You don’t need me to tell you the stock market has been on quite a roller coaster earlier this year. In the first twelve days of 2016 the Dow Jones lost over 10%. This is the worst decline to start a year since 1897. We have said before and I am sure we will say […]
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Reasons for Optimism
There are two interlinked stories here. One is about the rise of economic dynamism in smaller U.S. cities like Duluth, Sioux Falls, and Akron. The other is about the fall of globalization. Perhaps calling it “the fall of globalization” is a little dramatic, but global trade in goods is definitely down. Growth in the global […]
The Unanticipated Impact of Low Oil Prices
Most of us are well aware of oil’s recent, precipitous decline. Happily, prices at the gas pump are now below $2/gallon, home heating bills this winter have been less painful and airlines, in a show of generosity, are once again handing out free pretzels. The negative impact of lost energy sector jobs and profits are […]
The 2-Minute Thought: Brazilian stocks rally? What?!?
Source: stockcharts.com Has the world gone crazy or are Brazilian stocks really rallying? It seems like it was just a moment ago that investors didn’t want to hear about Brazil, think about it, or certainly, touch it. The economy is terrible. The president’s facing impeachment. And the ex-president just was implicated in the Petrobras corruption […]
The 2-Minute Thought: Why laundromats in Japan are booming
japanupdate.com “Anyone wondering what a decade of deflation, rising female labour participation, falling marriage rates and soaring pollen counts can do to a nation could study Japan’s self-service launderettes boom.” So riffed the Financial Times poetically last fall. In most of the developed world, self-service laundries have been declining – which makes sense in a […]
The 2-Minute Thought: The wrong way to think about money
The right way to think about money is to focus on opportunity costs. That’s how Duke University behavioral economist Dan Ariely opened an interview late last year. That means that we should think clearly about all the possible alternatives we are giving up as a result of spending money on something. Of course that is […]
Your Questions, Our Answers
Even the most experienced investors have felt unnerved by the recent market sell-off. To help calm nerves and foster a long term perspective, here are our answers to some recently asked questions. Is the recent market decline the start of another major bear market? Many of the world’s stock markets are already in bear market […]
The Changing Face of Shopping
Traditional retail from high end to low is struggling. That includes department stores, single brand outposts, outlets, big boxes, and malls. Spending on traditional categories like apparel is down. The proliferation of online buying options means it’s harder to figure out how bricks and mortar should work. Observers always pay attention to changing consumer demand […]
Get Ready For Brand China
The rub with China has always been they are excellent at volume manufacturing but when it comes to developing global brands they are non-starters. Li-Ning the famous Chinese gymnast tried to develop a global athletic brand to rival Nike and Adidas. No traction so far. Apple earns the lion’s share of the profits from its […]
Seeking: Easy Work, No Heavy Lifting
Mark Twain is famous for saying, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme”. The best and truest wisdom has no sell-by date. Timeless wisdom holds true regardless of the time or circumstance. Charles Ellis is one of Wall Street’s most noted observers. The following piece is from a speech he gave in Toronto in […]
The 2-Minute Thought: On National Identity
Image source: Wikipedia What makes a German identify with being European as well? Why did Corsican separatists lose their passion for independence from France after European Union? Do the youths of South Korea identify more with being citizens of South Korea than they do with being ethnic Koreans (in North or South Korea)? For their […]
The 2-Minute Thought: Is It Time To Buy Bank Stocks?
Source: Marketwatch It’s hard to be a bank. It has been since the financial crisis. It was really hard in 2008-09; it was hard in 2011 when people thought Europe was coming undone; it’s hard now too. Year to date, the KBW Bank Index (blue line in above chart) is vastly underperforming the broad market […]
