Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Forbes: How Banks Shunned Their Special Customers During The Covid-19 Crisis

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Weary tax payers may remember the banking bailout of 2008. That’s the time when the Federal government forked over $700 billion to financial institutions in order to save the banking system. 

Was that favor returned to businesses in need during the recent Covid crisis? No. Read more here.

Forbes: Will Higher Inflation Lift Bond Yields? Maybe Not

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

For the first time in what seems like forever, U.S. inflation is trending higher. However, that may not continue and that could have a major impact on the bond market. Read more here.



Barron's: Corn Crops Are Unlikely to Be Bountiful, So Expect Higher Prices

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

A drop in corn production will result in reduced supplies of the grain, propelling prices higher over the next few months, experts say.

U.S. corn inventory at the end of the 2020-21 growing season will be 1.3 billion bushels, far lower than the 1.7-billion-bushel level expected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, says Shawn Hackett, president of Hackett Financial Advisors. Read more here.

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Forbes: Wild Weather To Send Prices For Food Stuffs Skyrocketing In 2021

By SIMON CONSTABLE

As if 2020 wasn’t bad enough, 2021 will likely bring biblical-style extreme weather including droughts, frigid winters, and monster hurricanes, recent research shows. Read more here.

Monday, December 28, 2020

Forbes: How To Predict How Stocks Will Perform In 2021

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

How will stocks perform in 2021? 

It’s hard to know before it happens. However, if you are willing to wait until the end of January you’ll have a highly reliable signal on which way it will go, according to a recent report from Wall Street analytics firm CFRA. Read more here.

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Barron's: Bad Weather Could Hurt Soybean Crops. That Will Help Lift Prices

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Recent unseasonably dry weather in South America, and worries that the lack of moisture will continue, could propel soybean prices more than 40% higher in the first quarter of 2021. 

“South America is a little too dry and uncomfortably dry,” says Sal Gilbertie, founder and CEO of commodity exchange-traded fund company Teucrium Trading. Read more here.

Soybeans

DalgialCC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons




Friday, December 11, 2020

RBC Wealth Management: How to be a philanthropist: Sir Tom Hunter and Fran Perrin share their journeys

 By SIMON CONSTABLE 

Some philanthropists are born into families of modest means, while others inherit their wealth. But one thing seems to unite them—giving away money for charitable purposes isn't as easy as it might first appear. Read more here.