Commentaries

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: September 9, 2020 |

Market Melt-up and the Fed’s Magic Flute in the Courtyard of Aristophanes

The most recent Fed’s decision to turn policy on its head and pursue higher inflation targets for the sake of stimulating the economy, reminds us of a grand strategy without […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: August 11, 2020 |

Reviewing Economic Developments: Getting Away from Colchis with the Golden Fleece

During the month of July, economic momentum lost ground, as portrayed by the Consumer Sentiment Index shown below. Data related to employment, spending, and mobility also reflected the slow down. […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: August 4, 2020 |

If FAANG is the Answer, then what are the Questions?

Sometimes I feel that I have no answers, and as a teacher my role is to question my students’ answers. When unrestricted growth and concentrated power is amassed at the […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: July 28, 2020 |

Money, Debts, Gold and the Greenback: When Yeats Met Orwell

In his sixth section of “Meditations in Time of Civil War”, the famous Nobel laureate Irish poet (and pillar of literature) William Butler Yeats writes: “We had fed the heart […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: July 21, 2020 |

And Now What? Financial Strategy in the Midst of Contrasting Signals

Homer taught us the contrasting qualities of leaders. Achilles was a man of action. Odysseus was a man of words. Both envisioned strategy from different perspectives. One represented strength. The […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: July 7, 2020 |

Economic Recovery and Market Trajectory

When we look at US jobs data, we get a clear picture that more than 7 out of the 22 million jobs lost during the Covid-19 crisis have been recovered. […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: June 30, 2020 |

Market Developments and Wildcards

There is little doubt that stock market indicators (besides the rally itself until recently) pointed to a recovery that is better than the one expected by the majority of analysts, […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: June 23, 2020 |

Kleptocratic Authoritarianism and the Chinese Dragon

“President Putin is the leader of a great country who is influential around the world. He is my best, most intimate friend”, Xi Jinping, 2018 Hello darkness, I am still […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: June 9, 2020 |

The Revenge of the Numbers, The Illusion of Theories, and the Delusion of Expectations

Let’s us make no mistake: we are thrilled when the news pleasantly surprises us, contrary to expectations. Rather than the increase in the unemployment rate, more jobs were created in […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: June 2, 2020 |

Firepower and Moral Suasion: Market Abnormalities

It was June 20th ,1920 and the eight-year old boy by the name of Abraham Zimmerman experienced the lynching and hanging of three black men in Duluth, Minnesota. Postcards of […]