The oil price plunge has brought out bears not seen since the darkest days of the 2008 financial crisis. But are the bears on to something? Or are they overreacting to the current circumstances in the oil market? I think it’s always best to gather insight from those with a lifetime of experience. Here…
When Susan Polgar and I first began working on our book, I asked her what was one of the biggest financial problems that chess professionals have. She told me that the volatile nature of the income stream for someone playing tournament chess, teaching chess, or coaching the game makes it difficult to plan for retirement. If…
I included two “Clean Energy Speculations” along with my annual model portfolio of ten clean energy stocks this year. It’s been a tough year for clean energy stocks in general, with my industry benchmark (Powershares Wilderhill Clean Energy ETF (PBW)) down about 15% since I initiated the portfolios on December 27th 2013. Despite this, both the main…
Investment is an essential component of economic growth. Investment supports a healthy inflation rate by providing new money into the economy. What determines investment? Through the IS-LM model, we can understand interest rates and investment. The IS curve has its own model before it is incorporated into the IS-LM model. In that IS model, investment…
Tomorrow we learn of the participation of the second opportunity to borrow funds from the ECB under the Targeted Long-Term Repo facility. Recall that this year’s access was limited to 7% of a bank’s loan book (loans to households and businesses excluding mortgages). Next year’s access is somewhat linked to growth of that loan book. The…
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST – Analyst Report) commenced fiscal 2015 on a strong note, delivering better-than-expected first-quarter results. The company posted earnings of $1.12 per share that surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.09 and rose 16.7% from 96 cents reported in the prior-year period. Impressive comparable-store sales (comps) performance aided bottom-line growth. Let’s Unveil Further The warehouse…
The incumbent Greek President’s term ends in March 2015. Replacement of President Karlos Papoulis is the responsibility of the Greek parliament and requires the support of 180 MPs from a total of 300 lawmakers. The current government of Prime Minister Anonis Samaras has 155 seats and so he needs the support of 25 opposition MPs….
You can print all the money you want, but it will never boost wages to keep up with prices. Central banks have been pursuing two goals for the past six years: ignite inflation and an expansion of debt that will supposedly generate “growth.” Despite squandering trillions of dollars, yen, yuan and euros, central banks have failed…
Japanese stocks tumbled to a more than one-week low on Wednesday morning, as political uncertainty in Greece spooked world markets already under strain from a slide in crude oil prices and worries over global growth. The resulting flight to safety drove the yen higher and took a toll on exporters. The Nikkei benchmark dropped 1.5…
At this year’s Jackson Hole Symposium, Fed Chair Janet Yellen delivered an extended analysis of “Labor Market Dynamics and Monetary Policy”. Her speech essentially reviewed the ongoing debate over the mix of cyclical versus structural factors in employment since the Great Recession. I’ve updated a series of charts illustrating some structural changes in the workforce…
