WSJ: Why Commodity-Index Investing May Be Futile

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Investments that track broad stock indexes have become the favorite of many investors and analysts for long-term returns that are hard to beat. But index tracking hasn’t done so well in the commodities market.

Stock investments that track indexes such as the S&P 500 have reliably rewarded long-term investors. For example, since January 1970, investors who held the S&P 500 for at least 12 years would always have had positive returns including dividends, says Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. Read more here.

Felled Trees

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

WSJ: What Are Late-cycle Stocks?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The term “late-cycle stocks” is being frequently used once again by investment professionals. The term refers to the types of stocks that tend to outperform later in the business cycle, when the use of resources and labor gets closer to full capacity and demand for materials such as copper, steel and energy tends to outpace supply.

Read more here.

U.S. News: What Triggering Article 50 Means for Investors

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Months after voters in the U.K. decided by referendum that their country should withdraw from the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May has triggered Article 50 to formally depart from the economic and political partnership in 2019.

And while the die is irrevocably cast – Article 50 cannot be withdrawn without unanimous consent of the other 27 EU members – the implications for investors and global financial markets may not be as bad as once feared. And there's money to be had for those who can make the right moves. Read more here.

Forbes: How Jean-Claude Juncker's Ohio Rant Is Making A Joke of The E.U.

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Last week's outburst by the  European Union's boss is comical at best. Worst than that, it's only his latest diplomatic snafu. He's making the whole organization look desperate.

I write of course of Jean-Claude Juncker who threatened that he would help Ohio campaign for independence from the U.S. if Donald Trump didn't stop encouraging European countries to follow Britain out of the E.U.

But there's where Juncker sounds like a hick who just showed up on the world stage rather than the master of realpolitik that one would hope for from a world leader. Read more here.

Photo by Sara Kurfeß on Unsplash

U.S. News: Stop Watching the Fed's Every Move

By SIMON CONSTABLE

You need to stop worrying about what the Federal Reserve is going to do next. It's most probably just making you anxious.

This advice might seem to be at odds with the hullaballoo emanating from TV business news where some commentators think that the Fed's next utterance is the be-all and end-all.

For some people, watching the Fed is rightly an obsession. But such individuals are frequently employed in roles managing tens of billions of dollars of money, and where nuances in the Fed's actions may mean the difference between a profit or a loss which can often be counted in millions.

Most of us aren't in those jobs. Here's some detail on why it mostly doesn't matter what the Fed says or does. Read more here.

WSJ: The Key to Financial Discipline? It May be as Simple as Taking a Class

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

It is well-known that successful investing requires patience and the ability to delay gratification. The question has long been: Can such discipline be taught?

A recent study suggests it can. Read more here.

Forbes: What A Wine Connoisseur Taught Me About Business

By SIMON CONSTABLE

When you meet a wine connoisseur you expect to learn about wine. But I learned something far more useful when I met with Mark Oldman, author of How to Drink Like a Billionaire: Mastering Wine with Joie de Vivre.

Better still, I don't know if he was aware of the matter.

The key is that Oldman knows wine and he knows rich people. It is the intersection between the two that gave me an insight into how to be better at business. Read more here.