Ozymandias and our Great Circus: Ironies, Myths, and Realities
Percy Shelley’s poem titled “Ozymandias” is a sonnet, just a fourteen-line verse form that Petrarch, Spencer, and Shakespeare used during the Renaissance. Following Petrarch’s style, Shelley introduces an octave in the first eight lines which poses a question to be...
Weekly Market Update
Market Action Global equities suffered their biggest weekly decline since February, partly because of rising US bond yields. For months, US equities have ignored macro issues such as the deepening US-China trade rift and have advanced despite typically weak seasonal...
Trying to Make Sense of Recent Market Movements
Yesterday’s drop of more than 3% in equities generated concerns about experiencing a correction similar to the one that we saw earlier this year. The fact is that the market has declined by about 5% in the last five days, and tech-related shares have lost about 8.5%,...
Weekly Market Update
Market Action Global equities declined on the week amid rising treasury yields and the Fed’s pursuit of rates that will exceed a neutral stance. The US 10-year Treasury note rose to its highest level in more than 7 years. The price of WTI Crude oil increased slightly...
Towards a Policy of Rate Neutrality: Implications for Asset Allocation
Since December 2015 the Fed has raised short-term interest rates eight times (from 0-0.25% where it stood in December 2015) to the current level of 2-2.25%. Analysts anticipate that the Fed will continue raising rates. Actually, the expectation is that the FOMC will...
Weekly Market Update
Market Action Asian stocks ended the third quarter on a strong note. Japan's Nikkei 225 led major indexes in the region with a more than 1% gain, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose nearly 1%. Japan's benchmark index hit peaks not seen in nearly 27 years, amid...
Crossroads: At the Intersection of Geopolitics and Geoeconomics
Here are some critical issues to watch around the globe over the coming month: North America The United States has set September 30th as a deadline for reaching a new North American trade agreement with Canada. US officials are sending signals that negotiations are...
Weekly Market Update
Market Action Global equities extended their recent advance, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both posting record highs on Thursday. Helping to sustain the advance were solid high-frequency economic data, such as regional Fed indices, a modest...
Monetary Policy, Currency Misalignments, and Markets’ Memory: Pausing the Hiking of Rates
Inflows to emerging markets dropped by over 65% between July and August of this year. A strengthening American economy and the growing trade tensions have created a rout in emerging markets which is contributing to currency misalignments in Asia and South America....
Weekly Market Update
Market Action Global equities rebounded this week, spurred by calmer emerging markets and modest hopes that US-China talks will defuse growing trade tensions. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note extended its rise to 3%, up 18 basis points from two weeks ago. The...
