Category Archives: Equities

We Need to Talk About the Yield Curve

Posted on February 14, 2020 by

What is the yield curve and why should I care? The yield curve is a graph of the yields that government bonds are paying, arranged in order of time to maturity. You should care because the cost of mortgages, bank … Continue reading →

Posted in Asset Allocation, Bonds, Equities, Investing | Leave a comment

It’s Time For Predictions; I Don’t Play That

Posted on January 6, 2020 by

Here we are at the start of a new year and a new decade. Is it really a new decade? Personally, I’m the sort who starts counting at one, not zero, but I’ll go along and say it is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Asset Allocation, Equities, Investing | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Diversification’s Gold Standard

Posted on July 25, 2019 by

I am an advisor with a past, a past managing global bond funds. For over twenty years, I invested in a vast array of markets and bond sectors around the globe. These included sectors like high yield and emerging markets … Continue reading →

Posted in Asset Allocation, Equities, Investing, Market Cycles, Rates, Volatility | Tagged , , , ,

Does/Should the Fed Care About the Stock Market?

Posted on June 21, 2019 by

Once upon a time, in another millennium, I worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It was during the reign of Chairman Volcker, first of his name. One thing I did was prepare statistical packages for the officers … Continue reading →

Posted in Credit, Economics, Equities, Investing, The Fed | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Hitting ‘Em Where They Ain’t

Posted on March 19, 2019 by

 “Keep your eye on the ball and hit ‘em where they ain’t”                                                          … Continue reading →

Posted in Asset Allocation, Bonds, Currency, Equities, Investing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Portfolio Management: Cooking With Hamburger Helper

Posted on March 7, 2019 by

Betty Crocker introduced Hamburger Helper in 1971. You took chopped meat and mixed it with what, in essence, was filler to complete the meal. Much of active management works the same way.
Continue reading →

Posted in Equities, Investing, Volatility | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Baseball and Stocks: Games of Failure

Posted on January 28, 2019 by

Remember that the best hitter in baseball this year will fail 65 percent of the time. — George Will Mookie Betts hit .346 in 2018, failing 65.4% of the time.  Mr. Betts reached base more often than his batting average … Continue reading →

Posted in Equities, Investing | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Markets Fluctuate

Posted on October 18, 2018 by

“Markets fluctuate.” That was the entire comment by Ace Greenberg, the CEO of Bear Stearns, in a special issue of Institutional Investor magazine dedicated to opinions from the great and the good regarding the causes and consequences of October 1987’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Equities, Investing, Volatility | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Home Is For Your Heart, Not Your Portfolio

Posted on August 2, 2018 by

A number of years ago I took over a portfolio that held corporate bonds from both developed and emerging markets. As I looked through the holdings a name popped out at me, Ipiranga. I turned to my credit analyst and … Continue reading →

Posted in Credit, Emerging Markets, Equities, Investing, Market Cycles | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Chinese Debt for Equity Swaps, 3 Card Monte By Another Name?

Posted on April 6, 2016 by

The Chinese government is bandying about debt for equity swaps as a potential cure for the overhang of corporate debt in the middle kingdom.  Much, if not most, of the bank loans in China have been made by government owned banks to … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Credit, Emerging Markets, Equities | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment