24 October 2011

The Bizarro World of FAS 159

Do you remember the episode of Seinfeld titled “The Bizarro Jerry”? In this episode, which was based on Bizarro Superman, everything is backwards, i.e., up is down, down is up, in is out, out is in. Well, financial institutions have … Read more

2 Comments

20 October 2011

Take 15: Wall Street Revalued

By Ed Bace, CFA

Andrew Smithers discusses why the U.S. equity market is currently overvalued and argues that central banks should be encouraging a reduction in debt levels and quality growth over time, rather than rapid growth now. Read more

1 Comment

19 October 2011

Notes from the Field: CFA Institute Fixed Income Conference 2011

By Jason Voss, CFA

General Tenor: Bearish. Almost all of the speakers at the conference expressed concern about the direction of the global economy. Specifically, bearishness was expressed for: The European sovereign debt crisis The U.S. Congress’s political gridlock and inability to resolve the … Read more

European Sovereign Debt Crisis—What’s the End Game?

By Ron Rimkus, CFA

Why is Europe standing on the cliff’s edge? What went wrong? How did we get here? These are simple questions with anything but simple answers. To help illuminate the issues, I hosted a live webinar on 11 October 2011 featuring … Read more

Is Jack Bogle Right? Are ETFs Destabilizing the Market?

By David Larrabee, CFA

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which offer investors diversification and liquidity at a low cost, have exploded in popularity in recent years and now represent a $1 trillion global market. Morningstar estimates that ETFs now account for at least a third of … Read more