There has been no shortage of COVID-related bad news lately, especially if you google ‘Emerging Markets.’ Four of the top five virus hotspots are in developing countries. Industries crucial to many emerging economies are among the worst hit: tourism has been all but cancelled; low demand for oil and other commodities persists. Even with more […]
News
“For It Is In Giving That We Receive…”
Ah, food for the soul from Francis of Assisi. Wonderful advice for us personally but not necessarily helpful advice if you are a State Treasurer in the U.S. States and municipalities are reeling today financially and trying to squeeze blood from every turnip. They need cash and they need it quick, especially from Washington. We […]
A Pension Problem…
America has a pension problem. It has been reported in financial journals for years and has trickled into the mainstream spotlight a few times, but given the size of the potential shortfall in America’s pension system, it is a wonder that it has not been discussed more broadly or urgently. Defined benefit pension plans (commonly […]
A Tale of Two COVID Investor Trends…
Have come to light recently during these extraordinary times. The first is a substantial increase in people day-trading stocks and the second is the surprising lack of activity in 401(k) accounts. These two things are moving in completely different directions on the behavioral spectrum, one exploding with euphoria and the other about as boring as […]
Where Do We Stand, and Will it be Enough?…
All hopes are pinned these days on the approval of a coronavirus vaccine. But exactly how long is it likely to take to get a vaccine and, once we do get one, will it be effective? According to the World Health Organization, there are now 140 vaccine candidates in pre-clinical stage and 23 under clinical […]
What We Have Been Reading During Lockdown…
Under normal circumstances, I am a devoted newshound. While I love the old school print versions, my daily reads also include any number of online websites and blogs. During the recent period of COVID-driven isolation my news consumption has escalated. It turns out that my irresistible urge to stay current is not unusual. Global Web […]
Am I Just Paranoid or is This ‘Cold War 2’?…
The Chinese have a long memory. They remember the unequal treaties they were forced to sign in the mid-19th century ceding valuable trade and treaty ports to European powers. To us it might seem ancient history. To them it is still very much alive and the humiliation is still very much felt. The ultimate goal […]
Sadder Than Ever…
On Sunday, May 31, as the protests around George Floyd and civil unrest took hold, we had our saddest day ever according to something called the Twitter Hedonometer, an index that has been measuring our daily “happiness” since 2008. Developed by UVM researchers, the Hedonometer looks at a large random sample of English language tweets […]
ESG 101…
Investing has never been an industry to shy away from buzzwords and acronyms, especially when it comes to a hot new trend. For those of you interested in the increasingly popular sphere of socially responsible investing (SRI) – a broad term representing a wide variety of strategies that consider not only financial return but social […]
Coronavirus Consequences…
GREEN ENERGY NOT DOWN FOR THE COUNT The price of crude oil is down 75% from 10 years ago. The futures price even went below zero for a short period last month. You might assume that very cheap oil would have spelt doom for Green Energy, the energy produced by wind and solar. You would […]
Ditching The Premises. A Report From The Front Line…
March 17, 2020 was the day Hanson & Doremus officially moved online, everyone working from home. The big question was, could business still function without the office? The reassuring answer was yes it could, business has continued quite seamlessly and mostly uninterrupted. In discussions with employees the consensus is that we are just as productive […]
What Comes Next?…
It’s been a strange, sad time for the world — and yet, also a period of radical adaptation, learning, reflection and reassessment. That’s not all bad. Historically, pandemics have led to big breaks from the past, and that’s what we seem to be experiencing now. Everything we thought we knew is being questioned. Widespread assumptions, […]
