Monday, August 31, 2015

TheStreet: Federal Reserve Employees Need Finance Refresher as Rate Hike Looms

By SIMON CONSTABLE

NEW YORK ( TheStreet)-- It turns out that Federal Reserve employees really are smarter than the rest of us about finance, but a majority of them would still benefit from reviewing the textbooks periodically. And that's a lesson for everyone else. 

The findings are from a new report by the National Bureau of Economic Researchtitled, " Employee Financial Literacy and Retirement Plan Behavior: A Case Study." The study, conducted in 2013, used five questions to test the knowledge of 3,357 Fed employees, approximately 16% of the total Federal Reserve System workforce. 

On the first three questions, which were considered relatively basic, the Fed employees easily surpassed the achievement of the general population with a much higher proportion of correct answers for the same questions.  


Read more here.

Friday, August 28, 2015

TheStreet: Twitter Can Help You Cash In on Corporate Earnings

By SIMON CONSTABLE

New York (TheStreet)-- If you want to make more money from trades linked to corporate earnings, then head for the Twitter-sphere. It could give you a better result than Wall Street's best, according to new research. 

The findings come from a recent study by scholars at New York University, Arizona State University and the University of Toronto. The paper, titled  "Can Twitter Help Predict Firm-Level Earnings and Stock Returns?" finds that the wisdom of the Twitter  crowd can be a pathway to trading riches. 

Read more here.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Forbes: Was Monday's Market Plunge A Mega-Capitulation? Nah!

By SIMON CONSTABLE
Important question for anyone with money in the markets: Did we see a capitulation Monday? If we did, it wasn’t a mega capitulation of the types which mark major turning points.
Yes, Monday on the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 1,000 points at the open and indeed it does seem to have been at least a temporary turning point. As I write, stocks are continuing to rally. But I don’t think it was a capitulation. 
Read more here.

TheStreet: Hate Wild Gyrations in the Stock Market? Blame Technical Trading

By SIMON CONSTABLE

New York ( TheStreet) -- Volatility is back in the stock market in a big way, and it isn't going anywhere quickly. 

Why? A big part of the story is so-called technical trading by computers and analysts who care little for the economic or business fundamentals of the companies that are bought and sold. Instead, many decisions to buy or sell securities are being driven by changes in stock prices using what can seem like arbitrary "rules." 

"This phenomenon is here to stay," says Milton Ezrati, senior economist and market strategist at Lord Abbett. "The problem is that it is automatic and it involves massive amounts of securities."


Read more here.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

OZY: Why You Shouldn't Melt Down With The Markets

By SIMON CONSTABLE

We understand. You’re freaking out. If only a little.

Sure, the Dow managed to plunge — and we mean plunge, more than 1,000 points yesterday morning — before recovering some. The end result over the past few market days is pretty awful. It’s now at its lowest close since February 2014.

But the real question, and we’re not just trying to make you feel better, is not where the market is heading, but where the economy is heading. And here, it’s not so bad.

Read more here.

Monday, August 24, 2015

Forbes: 10 Key Takeaways From The Market Meltdown

By SIMON CONSTABLE

I’m getting a lot of questions about the stock market sell off. Here are ten takeaways.
1. Stocks don’t go up forever. That’s always been true. This time is no different.
2. Stocks don’t go down forever. You may recall that in the dark moments of early 2009 it looked like stocks were finished, like forever. Eventually they recovered. They will again.

Read more here.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Forbes: Business Lessons From Bukowski

By SIMON CONSTABLE

A new book of Charles Bukowski’s writing just came out in late July, and I’m lucky enough to have read it.  It has some useful lessons for students of business as well as budding writers.

On Writing, is a collection of letters, or fragment’s thereof, he wrote throughout his long career. Many of them have never before been published. In case it’s slipping your mind, among many other things, Bukowski wrote Ham on Rye, a working class answer to Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye.
The letters are superb. What interests me for this column is what you can learn if you are in business.

Read more here.