CFA Institute

Author Archives: Ron Rimkus, CFA

20 posts

About Ron Rimkus, CFA

Ron Rimkus, CFA, is a content director at CFA Institute, where he focuses on economics and alternative investments. Previously, he served as chief executive officer for the online technology company he founded, Chaos Management, Inc. Prior to founding Chaos Management, Mr. Rimkus served as director of large-cap equity products for BB&T Asset Management, where he led a team of research analysts, regional portfolio managers, client service specialists, and marketing staff. He also served as a senior vice president and lead portfolio manager of large-cap equity products at Mesirow Financial. Mr. Rimkus earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics from Brown University and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Topical Expertise: Alternative Investments · Economics | Follow Ron on Twitter

The Japanese Debt Crisis (Part 1): Has Japan Passed the Point of No Return?

The Japanese Debt Crisis (Illustration from Shutterstock)

Some of the best-known research on financial crises asserts that countries get into trouble when debt-to-GDP ratios surpass 80%. With a national debt that now checks in at roughly 220% of gross domestic product, Japan, at least by rule of thumb, should have collapsed a long time ago. Yet Japan has — thus far — somehow avoided a debt crisis. Read more →

Economics Roundup: Existential Questions for Greece, Japan, and the U.S.

Economics

“To be or not to be” is not just for Hamlet, it’s the existential question of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), the ruling body on credit default swaps. After much ballyhoo about whether or not Greece’s restructuring would technically qualify as a default, the ISDA ruled that Greece’s restructuring in March is in fact a default, thereby triggering credit default swaps on Greece sovereign debt. Read more →

Emerging Markets Conference: Experts Bullish on Africa, Lukewarm on China

Cars drive along a highway in the Plateau Neighborhood of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Because many emerging markets are either commodity producers or exporters, it seemed likely to me that emerging markets would be beholden to the health of the developed (importing) world — which of course has massive excess debt. While this is certainly true for some markets, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the scope of opportunity in emerging markets is much larger than I had expected. Read more →

Derivatives: The Anti-Money

Simulated Higgs boson (© CERN)

Researchers at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, in Geneva, Switzerland, made a splash recently with the “discovery” of the Higgs boson — a subatomic particle that creates a vital link between matter and anti-matter. For researchers at CFA Institute, the Higgs boson discovery is interesting because it parallels a great challenge facing the world of finance: derivatives. You see, in finance, derivatives contracts are kind of like the Higgs boson as they contain the vital link between money and anti-money. Read more →

Felix Zulauf Revisits His Predictions, Sees More Trouble Ahead

Felix Zulauf at the 64th CFA Institute Annual Conference

Last May, at the 64th CFA Institute Annual Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, veteran investor Felix Zulauf laid out a number of bearish predictions that have largely proved to be on the money. Now that six months have passed — and with so much happening in the world — we thought it was a good time to review his predictions and get a fresh update on his outlook for the economy and financial markets. Read more →

Anatomy of the MF Global Debacle

MF Global's New York office at 717 5th Avenue

Here we go again: Another high-profile bankruptcy of a financial firm… Another scandal… It’s just another day on Wall Street, it seems. In October, following a series of debilitating credit downgrades and a steep drop in its stock price, commodities … Read more →