New Bricks in the Wall of Worry
In the finance world, a wall of worry is an increasing amount of negative information about a security or about the market. That is how the website investinganswers.com defines the expression “wall of worry” frequently cited expression in times of uncertainty. It seems an almost daily occurrence that investors are treated to another “brick” added…
The future of privately issued digital currency
Such are the prospects for mainstream acceptance for something like Facebook’s Libra. But the hurdles are daunting too. In 2015, China’s yuan joined the US dollar, euro, UK pound and yen as an elite currency in the IMF’s ‘special drawing rights’ that members can access in emergencies. The yuan’s ascent to IMF-sanctioned status recognised that…
Monetary Intervention Isn’t Quite Going To Plan
As interest rates approach zero in much of the western world, the linear relationship which economists expect from their monetary intervention isn’t quite going to plan. Rather than igniting animal spirits and spurring spending, declining rates are creating insatiable demand and stratospheric prices for safe haven assets whilst doing nothing for the velocity of money…
The Case For Small To Mid-Caps
If you research Australia’s largest listed companies, you’ll discover that some of them were much smaller stocks not that long ago. Small or medium companies can be overlooked, given they’re often considered riskier than their large cap peers. Yet historically, investors have been rewarded for additional risk with superior long-term returns. What are small and…
When the Smartest People in the Room Get it Wrong
For reasons ranging from time and temperament to financial acumen, many retail investors choose to allow the professionals – the “smartest people in the room” to manage their money. Why endure the pain of picking your own stocks when you can get a wizard at stock picking to do it for you? In the UK,…
Journalism’s ‘Fourth Estate’ Role Is Crumbling In The Internet Age
The telling blow is the damage wrought on local newspapers. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s embrace of Jody Wilson-Raybould while gazing into her eyes just after she was sworn in as the country’s first Indigenous attorney general in a cabinet that was notably half female epitomised the progressive image that Trudeau’s Liberal government sought to…
Silver Mining Stocks Fundamentals
The silver miners’ stocks have been pummeled in recent months, plunging near major secular lows in late May. Sentiment in this tiny sector is miserable, reflecting silver prices continuing to languish relative to gold. This has forced traditional silver miners to increasingly diversify into gold, which has far-superior economics. The major silver miners’ ongoing shift…
Beware of bullish bankers, their bubbles and the inevitable burst
Anjan V Thakor, Washington University in St Louis Something happens between the bubbles, bailouts, boom and bust cycles that we can’t afford to ignore, and it’s happening right now in the US and Europe. It’s a kind of collective amnesia that lulls investors into forgetting exactly what and who caused the last financial crisis. The…
Why a Finite World is a Problem
Why is a finite world a problem? 1. A finite world is a problem because we and all of the other creatures living in this world share the same piece of “real estate.” If humans use increasingly more resources, other species necessarily use less. Even “renewable” resources are shared with other species. If humans use…
Obsessed with the dollar? What to expect from the Aussie in 2015
By Richard Holden, UNSW Australia Business School The Australian dollar is a curious currency. It is the fifth most traded in the world and it gyrates pretty wildly – having traded below 48 US cents and above 110 in the decade or so from mid 2001 to 2011. And to listen to the financial press…
