Starting in the mid-1990s, “the mall genie was out of the bottle,” says one mall analyst, “and it was never going to come back.” While about 80% of the country’s 1,200 malls are considered healthy (vacancy rates of 10% or less), that compares with 94% in 2006; and more than 30 million square feet of malls are more than…
European equities fell sharply in choppy trading on Monday, with concerns over Greece’s future in the euro zone and a steep drop in prices of crude oil and copper hurting financial and commodities stocks the most. Energy and mining shares were the worst hit. The European oil and gas and basic resources indexes fell 4.9 percent…
Currency markets had an eventful 2014 with the U.S. dollar touching multi-year highs against a basket of major currencies. Improving U.S. economic data, escalating geopolitical tensions, diverging central bank policies around the world and chances of a sooner-than-expected rate tightening cycle in the U.S. were some of the factors contributing to a stronger greenback. In…
The expected risk premium for the Global Market Index (GMI) continued to trend lower through December. GMI — an unmanaged, market-value weighted mix of the major asset classes — is now projected to earn an annualized 3.6% over the “risk-free” rate for the long term. (For details on the equilibrium-based methodology that’s used to generate the forecasts,…
Oil prices are tumbling with Brent approaching $51 and WTI near $48.5. This follows yesterday’s announcement by Saudi Arabia of deeper discounts next month for the US and Europe. This was seen as a further confirmation that it adheres to its market share strategy. The continued drop in oil prices is spurring…
It is impossible for everyone to sell at the top before the implosion; the assets are owned by someone all the way down. The central bank/state plan for 2015 is a continuation of the same plan that’s been in play since 2009: drive everyone with any cash or capital into ruinously risky bets. The problem for…
I have been warning that the analysis portraying we were headed into hyperinflation was really nonsense. That entire idea was constructed only on the hyperinflation of Germany with old-school ideas of money. Much of those theories were antiquated in 1971 when we moved to the floating exchange rate system, yet the overwhelming…
“Some folks are selling stocks…” and, according to The White House, President Obama is closely monitoring it. As The Hill reports, despite the meme that lower-oil-prices-are-unequivocally-good-news-for-Americans, the Obama administration is monitoring whether the fall in oil prices is affecting the US stock market. Just over 5 years ago, President Obama explained to the American public that “profit and earning ratios are…
Headquartered in Philadelphia, Radian Group (RDN) provides private mortgage insurance, risk-management products and real estate services to financial institutions. The company has three business segments: 1) Mortgage Insurance, 2) Financial Guaranty and 3) Mortgage and Real Estate Services. Excellent Third Quarter Results and Rising Estimates Radian reported its Q3 2014 results on November 7. Net income for the…
If you want to know where the global experiment in massive money printing is heading—-just take a look at the monetary madhouse in Europe. And that particular phrase has full resonance once again as it becomes more apparent by the hour that Europe and the Euro were not fixed at all. Indeed, beneath the surface…
