TheStreet: Below Zero: The Case Against Negative Interest Rates

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Negative interest rates are slowly becoming a reality for much of the developed world. 

With them has come a charm offensive, with at least one board member of the European Central Bank seeking to justify such moves. But all the jaw-boning in the world doesn't mean such policy actions always make sense, or that they come without creating other problems. Read more here.

Photo by Fractal Caleidoscope, 

CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

TheStreet: Below Zero: The Case for Negative Interest Rates

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The world of central banking is quickly turning back-to-front, inside-out and upside-down. 

Japan, the eurozone, Sweden, and Switzerland all have interest rates now that are less than zero. It's just not normal, at least in recent history, but the counterintuitive policy has helped the global economy, according to Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund.

Despite the oxymoronic-sounding term, the way negative rates work is fairly simple: Read more here.

U.S. News: The Incredible Shrinking World of Investments

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The investing world is shrinking. Not in the size of the dollars swashing around the markets – that's still huge – but rather the magnitude of the returns that investors can expect. And this has serious implications for how you invest.

"This is a world of low numbers," says Andrew Milligan, head of global strategy at Standard Life Investments in Edinburgh, Scotland. "It is a very important statement to get out there. Investors have to re-estimate what returns they are going to get." Read more here.

WSJ: How Much Cash You Should Keep in an Investment Account

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Most people, even those new to investing, know they need a heavy helping of stock in their investment portfolio to get the highest returns. Far fewer have any idea what portion of that portfolio should be allocated to cash or cash equivalents.

So how much is too much? 

Most advisers agree that everyone should have enough money to cover several months of living expenses set aside for emergencies in an easily accessible account. But when it comes to how much cash, if any, investors should hold beyond that as part of their investment mix, the experts’ views diverge. Read more here.

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

WSJ: What Is Permanent Capital?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

You may be hearing the term “permanent capital” more often in relation to private-equity investing. What does it mean, and why is it coming up now?

For private-equity investors, permanent capital is an open-ended investment in a company. That’s different from the way private equity usually works. Read more here.

Barron's: Price of Rice Could Double

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Even your sushi may cost more.

Drought, floods, and historically low global inventories have rice-market experts worried that the price of the grain could come close to doubling if harvests around the world continue to disappoint.

It means futures prices for rough, or unmilled, rice could exceed $20 per 100 pounds, versus recent prices for active-month futures of $11.40 on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Speculators wishing to gain from the potential move higher should purchase rough-rice futures contracts.
Read more here.

U.S. News: Corporate Bonds Point to Continued Economic Growth

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The corporate bond market has some good news for us. The economy is set to continue growing.

It's a message that is in stark contrast to the bearish sentiment that emanated from Wall Street during the first few weeks of the year, and it has implications for the type of stocks and other securities which will do well going forward. Read more here.