Usual Suspects and Unusual Narratives: Markets Search for Direction but Natura No Facit Saltus
Should we always buy the dip? The strategy has worked over a number of years. Is this time different? The blame over the recent market turmoil has identified some usual suspects: those who shorted volatility got burned; those who used too much leverage got burned;...
Weekly Market Update
Market Action Stocks globally were down sharply for the second week in a row, and stock market volatility has returned with large daily market swings; this week the CBOE Volatility Index (the VIX) reached its highest level since China’s currency crisis in 2015. The...
Market Turmoil, Portfolios and Commodities: Time to Diversify, Part I
As a starting point allow me please to summarize what we communicated to our clients during the recent market turmoil. First, let’s review what we perceive are the main causes of the turmoil which may continue in the near future: The bond market is experiencing losses...
Weekly Market Update
Market Action Stocks recorded their first weekly loss of 2018. The S&P 500 Index suffered its worst weekly drop in two years. Rising yields and inflationary fears are cited as main culprits; however, valuation and political fears should not be discounted as...
Tech Earnings, Gold Performance, and Bond Jitters: The Dollar Link
It seems that we may be in for another tech-earnings party today. As these lines are being drafted, Microsoft and Facebook are expected to report rising profits and anticipation is lifted higher and higher as Google, Apple, and Amazon will be announcing results today...
Weekly Market Update
Market Action Stocks continued their winning streak, with the major indexes notching their fourth consecutive weekly gain and moving to new record highs. The British pound rallied above 1.40 against the US dollar for the first time since the Brexit vote. The dollar...
Dollar Weakness and Economic Developments: What are the Implications and Where Might it be Headed?
At the beginning of 2017, it cost $1.06 (USD) to buy one euro. As of today, $1.235 is needed to buy the same euro. Does that reflect US economic weakness or just EU strength? How about the greenback against the British pound? In early 2017 it cost $1.24 to buy the...
CROSSROADS
This monthly briefing will keep you up-to-date on the major geopolitical and geoeconomic issues of the time, allowing you to identify potential risks and strategize accordingly. It will cover topics from each corner of the globe, analyzing the major geopolitical...
Weekly Market Update
by Andy Quirk Market Action The U.S. Federal Government officially shut down in the early hours of Saturday as Democrats blocked a stopgap spending measure, allowing government funding to expire. The funding dispute is largely over funding for the Deferred...
Sector Focus: Shipping
The transportation sector can be divided into regional transportation (train, road, and airplane) and global transportation which is largely comprised of maritime shipping. Although this division is not very precise it provides valuable insights because global...
