by John E. Charalambakis | Sep 13, 2016 | Commentaries, Uncategorized
The flowering of the Enlightenment across Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries took place when a diverse group of thinkers questioned perceived opinion. The names of Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Hobbes, Leibniz, Hume and of many others are associated with free and...
by John E. Charalambakis | Sep 6, 2016 | Commentaries, Uncategorized
The markets have been used to central banks actions that mitigate downturns (the famous/infamous puts that take the names of central bankers such as the Greenspan and Bernanke puts). Such actions actually induce risk taking, making the tail of outcomes and returns...
by John E. Charalambakis | Aug 29, 2016 | Commentaries, Uncategorized
The external debt of developing economies has more than tripled in the last ten years. Brazil of all countries is selling notes to yield-hungry investors that mature in 2047! Where is the rationale to buy 2047 notes in a country whose current deficit exceeds 10% of...
by John E. Charalambakis | Aug 18, 2016 | Commentaries, Uncategorized
In last week’s commentary we pointed out that the accumulation of debt by corporations may be behind the market upswing (through shares buyback programs while the fundamentals do not support such uptrend). The fact that yields on sovereign and corporate bonds have...
by John E. Charalambakis | Aug 12, 2016 | Commentaries, Uncategorized
Corporate debt is at record high. Net equity issuance has been negative for the last few years. The shares buyback pattern is simply staggering. The fact that almost 70% of corporate earnings are paid out in the form of corporate buybacks and dividends is antithetical...