Thursday, February 24, 2022

Time Magazine: Why Sanctions on Russia Won’t Work

By SIMON CONSTABLE

As the U.S. and Europe roll out an arsenal of economic sanctions to combat Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there is scant understanding that the financial interdependence of the crisis’s significant players means quick and easy solutions are unlikely to work. Worse still, imposing sanctions on Russia’s elite will do little if anything to bring order to what has fast-become chaotic. Read more here.


Russian Soldier
Vitaly V. KuzminCC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CBS Eye on the World with John Batchelor: #Ukraine: Storms over Europe @RealConstable

By SIMON CONSTABLE 


Listen here.

Murray FoubisterCC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons


Korn Ferry: The Ukraine Crisis Hits Home -- Wherever Home is

Five key ways the tension in Eastern Europe will impact leaders and their organizations, everywhere. Read more here.

Russian Tank
User:JnoCC BY-SA 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons




U.S. VP Kamala Harris And Her Weird Speeches to World Leaders

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

A friend sent me a link to this video of U.S. VP Kamala Harris. Draw your own conclusions about her style of presentation to world leaders. I can safely say I was not impressed 

U.S. VP Kamala Harris
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons



Monday, February 21, 2022

Government obstructs man committing an act of journalism

By SIMON CONSTABLE

This video is particularly telling and instructive about how journalists approach stories. They do so with skepticism. They ask for proof, which may come in the form of official documents. They don't just take the government's word for it.

All of us remember only too well the weapons of mass destruction mess two decades ago. It was used as a pretax to start a costly war in the middle east.

 



 

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Briefings: An Unexpected Twist in the Green Movement

By SIMON CONSTABLE

What a difference a year makes when it comes to environmental matters. Late last year, the great and the good descended on Glasgow, Scotland, for the COP26 climate summit. It was no small affair. Dignitaries weighing in included the UK’s Prince Charles, US President Joe Biden, Greta Thunberg, former Secretary of State John Kerry, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Even Pope Francis proffered his views from the Vatican. Read more here.

Solar Panels
Photo by Anders J on Unsplash

Thursday, February 10, 2022

Barron's: British Stock Market Is Beating the U.S. How to Catch the Momentum

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Over the past three months, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both took a beating. Not so the FTSE 100, which tracks the United Kingdom’s largest publicly traded companies.

It was a good place to invest when the U.S. markets were not. Even better, the U.K.’s outperformance could continue for a while. Read more here.

Photo by A Perry on Unsplash


CBS Eye on the World with John Batchelor: Fifty years after Crazy Eddie's 1970s troubled New York City

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Listen here.

United States Marshals Service, 
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons



Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Forbes: The Wall Street Revolution that Failed

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

This story screams “David versus Goliath,” only not in the holy land thousands of years ago, but rather on Wall Street recently and with a twist. Read more here.





Citywire: What effect will rising interest rates have on commercial real estate investments?

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

While recent fears of rising interest rates sent securities prices tumbling in May, that shouldn't be a problem for direct investors in commercial real estate, experts say. Read more here.

Photo by Viktor Jakovlev on Unsplash

Monday, February 7, 2022

WSJ: Financial Flashback "Crazy Eddie"

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Available exclusively in print, a look back at a saga that ended 25 years ago.




Friday, February 4, 2022

Capital Group: How some RIAs prepare clients for market downturns

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

When the stock market goes into a tailspin, individual investors often get jittery and some choose to bail on stocks. But veteran RIAs know that such client behavior is counterproductive, as it usually ends up having a negative impact on investment returns.
 
Market drawdowns are not uncommon, as demonstrated at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Between February 19 and March 23, the S&P 500 Index, which tracks the price of the largest U.S. listed public companies, fell by 33.9%, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis database. The market bounced back within a few months after the crash. Read more here.

Photo by Vinicius Marques on Unsplash

Wednesday, February 2, 2022

WABC Radio with Frank Morano: Discussing the Folly of Crypto Investing

By SIMON CONSTABLE

About half way through the February 2, 2022 broadcast Frank and I discuss crypto.




Listen here.




Photo by Aleksi Räisä on Unsplash

Monday, January 31, 2022

Forbes: "Challenging Year" Ahead For Wall Street Investors - CFRA

By SIMON CONSTABLE

One month into 2022 and Wall Street losses mount. Worse still, the remaining 11 months of the year likely won’t be pretty for Wall Street investors.

Through Friday the SPDR S&P 500 exchange-traded fund, which tracks the S&P 500 index, was down 3.6%, while the Nasdaq index had lost 6.9% over the same period, according to data from Yahoo! Finance. Read more here.

Photo by m. on Unsplash

Sunday, January 30, 2022

Forbes: History Says Federal Reserve-Induced Stock Rout Won’t Last

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Do investors need to worry that the recent slide in the stock market will continue?

Maybe not, if you believe that stock prices are falling because investors see imminent increases in the cost of borrowing money. Read more here.

Photo by Alex Bierwagen on Unsplash


Saturday, January 29, 2022

Saturday, January 15, 2022

Time Magazine: Washington's Proposed Rules to Protect Investors Could Widen the Wealth Gap

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The Securities and Exchange Commission is pushing for significant changes in how private funded companies operate and who can invest in them, the agency said this week. The proposed changes probably won’t benefit rank and file American investors but will likely help people who are already rich get even wealthier. Read more here.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), 
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

CityWire: Is commercial real estate really such an illiquid asset?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

One of the common worries about making direct investments in real estate is the concern that the money can be locked up for years at a time. Now, New York-based fintech company Cadre is changing that.

The company has created a secondary market which pairs investors who wish to exit Cadre estate deals mid-cycle with eager buyers. See more here.

Photo by Sean Pollock on Unsplash

CityWire: How Austin keeps its cool with real estate investors

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

Austin is more than the Live Music Capital of the World.

The Texas capitol has become a preferred place to live and work, experts say. For these reasons, among others, it has earned a top place in the heart of some savvy real estate investors. In fact, the outlook for Austin’s metropolitan area is so good that commercial real estate expert Cadre includes it in the “Cadre 15,” their top U.S. real estate markets with the strongest potential for risk-adjusted returns. See more here.

Downtown Austin Texas

Photo by MJ Tangonan on Unsplash

CityWire: Charlotte, NC, Full of real estate charm

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

There’s a lot more to Charlotte N.C. than southern charm when it comes to direct investments in real estate.

Low-cost living, favorable demographics, and a slew of employment opportunities have transformed the city into a magnet for businesses, residents, and savvy real estate investors. See more here.


Photo by Alex Ware on Unsplash

Monday, January 10, 2022

WSJ: #Grexit Flashback to the euro crisis in early 2012

 New column debut exclusively in print at The Wall Street Journal. #Grexit Flashback to the euro crisis in early 2012



 

Saturday, January 8, 2022

The Hartford: Good Culture-- The Answer to the Great Resignation

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

In the face of hybrid work and employee burnout, cultivating good workplace culture has never been more important. Here’s how to get it right.

Photo by Stormseeker on Unsplash


Friday, January 7, 2022

Barron's: Rio Tinto Is Building Its Lithium Business. The Move to Green Energy Will Boost the Stock

By SIMON CONSTABLE

A fat dividend and a robust pivot toward clean-energy products should make United Kingdom–based diversified miner Rio Tinto a good bet for investors. Those with a hefty appetite for risk could see total returns approaching 30% within 12 months, experts say. Read more here.

Mining Equipment


Thursday, December 30, 2021

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Barron's: Bad Winter Weather Could Send Wheat Prices Higher

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Poor winter weather conditions combined with already-low global inventories could send prices for wheat higher by up to 19%, experts say. War in Eastern Europe could catapult them further.

“Europe, Ukraine, and the U.S. face some very unfavorable weather that will really set off a supply shortage concern,” says Shawn Hackett, president of Hackett Financial Advisors. Read more here.

Photo by David Becker on Unsplash

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

BARRON'S in Russian: В этом году дорожали все сырьевые товары, кроме золота

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

27.12.21, Москва, 11:25    Всех, кто надеялся на спокойный 2021 год на товарно-сырьевых рынках, ждало разочарование. Этот год был богат на сюрпризы, приводившие в замешательство даже самых опытных участников рынка.
 

Read more here

Photo by David Thielen on Unsplash

Monday, December 27, 2021

Forbes: Omicron To Give Orange Juice Prices A Boost

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

The orange-juice market looks set to get a lift from the Omicron COVID-19 variant, and potential frosts. In other words, expect higher prices for frozen concentrated orange juice contracts on the ICE exchange, and eventually in the supermarket. Read more here.

Photo by Mateusz Feliksik on Unsplash

Forbes: Good News For Stocks, Investors Small And Large Are Increasingly Bearish

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Forget worries that the stock market is overvalued, at least for the time being.

Sentiment is what drives prices in the SPDR S&P 500 exchange-traded fund, which tracks the largest U.S.-listed companies. Right now that sentiment is getting far more bearish, new research shows.

And that alone should be a reason to buy stocks. Read more here.

Photo by mana5280 on Unsplash

Forbes: How Iran And Venezuela Are Economic Peas In A Pod

By SIMON CONSTABLE

News that Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro will visit the Islamic Republic of Iran soon could hardly be more symbolic. That’s because few countries are so well paired when it comes to economic mismanagement.

If the visit augers even more “cooperation” between the two countries, then observers should expect both countries to shrink further into oblivion. Read more here.

Friday, December 24, 2021

Forbes: Why Lumber Won’t Boom In 2022

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

This year’s mega-bubble in lumber prices likely won’t stage a repeat performance next year. The problem is the economically sensitive housing sector is set to have a slowdown as interest rates and inflation squeeze would-be homebuyer wallets.

The result will be falling lumber prices, experts say. Read more here.

Photo by Sarah Worth on Unsplash

Forbes: Investors Shrug As Ukraine-Russia Tensions Rise

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Investors seem to have offered little but a shrug to the threat of military conflict in eastern Ukraine. That’s surprising given the growing rhetoric out of the Kremlin.

Thursday Russian troops began a series of military drills near Ukraine’s border less than a day after Russian president Vladimir Putin said NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) should “go to hell,” press reports say. Read more here.

Photo by Thomas Ashlock on Unsplash

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Barron's: Commodities Gained Across the Board in 2021. Gold Was the Exception

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Anyone wanting a calm commodities market in 2021 would have been disappointed. It produced surprises that would have shocked even the most jaded market veterans.

Wheat, coffee, sugar, lumber, and energy prices all shot up. Perhaps most shocking was that the price jumps were driven by different factors. It wasn’t all upward: gold puzzled some investors, as prices slumped even while inflation surged. Read more here.

Photo by Alex Jones on Unsplash


Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Forbes: Joe Biden Snubs Britain In Blow To Free Trade

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

While most people weren’t looking, U.S. president Joe Biden snubbed the British people. His move not only continues a tradition begun by his former boss President Barrack Obama, but is also bad for the UK’s economic growth and stock market. Read more here.

Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash