European Steel Prices To Continue Falling, Bank Says
By SIMON CONSTABLE
The hits the global manufacturing economy just keep coming. Read more here.
Thursday, October 21, 2021
Monday, October 18, 2021
Forbes: What Surprise? Weeks Ago Steel Production Showed China’s Economy Was On The Rocks
By SIMON CONSTABLE
China just announced economic growth has slowed. And some analysts are saying they expected the second-largest economy to have done better.
That was a mistake. There were concrete signs that the Chinese economy was in far more trouble than many would admit last month. Read more here.
Forbes: Crypto Scores Huge Own Goal — Few Trust It, And Worse
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Crypto still has a way to go with capturing the hearts and minds of the general public.
Just 5.6% of the U.S. and UK population trust cryptocurrency as a safe investment, new research conducted by Traders of Crypto found. Almost two-in-three said, “no,” they don’t trust it as an investment, and the rest didn’t know what a cryptocurrency was. Read more here.