WSJ: What Is Net Interest Margin?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Recently, something good has been happening for banks and other lending institutions: The net interest margin has started to widen.

In simple terms, the net interest margin is a measure of bank profitability, and the wider it is, the more profits are to be had. Read more here.

U.S. News: Bad Sentiment May Mean Good News for Wall Street

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Small investors are bearish about the stock market, but don't worry. A bearish sentiment from individual investors may mean this is a perfect time to stake new positions in the stock market.

First, the data: the most recent data from the American Association of Individual Investors shows an above normal level of pessimism about the stock market. Read more here.

WSJ: More Mutual Funds Are Pumping Money Into Small Firms

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It used to be that almost all mutual funds invested their capital only in securities of public companies. But that’s been changing—which could be good news for some small businesses that have big plans.

Thirty-six percent of firms going public in 2016 received mutual-fund financing before their IPO, according to a recent research paper by Michelle Lowry and Sungjoung Kwon, both at LeBow College of Business, Drexel University, and Yiming Qian at the University of Iowa. Read more here.

Photo by Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash

In the office...

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Photo credit: Greg Stone

Barron's: Steamy El Niño Could Puff Up Rice Prices

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Get ready for a rally in rice. 

A combination of low levels of usable inventory for the grain and the high likelihood of poor growing conditions could cause futures prices to rise. That would reverse a multiyear drop in prices. Agrium (ticker: AGU) and Mosaic (MOS) should benefit as demand builds for crop nutrients and protection. Read more here.

Photo by Faris Mohammed on Unsplash

Middle East Eye: Why it's hard times for the Middle East's petro-economies

By SIMON CONSTABLE

A major intergovernmental agency has just slashed prospects for oil-rich Middle Eastern economies. Worse still, private lenders are predicting credit downgrades. It likely means tougher times ahead for those businesses looking to borrow, as well as a weaker job market, experts say. Read more here.

Street Fight: Comcast Rolling Out a New Local Ad Service

By SIMON CONSTABLE

For local businesses looking for advertising, there’ll be a new kid in town to help this summer. Better still, ad buyers will get the help for free. The service, called Stratasphere, is a new offering from Comcast-owned Strata, which already has three decades in the business of connecting ad sellers with ad buyers.
Read more here.