Regulations have been slowly destroying the bond market in America. But, new algorithmic trading computers are stepping in to modernize the market. Bond trading desks are relying more on computer driven trading all the time. The FT reports: While debt issuance has surged, traders say liquidity has deteriorated sharply in recent years, as a torrent of regulations forced banks to reduce their trading desks. Putting precise numbers around this decline is tricky, as liquidity is an ephemeral concept. Asking a dozen traders will typically yield at least as many answers. But broadly speaking, … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2018
How Many Times Can SpaceX Reuse a Rocket?
A new very of SpaceX's Falcon rocket, the 9 Block 5 is "designed to be capable of 10 or more flights with very limited refurbishment." The company is striving for "rapid reusability and extremely high reliability." Improvements in efficiency for rockets are paramount to making any commercial rocket program a success. In the past rockets were taxpayer funded, and therefore little attention was paid to the profitability of their operation. But with SpaceX and Blue Origin vying with traditional rocket builders like Boeing to become American alternatives to Russian launch operations, every … [Read more...]
Amazon Fights “Super Dangerous” Tax in Seattle
The city of Seattle, WA is considering the placement of a tax on big businesses that would charge them $0.26/hour per employee during the years of 2019 and 2020. The tax would then become a 0.7% payroll tax from 2021 onward. CNBC reports: Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy said on Wednesday it's "super dangerous" for Seattle to consider taxing large companies — and risk dampening job creation — to offset the effects of gentrification and homelessness. In particular, Jassy was critical of the proposed "head tax," which would apply to 585 businesses with $20 million or more in yearly … [Read more...]
Job Market Booms
The job market is booming. There is now a job opening for almost every unemployed American. Regulatory reform and a massive corporate tax cut have no doubt helped bigly 😉. This is the best job market in two decades, and the highest number of job openings to the number of unemployed since the Labor Department started keeping track on a regular basis. Based on the historical relationship, it shouldn’t be long before wage growth starts accelerating. … [Read more...]
After US Iran Deal Withdrawal, Economic Horse Trading Begins
Leaders of EU countries are already attempting to limit the effects of fresh US sanctions on European businesses. After President Donald Trump announced America's withdrawal from the JCPOA (a.k.a. the Iran nuclear deal), EU leaders immediately began attempting to salvage the agreement. Anne-Sylvaine Chassany, Michael Peel and Tobias Buck report: EU leaders said they would press Washington to exempt European companies from fresh US sanctions as transatlantic tensions spiked over President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal. French officials said on Wednesday they … [Read more...]
The Profound Power of Patience & Compound Interest
Patience and the awesome power of compound interest are the heart and soul of investing. The NY Times reports that Sylvia Bloom, a legal secretary from Brooklyn amassed a fortune of over $9 million dollars on a modest salary. What was the key to Mrs. Bloom’s success? Mrs. Bloom saved and invested and allowed the power of compounding to work for over six decades. Since Ms. Bloom never talked about this, even to those closest to her, the fact that she had carefully cultivated more than $9 million among three brokerage houses and 11 banks, emerged only at the end of her life — “an oh my God … [Read more...]
Forbes: Powell’s Fed Still Believes in Funny Money
In an editorial appearing in his eponymous magazine, Steve Forbes writes that the Federal Reserve's new chairman, Jerome Powell will continue the same bad policies that have done so much harm to the American economy. Forbes lists a number of these misguided approaches, but the first is the belief in what he calls "funny money." He writes: THE FEDERAL RESERVE'S new chairman, Jerome Powell, recently presided over his first meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets central bank policy, most particularly the level of interest rates. Powell looks to continue the same destructive … [Read more...]
What Does Walmart and Uber Breakup Mean for Grocery Delivery?
A partnership between Walmart and Uber (and Lyft in Denver, CO), has been broken according to Reuters reporting. Nandita Bose and Heather Somerville write: The end of the Walmart partnerships, which has not been previously reported and was confirmed by Walmart and Uber, undercuts a vision the ride-hailing companies laid out: a service that can efficiently deliver anything on-demand, including people and cargo, at the touch of a smartphone app. “It is incredibly hard to deliver people and packages together,” said a source with a delivery company that works with Walmart and has direct … [Read more...]
“E.J., What’s Going on with Vanguard GNMA?”
“E.J., what’s going on with Vanguard GNMA?” my mother asked me the other day. “Hi mom” I said. “Hang in there.” Hard to believe but Vanguard GNMA is yielding just over three percent today. Yes, its price is down but you only lose when you sell. And I’m not selling. I’m buying more at lower prices and taking the three percent. Because it’s a three percent world. I’m just living in it. “How about bank CDs?” you might ask. I see the teaser rates out there. But you can feel like a mouse on a wheel chasing rates and locking in FDIC protection. You can put a lot of money in Vanguard GNMA and … [Read more...]
Emerging Markets Currencies have Worst Week Since 2016
The FT reports that last week emerging market currencies had their worst week since 2016 and they are down again this morning. The Turkish lira faced the heaviest fall on Monday, sliding 0.85 per cent on the buck, with a dollar buying 4.2624 lira. South Africa’s rand was the second biggest faller, down 0.44 per cent on the greenback, while the Philippine peso, Russian rouble and Indian rupee were each off roughly 0.4 per cent. Trading in the Argentine peso, which tumbled 6.2 per cent last week and sparked a series of three rate rises from the central bank, opens at roughly 2pm London … [Read more...]
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