Content provided by Scott Kubie, CLS Senior Portfolio Manager A few weeks ago, Japanese voters gave Prime Minister Shinzo Abe more freedom to pursue his growth and reform agenda by handing his coalition majority control of the Parliament’s upper house. This victory follows up December’s election that gave Abe’s party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)… Continue reading Abemania!!
Category: Economy
In the Market for a New House?
Content provided by Paula Wieck, Manager of Investment Research Looking to buy a new house? Holding off because mortgage rates have climbed over a staggering 1 percent since May? Are you checking mortgage rates daily – and cringing, feeling like you dropped the ball on a great buying opportunity? Here’s something to make you feel… Continue reading In the Market for a New House?
Taper Tantrum
Content provided by Rusty Vanneman, CFA, CLS Chief Investment Officer The stock market’s gains this year have been primarily driven by a combination of less investor fear, positive price momentum, and extremely favorable liquidity conditions thanks to central banks around the world, including here in the U.S. In recent weeks, however, there is a growing… Continue reading Taper Tantrum
Educated but Buried in Debt
Content provided by Sadie Brewer, CLS Marketing Communications Specialist Lately I’ve seen and heard a lot of talk about the increasing cost of college, high student loan interest rates, and the looming question: is the reward worth the cost? For example, some analysts are calling the $1 trillion in student loan debt the next bubble,… Continue reading Educated but Buried in Debt
Clean, Green, and Sunscreen
Content provided by Grant Engelbart, CLS Research Analyst Unlike most people, the sun is my enemy. I love being out in the sun, unfortunately I have about a 15 minute window before my skin starts on fire. The good news, for the large majority of people on earth, is that the sun is good. We… Continue reading Clean, Green, and Sunscreen
Char-Buff on the Cheap?
Content provided by Matt Santini, CLS Portfolio Manager I know, I know…..please contain yourselves. Oscar’s (a local favorite restaurant) made it to the daily commentary. I know a good wing when I eat one, and that strip-mall-dynamo of a dive did not disappoint. In the same somewhat lateral eureka moment of “hot ice” (“Rookie of… Continue reading Char-Buff on the Cheap?
Austerity?
Content provided by Rusty Vanneman, CFA, CLS Chief Investment Officer There has been a lot of talk about “austerity” lately, especially given all the discussion on the Reinhardt and Rogoff (R&R) study. Yet government spending is still 24 percent of GDP (while that is below the 25 percent plus, from a few years ago, it… Continue reading Austerity?
140 Characters or Less: #DowPlummets
Content provided by Case Eichenberger, CLS Internal Wholesaler As a Millennial, I am constantly using social media. When I was in college, not too long ago, Facebook was just getting started and was being pushed to other schools outside the first social network of Harvard University. Twitter has since followed, allowing people to “tweet” their… Continue reading 140 Characters or Less: #DowPlummets
Thoughts on the Japanese Economy
Content provided by Rui Wang, CLS Investment Research Analyst The Japanese economy has been weak for two decades. One of the obvious symptoms has been its pro-longed deflation. To help mitigate the deflation, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) plans to double its balance sheet within just two years, and they’ve set a 2 percent annual… Continue reading Thoughts on the Japanese Economy
MEOW: Pet Spending Continues to Rise
Content provided by Steve Donahoe, CLS Senior Portfolio Manager One of my favorite sayings is to “never underestimate the propensity of the U.S. consumer to spend money.” Along that line, I found this interesting: Americans spent an estimated $53 billion on their pets in 2012, a number that’s grown nearly 30% in the past five… Continue reading MEOW: Pet Spending Continues to Rise