Asking the Right Questions
Everlasting Monetary Policy and Rising Equity Markets
The major US equity indices closed at new record highs on Friday, with the S&P 500 rising 1.75% over the week. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite breached the dotcom bubble peak reached in 2000.
Weekly Market Recap: April 13th 2015
Market Recap Global equity markets surged higher last week, as we were reminded once again that nothing really matters other than the actions of those benevolent central banks. The weaker than expected US jobs report the previous Friday provided the initial springboard for equities,…
Weekly Market Recap: April 6th 2015
Market Recap Global equity markets edged slightly higher despite mixed economic data, in what was a shortened trading week as US and European equity markets were closed for Good Friday. In Europe, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 closed up 0.6% while in the US, the…
Weekly Market Recap: 2nd March 2015
Stellar month for equities…. Most of the major equity indices moved higher last week despite mixed economic data and speculation that the US Federal Reserve could move on rate hikes this summer. Last week capped a stellar month for equity markets, with gains of…
“Herbalife will go to Zero” – Bill Ackman
In July of last year I wrote a piece on Herbalife – “Is Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) a Pyramid Scheme?” – following the presentation by Bill Ackman, the legendary hedge fund manager and founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, where he exposed Herbalife to be a…
The Year Ahead: Key Considerations
As I consider the outlook for the year ahead I am certain that once again the predominant theme is central bank policy. The investment world is a dynamic place and each week in my weekly musings I try to touch on the most relevant developments. Therefore, I have…
Is Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) a Pyramid Scheme?
“[T]he organization is deemed a pyramid scheme if the participants obtain their monetary benefits primarily from recruitment rather than the sale of goods and services to consumers”. Peter J Vander Nat; William W Keep The legendary hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, founder of Pershing…
Janet Yellen: No Bubble, “In Aggregate”
On the central bank front, US Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s semi-annual monetary policy report to Congress offered few surprises in terms of the outlook for monetary policy. The overriding message is that the Fed will continue to support the recovery as “too many Americans…
Economic Reform in India: Can Narendra Modi walk on water?
The Indian government announced plans to put the economy back on the path of strong economic growth and reform, with 7-8% GDP growth expected within three years. The recently elected Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, was lauded by the economic press in the run up…
Consensus Economic Forecasts: Continuously Over-Optimistic
Beginning the year the consensus outlook for global economic growth was more optimistic for 2014, to be driven by the high-income countries. This has not transpired as expected with the most notable weakness in the US, the world’s largest economy. Real gross domestic product…
