Earnings season is over, but September is a busy month for conferences. Those companies presenting at conferences last week tended to have relatively upbeat things to say about the economy. Will positive commentary outweigh soft economic data when the US Federal Reserve meets in September? No one at the Fed has ruled out a rate hike quite yet. Read more
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Although a collection of company analyses may not seem like compelling reading, this volume covers an important and underappreciated topic and boasts a superb introduction by one of the great financial writers of our era, Edward Chancellor. Both real-life and fictional examples help readers deepen their understanding of the capital cycle and teach managers and analysts capital cycle pitfalls to avoid. Read more
Leave a CommentWhy do bronze medalists tend to be happier than their silver counterparts? While it may sound counterintuitive, it has to do with something known in psychology circles as “counterfactual thinking.” That same sort of counterfactual thinking influences investment decision making as well, Lauren Foster reports. Read more
3 CommentsInstead of creating complex multilinear factor regressions, investors can outperform the market simply by selecting the stocks with the smoothest return profile — good, old, boring stocks that show no drama and a lot of stability, writes Joachim Klement, CFA. Read more
3 CommentsIt’s conceivable slavery made it into your clothing or perhaps even the circuits that you are using to read this. It shouldn’t be that way. The case against slavery is about more than just morality. It’s about money and a material risk to a broad cross section of widely owned businesses that is underappreciated, potentially disastrous, and (in time) easily mitigated. Read more
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Highlights from last month include examinations of the CAPE ratio and forward P/E earnings by Joachim Klement, CFA; Matthew Borin’s analysis of a recent Take 15 talk with Dan Ariely; an interview with C. Thomas Howard about the state of active management by Jason Voss, CFA; and a somewhat alarming take on the long-term implications of the low interest rate environment on the viability of banks and insurance companies by David Schawel, CFA. Read more
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The United States has been in an economic malaise for almost two years, but the markets want to believe the economy is emerging from its doldrums. We’ll get a much better sense as to whether this is another false start during earnings season. Read more
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Matthew Borin explores the Microsoft-LinkedIn acquisition through the prism of Ronald Coase’s “The Nature of the Firm.” His conclusion? Neither classical reasoning nor market dominance can explain the deal. If market synergy is the motivation, the odds of success do not look promising. Read more
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