Friday, May 18, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
WSJ: Lax Regulation Not to Blame for J.P. Morgan Loss
By SIMON CONSTABLE
By now you must have heard about J.P. Morgan Chase’s $2 billion trading loss. You’ll also have heard the screams of outrage and the calls for more banking regulation. Maybe the regulation is part of the problem. But it’s not all of it: Not by a long way.
What you may not know is that at least part of the problem comes from what economists call “agency cost.” That’s the cost of having someone run the business who doesn’t own it.
See original post here.
By now you must have heard about J.P. Morgan Chase’s $2 billion trading loss. You’ll also have heard the screams of outrage and the calls for more banking regulation. Maybe the regulation is part of the problem. But it’s not all of it: Not by a long way.
What you may not know is that at least part of the problem comes from what economists call “agency cost.” That’s the cost of having someone run the business who doesn’t own it.
See original post here.
The original uploader was Urbanrenewal at English Wikipedia.,
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Sunday, May 6, 2012
WSJ: Real Interest Rates Explained
By SIMON CONSTABLE
There are interest rates. Then there are "real" interest rates.Looking at real rates can help you determine how much your purchasing power may grow, says Mihir Worah, head of the real-return portfolio management team at Pacific Investment Management Co., or Pimco.
Many of the savviest investors suggest paying closer attention to the latter. To determine the real rate, you need to start with the rate quoted for holdings in bank accounts, bonds and the like—it is known as the nominal rate—and then adjust it for inflation. Read original here.
There are interest rates. Then there are "real" interest rates.Looking at real rates can help you determine how much your purchasing power may grow, says Mihir Worah, head of the real-return portfolio management team at Pacific Investment Management Co., or Pimco.
Many of the savviest investors suggest paying closer attention to the latter. To determine the real rate, you need to start with the rate quoted for holdings in bank accounts, bonds and the like—it is known as the nominal rate—and then adjust it for inflation. Read original here.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Barrons: Rice Prices Getting Set to Pop
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Bad news: That cheap bowl of rice you were counting on to stretch your paycheck may soon get pricey. Good news: You'll be able to profit off the coming move, although you'll need to be nimble.
It's happening because Western Hemisphere farmers are cultivating less rice while inventories are set to plummet. "Stocks are running low now, and rice prices do not go down when acreage goes down," writes Milo Hamilton, in a recent edition of his newsletter, The Firstgrain Rice Market Strategist. "Never [has that happened] in any year that we have traded rice, which is for over 30 years."
In short, prices are going higher. See original story here.
Bad news: That cheap bowl of rice you were counting on to stretch your paycheck may soon get pricey. Good news: You'll be able to profit off the coming move, although you'll need to be nimble.
It's happening because Western Hemisphere farmers are cultivating less rice while inventories are set to plummet. "Stocks are running low now, and rice prices do not go down when acreage goes down," writes Milo Hamilton, in a recent edition of his newsletter, The Firstgrain Rice Market Strategist. "Never [has that happened] in any year that we have traded rice, which is for over 30 years."
In short, prices are going higher. See original story here.
Rice Paddy
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Reynolds Center: The many paths for finding a job in business journalism
As if being at the center of the biggest story in recent years isn’t enough, business journalists also tend to earn more than the average reporter. The hours may not always be better, but the jobs are there. And there are lots of ways to get them.
Wall Street Journal reporter Simon Constable, host of the Journal’s afternoon News Hub, got his start in business journalism with an internship. After years of working in the business sector, Constable attended New York University and earned a master’s degree in business and economics reporting. He then signed up for an internship with TheStreet.com, which quickly led to a full-time job. Read more here.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Barrons: Why Fertilizer Prices Remain Stubbornly High
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Here's a puzzle: How is it that fertilizer prices are so stubbornly high while the production cost has plunged?
The answer lies in the Corn Belt—and it will boost fertilizer equities for the foreseeable future.
Here's a puzzle: How is it that fertilizer prices are so stubbornly high while the production cost has plunged?
The answer lies in the Corn Belt—and it will boost fertilizer equities for the foreseeable future.
Anhydrous ammonia, a nitrogen-based plant food, now sells for nearly $700 a ton. That's off from the highs of $800 late last year. But the biggest variable cost in making fertilizer, natural gas, has seen its price collapse. It's off over half from $4.50 a million British thermal units in mid-2011. Natural gas for May delivery closed at $1.927 on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday, down 2.7% for the week. See the original post here.
Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash
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