OZY: How Good Is the Biggest Trade Deal In History?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Already bustling with activity, the enormous ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles will likely be bursting at the seams within the next five years as more and more brightly colored containers get loaded and unloaded. Together, they’re already the ninth-busiest port in the world — and a similar scene looks set to be replicated up and down the coast in the ports of Oakland, Tacoma, Seattle and Vancouver.

The boost will be driven by the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a deal pushed heavily by the Obama administration that will cover trade between a dozen countries, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Japan. While an agreement was announced last month, its details only recently emerged and all of the countries involved still need to ratify the agreement. Still, it’s clear that, at first, the benefits will go to the ports. “The longshoremen, who are already well paid, will have a lot more hours and more overtime pay,” says Natasha Boyden, an independent shipping analyst. 

Read more here.

U.S. News: Four Things to Know About Real Estate Investments

By SIMON CONSTABLE

If you own your home, should you buy real estate securities? It's a reasonable question because for many people, their home is a large portion of their overall wealth. 

A family with $500,000 in savings, including stocks and bonds, and a home valued at $300,000 would seem to be heavily invested in real estate. But that's probably not the best way to look at things – although your home may act as a store of wealth, history has shown it likely won't do much better than keep up with inflation. It probably won't beat the returns you'd get from the stock market. 

Here's why and how at least some real estate securities have a place in your investment portfolio.

Read more here.

TheStreet: How Social Media Boosts Trading -- Without Helping Traders

By SIMON CONSTABLE

NEW YORK -- Just as YouTube prompted a deluge of cat videos, so social media seems to stimulate more trading in the financial markets. But unlike the cat videos, it isn't all laughs: The phenomenon seems to leave traders worse off than before.

In other words, social media boosts the quantity of trades but not the quality.

Read more here.

OZY: How England's Worst King Spawned Capitalism

By SIMON CONSTABLE

“What’s that smell?” I asked my dad as we approached Rievaulx Abbey on a visit to Yorkshire, England. “It’s wild garlic,” he said — which I’d later learn was a surprising crop to find so far north, though the story behind the monastery would prove even more surprising.

The monastery was established in 1132 by Cistercian monks from France’s Clairvaux Abbey and remained in operation until the 1500s. But it plays a part in a uniquely English story — one that begins, as many do, with church and crown but ends with the Industrial Revolution. Read more here.

Photo by Tom Podmore on Unsplash

WSJ: What Is the Interest Coverage Ratio?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

What is the interest coverage ratio, and why might it matter for investors? 

The interest coverage ratio is a measure of how affordable a company’s debt is given the company’s earnings. Or put another way, how much cushion there is for a firm to withstand hiccups in the business and still make its debt payments—an important consideration for investors.

Read more here.

WSJ: Money-Fund Flows Are a Risk Meter

By SIMON CONSTABLE

When investors start piling into money-market funds, it is a remarkably accurate indicator that credit markets are getting dicey, according to new research conducted by a pair of finance professors.

The study says the money-fund indicator can be just as accurate as more-wonky indicators of market risk, such as credit-default-swap spreads, which show the cost of insuring corporate debt against default.

Read more here.

Forbes: How To Be The Worst Boss Possible -- Part 2

By SIMON CONSTABLE
Part two of a continuing series, which outlines how you too can become a truly awful manager instead of just mediocre. (Why write such a series? It’s fun.)
Some people believe they aren’t cut out to be a terrible manager. Please be assured that some gentle mind training will get you there faster than your employees would ever wish for. Here’s how:

Photo by Boston Public Library on Unsplash