The Ataraxia (Tranquility) of the Market and Its Breath: Stoic, Epicurean, or Sceptic?
It has been well-recorded that the equity market’s volatility is pretty low by historical standards as the following 10-year graph shows. This kind of ataraxia (tranquility) may be the equivalent of the period when the Platonic and Aristotelian Schools of Thought were...
Weekly Market Update
Market Action The major stock markets finished Friday on a negative note, adding to their losses for the second consecutive week of broad market declines attributed to geopolitical concerns (North Korea last week) and tremors within the White House (this past week)....
Corporate Earnings, Equities Trajectory, and Risks: Considering the Purchase of Cheap Insurance
Over the course of the past several months we have reiterated the point that good growth earnings provide market justification for further rises in the equities market. We continue supporting that thesis and we still hold the view that future earnings for the next...
Commodities, Volatility, and Cryptocurrencies: Some Initial Thoughts
Commodity prices usually follow long cycles. As the graph below shows, commodities enjoyed a good run from the early 1990s to the dawn of the financial crisis and recovered pretty quickly from the crisis, then experienced a downward trajectory for about five years...
Weekly Market Update
Market Action The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week at a fresh record, buoyed by a jobs report that showed employers continued hiring at a healthy rate in July. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that U.S. employers added a...
Market Signals, the Economic Cycle, and Enthymemes: Which Sectors Could Benefit?
We have written before that the financial stress index produced by the St. Louis Fed is a very reliable indicator regarding potential dark clouds in the economic and financial horizons. As can be seen in the graph below (updated as of the end of July), the index -...
Monthly Barometer’s Forward-Looking Monthly Review: An Interdisciplinary View of our Complex Global Economy
July 2017 The world’s main economies are still growing in sync, but at a slower pace. Next year, the slowdown will be greater than expected in the US (because of Trump’s unfulfilled promises) and in the UK (due to Brexit uncertainty). The Eurozone remains one...
Weekly Market Update
Market Action Spanish GDP accelerated at its fastest rate in two years during the past quarter. Spain’s economy grew over 3% over the past year according to recent data released. The accelerated growth and continued fiscal consolidation led to S&P and Fitch both...
Cheapening the Currency: The Wrong Way Forward
In the last few commentaries we have noted that while equity markets may be stretched, there might still be room to grow given the current macro-circumstances, corporate earnings, and business sentiment. In this week’s commentary we would let some graphs do the...
Weekly Market Update
Market Action China’s economy accelerated its growth rate in Q2 to 6.9%, with consumer spending, factory output and investment all posting strong figures. Retail sales were also at their strongest level in over a year. While critiques of China’s data are valid,...
