What We’re Reading 5-18-12

Recession added debt, drained families’ savings, Christine Dugas, USA Today Time to Admit Defeat Greece Can No Longer Delay Euro Zone Exit, Der Spiegel Iranians Have Democratic Values, Yuval Porat, The Wall Street Journal African child mortality, The best story in development, The Economist A DVR Ad Eraser Causes Tremors at TV Upfronts, Brian Stelter, The New York Times  Read More →

---

The Commodities Whale

In a recent IMF working paper, author Shaun K. Roache provides readers with some valuable insight on China’s role in world commodity markets. It is no secret that China is a whale in the commodities space, but Mr. Roache helps readers understand just how much of an outlier China’s commodities consumption is when compared to the historical record.  The title of the paper is China’s Impact on World Commodity Markets. 2.1. Long-term structural trends China is a large consumer of a broad range... Read more of this article

---

Stocks for the Long-Run

Jeremy Siegel, the famous Wharton School finance professor coined the phrase “stocks for the long-run” with his identically titled 1994 best seller, Stocks for the Long Run: The Definitive Guide to Financial Market Returns and Long-term Investment Strategies. In the book, professor Siegel looks back at up to two centuries of financial market history to support his claim that stocks are the most profitable long-term investments. And indeed his conclusion has been true. But the good professor failed... Read more of this article

---

Bond Risk

Insurance companies manage risk—their own risk. When it comes to insuring new-issue muni bonds, the only game in town is Assured Guaranty Ltd. They’re staring down the barrel of a ratings downgrade by Moody’s Investors Service. Risky muni-bond investing is about to get riskier. Check out The Wall Street Journal’s For Muni Bonds, Less Assurance: The last remaining insurer of new municipal-bond issues is bracing for a fall that could bring its industry to a new low—and possibly increase borrowing... Read more of this article

---

VIDEO: Time to Break Up Big Banks?

CNBC: Regulators should encourage big banks to restructure themselves, says Sheila Bair, Pew Charitable Trusts and former FDIC chair, explaining why she sees the U.S. banking system as “vulnerable.”    Read More →

---