WSJ: Commodity Funds Fall Short, Study Says

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Sobering news for investors in specialty-commodity mutual funds: On average, they fall short on key measures, new research has found.

“These categories of funds have not been able to consistently create positive net alphas for their investors over longer time periods,” the report states. Alpha is a measure of the value fund managers add to the investment process when adjusted for risk factors such as volatility.

Read more here.

TheStreet: Mom and Pop Dumped $100 Billion From Stock Mutual Funds Starting Last April

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Mom and Pop investors are dumping stocks in a way not seen in years. It's probably a bullish sign for the major market indices, if history is anything to go by.

Every month from April through Dec. 30 last year, mutual fund investors yanked money from mutual funds focused on foreign and domestic stocks, according to the latest estimates from the Investment Company Institute.

The total outflows over that period adds to a hefty $98.1 billion, a total which is unlikely to being meaningfully changed when the final day's trading (Dec. 31) is added in. 

Read more here.

OZY: The Good-Bad-Ugly Of The Global Economy

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Picture yourself at the racetrack, where two vehicles drive past you. One is a monster-size truck moving along at a steady and measured pace, gently accelerating. The second is a small sports car, which appears to zoom past at high speed. But, as you watch more closely, you begin to notice the car is actually slowing down compared with the truck — so much that you wonder whether it’ll go into reverse. That scene of an acceleration on the one hand and a slowdown on the other is similar to how the global economy will move this year, as far as economists can tell, and there’ll be a world of difference economically depending on where you are. Read more here.

Photo by The New York Public Library on Unsplash

U.S. News: Why the Dollar Will Surge Again

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Get ready for another rally for the U.S. dollar. It's what economists call "policy divergence," and it means investors will pour their money into greenbacks. Here's how it will work and how investors could profit. 

The Federal Reserve, which is the central bank for the U.S., is expected to have policies that will increasingly diverge from those of the world's other major central banks, such as the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan. 

In the simplest terms, the Fed will continue to increase the cost of borrowing money, while most of the rest of the world will either lower their short-term lending rates or leave them unchanged. Read more here.

Photo by Avinash Kumar on Unsplash

Forbes: How To Be The Worst Boss Possible Part 8

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Part eight of a continuing series, which outlines how you too can be an appalling manager. Read part seven here.

A big part of being a good boss is having your employees view you in high regard.

Likewise, the trick if you want to be a bad boss is to abandon any effort in that direction. When you lose the respect of your team you will ultimately head down a road that will lead to you doing the sorts of things that will put you in the running for ”worse boss possible.”

However, that can be a rather long process.

For fast results, wear a wig. 

Read more here.

TheStreet: Why China's Yuan Can't Take Down the Almighty Dollar

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Warnings that the Chinese yuan will oust the greenback as the world's primary reserve currency are premature at best. Absurdly premature, in fact. 

And that's a good thing for Americans. Having the dollar as king of currencies means borrowing costs from banks like JPMorgan Chase are lower than they would otherwise be. Likewise, imported goods in stores like Macy's, are cheaper. The good news is that situation isn't changing anytime soon.

It isn't so much that the dollar is a Goliath to the yuan as David as that the biblical fight between a giant and a young man looks fairly matched when you start comparing the two currencies. Read more here.

Photo by Sahand Hoseini on Unsplash

U.S. News: What Market Pros Will Be Watching in 2016

By SIMON CONSTABLE

If Mr. Market flummoxed you in 2015, don't worry. There's always tomorrow. 

Wall Street saw the eurozone narrowly avert disaster as Greece agreed to another bailout, China's stock market fall off a cliff and energy stocks suffer. Meanwhile, many health care companies and tech stocks continue to roll. 

What will the new year bring? To give you a little assistance in navigating the investment world, here's what some long-time market experts will be watching in 2016. 

Read more here.