Thursday 27 June 2013

Anthony Bolton

I must confess I am a fan of Anthony Bolton; his impressive record on the Investment Profession is almost second to none. A fundamental, value and at times contrarian style and strategy was most of the times handsomely rewarded. But Anthony's adventure in the Oriental China didn't add up to this reputation. For what I followed of his own views about this, and since the beginning he was very sanguine regarding the prospects for the Chinese venture, he was also warning that it would be his last take on the Global Investing scene, if it wouldn't be to his and all expectations. And this same promise was actually fulfilled as Mr. Bolton announced last week his retirement. Check in the FT''s Lex column video shown below for a dialogue on this, and maybe take the opportunity to look at the life and biography of Anthony Bolton!


Paradoxes of Finance

The business of investing isn't for the heart fainted, it is well known. But it isn't, so it seems as well for the careless in analysis. As the video below shows, FT's investment editor James Mackintosh is able to show why a Financial Crisis is always paradoxical in nature. As the chart pretty well demonstrate, the panic of moving money around in the midst of turmoil may be ill advised. And even for savviest of the savvy in the money business as the likes of Hedge Funds....

Tuesday 25 June 2013

Europe's Clearing Business

The video that I here post is almost 1 year old, but it still remains a present issue. The FT reporter is interviewing Diana Chan, chief executive of EuroCCP, a UK major player in the Exchange business of clearing and settlement of derivatives and trading of securities. This business is going through major changes and deep regulatory overhaul following the events of the Financial Crisis and even beyond. We all hope that implementation of these changes and of EMIR will continue to maintain and enhance the viability and profitability of this important business that guarantees market efficiency. And certainly that further opportunities will be around the corner...!

...So Investing isn't so simple....these days!

Despite the Crisis recent data appears to reveal that net wealth in USA's households is rather a lot volatile, and it didn't quite follow the deep dips experience of other major crashes. And that is what  Larry Kantor, head of research at Barclays presents in the video below to FT's John Authers. We can also check that the job of investing these days is a choppy and difficult business, specially if we account for the uncertainties of today's markets and economies. What is interesting in this and contradicting a bit the former video of Authers and Gavyn Davies about the timing of FED tapering, is the idea that we maybe are in for a sooner tapering of Quantitative Easing from the FED and on the other hand we are maybe about to see a breaking point in the correlation verified for the past couple of years between the Bond Markets and the Global Equities Markets in the months ahead....! Quite something!

And this week China is out of Liquid.....

And following the tone of the last post, we continue the story of the Global Markets for this week and the video below is a FT Emerging China correspondent talk with Wendy Liu of Nomura. They talk about the volatility in the Shanghai Composite index that might have been triggered by China's Central Bank (it seems that all Central Banks are really nervous for the major protagonist roles on the Markets....) hard line. It seems that the hasrd line of the Chinese Central Bank is causing credit glitches...and looking to hard landings...But it might not in the end!

After Last Week Sell-off

Interesting in this FT Markets clip to take stock of how markets reacted to last week Federal Reserve's move, or as we might more appropriately call it intrinsically volatile signalling. There was a wild sell-off in equities globally,and what is particularly striking is Barclay's Chief Equities Strategist Barry Knapp's account of the correlation in the Markets between the behavior of Stock prices and Bond prices. And we prepare ourselves for what lies ahead for this week in the Markets.....or for what is left of this week in the Global stage!

Monday 24 June 2013

The new era of Bankers Compensation

One of the legacies of the Financial Crisis 2007-2010 was the reputation and the way the larger Public assess the magnitude of Top Investment Bank Executive compensation. The general perception is of disproportionate pay to these officers, and not without reason and argument. And as a response there is data surveyed recently and shortly presented in the FT video below that confirms a downsizing of that magnitude. Nevertheless earning $10m-$20m (m for million) is beyond even of comprehension for the average tax payer of any Country irrespective of that Country wealth and level of development, to say the least about anyone average reaching that kind annual income. I am not a 'crusader' of Equality, but I really think that excessive Inequality is an issue of Social and Political Welfare in its own right, and there's lot of evidence pointing the ills and even economic inefficiencies generated by this excessive pay gap. But it is needed more than Financial Crisis if we ever going to close a lot bit more of this terrible gap, that despite the increasing numbers of Democracies around the world still persists and may will never really close in the first place.....

The turning taper won't be soon....

 The communicative acumen John Authers and the dearth of Macroeconomic Knowledge of Gavyn Davies united here in this FT video. I must confess to a bit of personal emotion about  pieces like this, thinking of my long months of reading, watching and on-line indulgence with the Financial Times. Hope for a next time certainly: 

Friday 21 June 2013

We must learn and work....faster and faster!

In this post on 'The Physics of Finance' Mark Buchanan takes us back to a longstanding paradox in Economics: that of Productivity. Productivity may well one of the most puzzling paradoxes and concepts in all of Economics, and it will maybe continue that way, even with all the  technological advancements. Or by the way even in spite of Technology as the MIT Tech Review article mentioned points to. Always interesting, especially for our times where productivity data may be misused.....:

The Physics of Finance: Robots will take your job: From MIT Tech Review, this article explores an important question: is technology putting people out of work? That simple answer is of c...

EdgarBlogSphere: ReBlogging this:'The Physics of Finance: The War o...

EdgarBlogSphere: ReBlogging this:'The Physics of Finance: The War o...: The Physics of Finance: The War on Reality : If you're at all disturbed (I am) by the various recent revelations over massive data troll...

Advanced Risk and Portfolio Management (ARPM) Bootcamp, by Attilio Meucc...


Speechless.....:




Tuesday 18 June 2013

When will the Tap go down....?

This week we will somehow know if and when the FED (Federal Reserve) will eventually start to tap down its Quantitative Easing program (basically a program to print money to stimulate the economy). The economic figures and the most recent forecast are somewhat disappointing and as such the Easing is likely to continue further. In the end it all might come down to a question of find the trigger of confidence on the part of the Investors that really matter.I would check here with the Trading Floor and the FOMC data if the result will in the be in the interests of the Real Economy or if that is still a mirage....

Tuesday 11 June 2013

The Blurred Distinction.....

This edition of John Authers note (with John in person) gives us an account of why the common distinction made in the Financial and Investment community between Developed Markets and Emerging Markets may be eroding as the latter is maturing. As always well versed, researched and quite rightly helped here by  Ewen Cameron Watt, chief investment strategist at BlackRock Investment Institute:

Maturing-emerging-markets

Melting-up for optimism.....?

A short look at the recent 5% jitter in the Global Equity Markets that can make for a solid, and sustained rally in the months to come, even if we are heading for Summer break:

After-the-melt-up

Tuesday 4 June 2013

The Challenges of Renewable Investing


Renewable Energy investing is a hot and very Modern way of Business Investing. But as this FT report suggests is not without its perils and issues

Contradictions of America


Nice short explanatory video about the Debt Limit question that thwarted the American Politics in the beginning of this year. It tells us the relatively unpleasant position for the White House incumbent and his, and his Government very limited power in setting the American Budget.