Strategic Misconceptions and Market Expectations: The Brighter Side of a Dark Moon
In the last few days we’ve observed geopolitical events taking place from the Middle East to Eastern Europe and from Africa to Asia, shaking the markets and molding expectations. The Islamic State in the Middle East endangers not only regional stability but also...
A Review of the Most Important Global Events in August by Monthly Barometer
Recent economic developments give credence to the idea that the world has entered an era of slower growth and higher unemployment. Surprisingly, this remains a minority view at a time when the US economy might stall, the Eurozone and Japan are struggling with barely...
Weekly Market Update
Market Action Stocks posted their fourth consecutive week of gains in the United States this week, marked with the S&P’s milestone in crossing 2,000. While data released this week was mixed the markets continue to build momentum off of positive sentiment for the...
Weekly Selections From Weekly Barometer
5 insightful op-eds or articles to help make sense of today’s world Jim O’Neill, “Will the Calm in Global Markets Last?” (Bloomberg View, August 19, 2014) Goldman’s Sachs former chief economist thinks that the current “peculiar calm” that prevails in the markets -...
Geopolitical Journal: August 26th
Today Blacksummit Financial Group introduces the creation of a new publication, its Geopolitical Journal. Drafted biweekly, our aim is to summarize and inform our readers of key geopolitical events gripping the globe. The issues touched upon may impact our...
Weekly Market Update
Market Action All eyes this week were tuned to Janet Yellen in Jackson Hole, Wyoming as the annual congregation of key central bankers concluded on Friday. The statement from the Chairwoman overall was neutral. Mario Draghi of the ECB stressed the limits of ECB...
Hypnotized by Dreams of Utopian Placebos, Part II: Jackson Hole Meets the Texas Ratio
In the last commentary our thesis was that the economic landscape does not suffer from secular stagnation but rather from a complex and confused disequilibrium that diminishes expectations. Rather than focusing on the causes of this disequilibrium policymakers shift...
Weekly Selections from Monthly Barometer
5 insightful op-eds or articles to help make sense of today’s world Mohamed El-Erian, “Markets Are Making a Sucker's Bet on Europe” (Bloomberg View, August 14, 2013) Or why bad economic data is regarded as good news by the markets... The financial pundit explains the...
Hypnotized by Dreams of Utopian Placebos: Subpar Performance in an Age of Diminished Expectations, Part I
We are dreaming. We desire utopias. We treat ourselves with placebo drugs and we are hypnotized by all of the above. The symptoms started in Japan in the early 1990s. It has been called Japanese malaise and it seems that is spreading. Subpar GDP growth rate, interest...
Weekly Market Update
Stocks saw a positive week despite geopolitical risks that sparked volatility. Back and forth news on Russian aggression, growing US involvement against ISIS in Iraq and an end to a cease fire between Hamas and Israel weren't enough for equities to rise. As earnings...
