Category: Economy
114 posts categorized as "Economy"
The Market Keeps Going, and Going, and Going. . .
March 21, 2013
Content provided by J.J. Schenkelberg CLS, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager Someone at CLS (I won’t name any names) told a story once about coming home from the airport very late at night, shortly after the Dodge overpass was built. On a deserted Dodge road he found himself climbing higher next to orange cones. Not knowing…
Adventures of a “Bail In” – Featuring the Little Island that Couldn’t
March 19, 2013
Content provided by Matt Santini, CLS Portfolio Manager As I write this, the island of Cyprus has just agreed to keep banks closed through Thursday. If you were looking to drawdown on your offshore cash before the NCAA tourney, you are out of luck. And ultimately, unless they own gold or have mattress reserves, Cypriot’s…
Interesting Thoughts on Capitalism
February 26, 2013
Content provided by Steve Donahoe, CLS Senior Portfolio Manager A colleague recently mentioned a book to me that I thought had an interesting title: The Morality of Capitalism: What Your Professors Won’t Tell You. The book is edited by Tom G. Palmer. I consider myself a capitalist to the bone because, if for no other…
Poker Skills Come in Handy
February 19, 2013
Content Provided by Marc Pfeffer, CLS Senior Portfolio Manager As someone who has played poker for a long time, one of the most important attributes to winning is to read or “tell” your opponents. A “tell” can be a comment, gesture, or facial expression. Something that alerts you to how strong the opponent’s hand is,…
Why I Like Domestic Energy
February 15, 2013
Content Provided by Paula Wieck, CLS Investment Research Manager Outside the U.S., oil and natural gas prices have stayed high, particularly in Europe and Japan, where resources are limited. In the meantime, the U.S. is experiencing a boom in oil and natural gas production! America’s dependency on foreign imports of oil and natural gas has…
新年快乐 (Happy New Year)!
February 12, 2013
Content Provided by Rui Wang, CLS Research Analyst Last Sunday was New Year’s Day according to the Chinese calendar. Millions of Chinese enjoyed extravagant celebrations and extended vacations. So far, both the Chinese economy and equity markets have had a great start, making the national holiday even more enjoyable. It seems like a great time…
The Glass Ceiling Revisited (Part 1)
February 7, 2013
Sally Krawcheck, past President of Merrill Lynch, US Trust, and Smith Barney, recently posted a blog on LinkedIn that caught my eye. The title is “Big Idea 2013: Flexibility Without Shame.” Along with knowledgeable posts on the Glass-Steagall Act and other financial industry issues, she has posted several commentaries on women in the workplace that…
Some Thoughts about Energy Commodities
February 4, 2013
The Fed’s easy monetary policy has supported the U.S equity and bond rally since 2009. However, energy commodities have lagged equities and bonds due to global investors’ fear of prolonged deflation. It is interesting to see that since its inception in 1982, the S&P GSCI energy index always outperformed the S&P 500 index in the…
Environmentally Friendly?
January 17, 2013
When I would present to clients and advisors in the mid-2000s, I often spoke about some potential transformations that would have a large impact on the investing landscape. Energy independence was one of those items. I always imagined it coming from alternative energy and improved batteries. Based on information in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s…
Bulls Are On The Move
January 15, 2013
How does this bull market in the S&P compare to past bull markets? In short, the economic recovery may be below average, but the stock market strength is clearly above-average. The bull market’s length is now over 1400 days. This is longer than 70 percent of all bull markets. The gain in the S&P is…