Markets hate uncertainty and climb a wall of worry. Why? Markets are made up of people, and prices are predicated on human emotions — primarily fear and greed. Not financial theory or economic rationale. Investors ignore the old stock market adage, “markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent” at their peril. Impulse […]
When there is no vision, the people cast off restraint.Solomon I have been re-reading an excellent diarised account of daily life in 1929, during the years of the Great Depression in the US. This followed in the aftermath of the excess of the Roaring Twenties. The author Benjamin Roth, a lawyer with a practice in […]
These words of Sir Walter Scott, written in 1808, could have been written today as we explore the boundaries of technology and of entrepreneurial endeavour. Words matter, or so we are told. The murder of Charlie Kirk, a campaigner for debate and free speech, makes the case. We read in the Bible that out of […]
The price for a troy ounce of gold has risen 38% in the past 12 months. Despite the rise in price, the shiny yellow metal is still unloved by speculators and investors. So, who is buying? Central banks have been aggressive buyers of gold bullion since the great financial crisis of 2009. Unlike the American […]
In 2001, chief economist of Goldman Sachs, Jim O’Neill, created the BRICs acronym to describe the world’s developing growth economies, Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Two decades later, China and India can no longer be considered developing economies because they are successfully competing with the industrialised nations of Europe and the US. The end of […]
As the US stock markets exceed all-time high prices, should investors continue to put money to invest at these prices or wait until prices decline? As with all investing decisions there cannot be a general definitive answer, but a study of the history of prices suggests that the answer may be counter-intuitive. In the latest edition […]
The clairvoyant society of London will not meet this Tuesday due to unforeseen circumstances. An advertisement in the Financial Times Markets are made up of people, and market prices fluctuate because of the human condition, fear, and greed. Assuming highly paid and skilled professionals can make the right decisions in their chosen vocation, we pay […]
Market Returns This old stock market adage, when adopted, has saved many an overzealous trader from financial ruin. But should investors with a long-term time horizon (7 –10 years) sell and go away? In the US, this year the S&P 500 index representative of the top 500 companies by capitalization declined in February – March […]
ETF shares can be created and redeemed directly using cryptocurrencies
Successful construction of an investment portfolio for the long term requires full measures of science and of art. The late David Swensen, chief investment officer of the extraordinarily successful Yale Endowment, gives insight on how to achieve this in his book Unconventional Success: A Fundamental Approach to Personal Investment. If investing in risk assets like […]
