This week I had the privilege of participating in a YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization) event held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. One of the main topics of discussion was investment opportunities in neighboring Zambia, a country that, despite its challenges, is a rising star on the African continent, due largely to its copper exports.
Sour sentiment toward emerging-market stocks is obscuring uncommon opportunities for equity investors.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of underlying US inflation decelerated in May, bolstering the case for lower interest rates later this year.
Investors need a better grasp of risk-management tools to gauge a portfolio’s strategic resilience in a rapidly changing world.
Much like the universe, which began with a big bang nearly 14 billion years ago, but is expanding so rapidly that scientists predict it will all end in a “big freeze” trillions of years from now, our current monetary system seems to require perpetual expansion to maintain its existence.
Norinchukin Bank is best known outside of Japan as an investing whale in the market for bonds that package up loans to private equity businesses, known as collateralized loan obligations.
This year's tale of two markets has underscored resilience at the index level but considerable weakness at the individual member level, leading to massive performance divergences.
In his mid-year outlook, Jim Cielinski, Global Head of Fixed Income, recognizes markets were impatient in wanting rate cuts, but the offset is fresh opportunities for investors to capture attractive yields.
Private credit investors in Europe are abandoning leveraged plays to try to get ahead of a potential wave of defaults.
This summer, countless bankers and financiers will get away to the Hamptons or vacation in Europe. And a handful will be traveling nearly every weekend — to play lacrosse.
Dell Technologies Inc. shares rose on Thursday after Chief Executive Officer Michael Dell said the company is building a “Dell AI factory” for Elon Musk’s startup xAI alongside Nvidia Corp.
After being on the frontline of the pandemic, then grappling with an edgy public and a spike in shoplifting, its been a tough few years to work retail. But for Walmart Inc. managers, at least, things are looking up.
Nadeem Meghji was on honeymoon in late 2022 when the biggest storm to have rocked Blackstone Inc.’s property business hit its peak.
Recently, James Grant, editor of the Interest Rate Observer, was asked about his outlook for interest rates. He sees interest rates moving in a cyclical pattern, potentially rising for another multi-decade period.
More than a few individuals were active in the markets in 1999-2000, but many participants today were not. I remember looking at charts and writing about the craziness in markets as the fears of “Y2K” and the boom of “internet” filled media headlines.
This week, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) significantly upgraded its profitability projections for airlines in 2024. The trade group now expects net profits to reach $30.5 billion, an increase from $27.4 billion in 2023.
You know I’m highly concerned about government debt in the developed world, particularly the US. I’ve said for years a crisis is coming. We’ve blown right past all our chances to avoid it. Now all we can do is imagine what the crisis will look like… and how much it will hurt.
Certain segments of the economy and stock market have experienced much stronger recoveries this year, underscoring a severe bifurcation between the "haves" and "have nots."
When JPMorgan Chase & Co. arranged a series of trades to shift the risk of losses from $20 billion of its loans, some of those dangers wound up at a familiar place: rival banks.
Whether it’s another move up or a dive down, traders are bracing for added volatility wrought by Wednesday’s dual macroeconomic catalysts: a report on consumer prices in the morning and the Federal Reserve’s rate decision in the afternoon.
A broad equity rally isn’t spilling over into the technology sector, where gains are still concentrated in just a few artificial intelligence winners that have become defensive plays amid an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop.
I’m writing you from Cape Town, South Africa, where I’ve been warmly welcomed and reminded how much I enjoy international travel (well, except for jet lag!). Our world has so many wonders most people never get to experience. Of course, “there’s no place like home,” but seeing other places makes me happy, too.
In its moment of most need, back in 2022, the liquified natural gas market saved Europe. Now, that same LNG market is the continent’s new vulnerability. The good news is that the weakness should be short-lived; the bad news is that it won’t go away before the next winter.
Over the past 18 months, investment grade (IG) corporate credit spreads have narrowed considerably in response to solid fundamentals and a strong economy. Given the tight spread levels, should investors reconsider the attractiveness of owning corporate bonds and instead buy Treasury securities?
When it comes to investing in consumer debt, headlines may be misleading. We see opportunity.
While rules-based monetary policy thrived when globalization put downward pressure on inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic has revived central bankers’ long-dormant preference for inflationary policies. This shift may help central banks maintain their independence, but it also increases the likelihood of another surge of price growth.
One lesson that stuck with me was that not knowing is not a wrong answer. It’s how you communicate your lack of knowledge that makes all the difference.
When new inventions turn into market frenzies, the contrarian part of me wants to be skeptical. But the optimistic part of me wants it to be true, especially when the idea promises to change life for the better. Reality is usually somewhere in between.
Will Americans return to the office? It may depend on where it is and what it offers.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is on the hunt to buy a private credit firm to augment its $3.6 trillion asset management arm, as the biggest US bank makes more inroads into Wall Street’s buzziest sector.
Interest in active fixed income products has swelled in 2024, as credit spreads narrow and the Federal Reserve holds fast to a “will they, won’t they” game.
Private capital is increasingly being used to finance consumer spending.
Will the rapid growth of private credit impair financial stability?
A measure of underlying US inflation cooled in April for the first time in six months, a small step in the right direction for Federal Reserve officials looking to start cutting interest rates this year.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the US central bank needs to be patient as it awaits more evidence that high interest rates are curbing inflation, doubling-down on the need to keep borrowing costs elevated.
Markets seem to have been basking in the spring sun as they wait for the approaching summer heat, so to speak.
Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said she doesn’t expect it will be appropriate for the Fed to cut interest rates in 2024, pointing to persistent inflation in the first several months of the year.
Guessing the direction of interest rates is no easier than any other tactical or market timing decision. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note is just under 3.9%. That is about 100 basis points less than it was a few months ago. Fed policy is uncertain, inflation has not been fully controlled, and fiscal deficits loom as a long-term risk for yields to go higher.
Shifting dynamics among global economies and markets present a range of opportunities for multi-asset portfolios.
The idea that power is inherently corrupting has been repeatedly proven throughout history. From politics to business to religion, there are countless examples of individuals who succumb to corruption and abuse their authority.
The Franklin Templeton Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF (FLMI) represents the best ideas of the issuer's municipal bonds research team.
Two years after Wall Street’s love affair with fast-twitch stock options began, Bloomberg’s latest Markets Live Pulse survey suggests the unprecedented boom still has room to run — even as almost half of respondents fear an eventual blowup.
The rise of index funds has provided millions of Americans with a cheaper and more efficient way to invest. With more than $23 trillion in assets between them, BlackRock Inc., Vanguard Group Inc. and State Street Corp. have become the top shareholders in many US-listed companies.
Message to bond underwriters: Some big customers are sizing up your ESG credentials.
In case you missed it, a $5 trillion tax hike looms over American households and businesses in President Joe Biden’s latest budget proposal, which would include a 25% annual minimum tax on unrealized capital gains for individuals with incomes and assets exceeding $100 million.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of underlying US inflation rose at a brisk pace in March, reinforcing concerns of persistent price pressures that are likely to delay any interest-rate cuts.
Since Silicon Valley Bank became the second-biggest failure in US history a year ago, other lenders have been trying to take its place in banking the fast-moving, entrepreneurial world of startups and tech companies.
A rally that has seen European bank stocks outpace both US peers and the Nasdaq over the last three years faces a key test in coming days when most of the region’s major lenders report results.
I have indicted the securities industry for spreading “a web of deceptions that have become conventional wisdom.” But a small part of the industry does provide products and services that are beneficial and necessary. That is the subject of this article.
