Barron's: How QE3 is a Mixed Bag for Commodities

By SIMON CONSTABLE

What will it mean for commodities if "Helicopter Ben" Bernanke cranks up the printing press once again?
Some investors simply expect prices to soar across the board if the Federal Reserve chief institutes a new round of quantitative easing, aimed at stimulating economic growth. They see such a move flooding markets with dollars, weakening the U.S. currency, and pushing up the prices of dollar-denominated commodities, as stronger economic activity boosts demand. See original post here.

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WSJ: Wall Street Sees Dark Clouds Ahead

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Wall Street professionals earn a lot of their oversized paychecks playing the roles of modern-day clairvoyants, peering into the future and telling investors where the economy is heading.

As the presidential election drones on, you could be forgiven for thinking that the country is headed over a cliff. After all, that's what the one guy keeps saying about the other guy.

Here's a news flash: Whoever wins, the country probably isn't collapsing.

But that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of uncertainty about the economy—and lots of reasons to be cautious.

We asked some of the savviest fortune tellers on Wall Street to look beyond the election rhetoric and give a sense of what to expect in the next six to 12 months. Here is the short version.

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WSJ: What Is EBITDA?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

When portfolio managers and analysts talk about stocks, they often praise or bemoan a company's Ebitda.

Huh?

That's an accounting acronym and stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

The somewhat complicated formula aims to get at something very simple: how much cash a business generates from operations. See original post here.

WSJ: Why The Individual Mandate May Cost You More

By SIMON CONSTABLE

With many things in economics more is better. More food, more production, more profits — generally all good. But when it comes to health insurance more might actually be worse.
In June the Supreme Court ruled that the health-care law requiring us all to have health insurance was constitutional. A lot of people cheered saying it would pave the way to solve the nightmare problem of health-care costs in the U.S. 

Not so fast. Insurance may actually be the root of the problem with our health-care costs. Or in other words, more people having insurance could actually make things worse. Read more here.

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WSJ: Barton Biggs: ‘Charming Man of Deep Intellect’

By Simon Constable

Sad news. Famed hedge fund investor Barton Biggs died over the weekend after a distinguished financial career.

It was particularly meaningful to me as I’d had the opportunity to meet or speak with him a number of times over the years both here at WSJ and at my previous employer, TheStreet TV. Most recently I spoke with him about his father and last year he invited me to his home in Greenwich Connecticut where we taped The Big Interview. There were other occasions also.

While some people found him to be somewhat crabby, I found a charming man of deep intellect. There are many people who throw back sound bites during interviews. Not so with Biggs. He pondered each question, thought it through and called on his many years of experience.

He was also modest. Once he proclaimed that he wasn’t very good at timing his investments. That’s something small investors might want to consider. If even a veteran of markets and investing found it tricky to jump in or out of a stock, what chance do the rest of us stand?

He will be missed. See original post here.

WSJ: What Are Covered Bonds

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Is there a path to higher yield and lower risk in the bond market? Apparently there is, if you believe the promises of so-called covered bonds.

These are a type of mortgage security, issued mainly by financial institutions in Europe, that offers fixed-income investors a double layer of protection against default.

Covered bonds differ from typical mortgage-backed securities in the U.S. in that the issuing bank retains ownership of the underlying mortgages. "The fact that it's on [the] balance sheet means that the issuer has skin in the game," says Kristion Mierau, a portfolio manager and covered-bond expert at Pacific Investment Management Co., or Pimco. See original post here.