Top 5 Articles from April
1. The Japanese Debt Crisis (Part 2): When Does Japan Cross the Event Horizon?
Social spending is virtually exploding in Japan right now, and at the same time its population is aging. Can the event horizon for a debt crisis be that far off?
2. The Japanese Debt Crisis (Part 1): Has Japan Passed the Point of No Return?
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.
3. Does Quantitative Investing Have a Future?
After stumbling badly from 2007 to 2009, quantitative investing has enjoyed a nice run. Nonetheless, a recent CFA Institute member poll suggests that quant managers have a perception problem.
4. Components of Credit Spreads and Their Importance
Credit spreads are a rich source of information about various risks. Here is a distillation of many research articles about credit spread components.
5. Resources to Support Your “Soft” Skills Development
Solid technical skills are obviously a prerequisite in terms of getting a job interview and even progressing from one role to the next throughout your career, but “soft” skills are becoming an increasingly important criteria for determining which candidate actually lands the job and what advancement opportunities will be available.
Yen sign illustration from Shutterstock.
