Big Trouble in Little Athens, Revisted

It's been over five years since Greece's current financial crisis started making public headlines. Since then Greece has received more than 240 billion Euros of bailout loans from the ECB, the IMF, and the EU (aka the "Troika"). That figure doesn't include the "phantom" aid that Greece also received in the form of the debt … Continue reading Big Trouble in Little Athens, Revisted →

Miss of a Lifetime

Back in April, Bill Gross called shorting long-term German Bunds the "short of a lifetime." Gross was basically saying the ~0.95% yield on the 10-year German Treasury was at an unsustainable low, and that an inevitable yield reversal was the biggest "no-brainer" he saw. And he was right! Just shortly after his call yields did … Continue reading Miss of a Lifetime →

Has Janet Lost Her Patience?

Speculation has been rampant about when Janet Yellen and the Federal Reserve will finally begin raising interest rates. Last month all the buzz was focused on whether Yellen would drop the word "patient" (with respect to rate increases) from her scheduled Fed policy statement. She did, and ever since strategists and traders all up … Continue reading Has Janet Lost Her Patience? →

Looking Abroad

With about every major US equity index making new highs, many investors are nervous about US stocks. I don't know if there's an impending stock market crash, but regardless at BCM we favor foreign developed market equities for the time being. Here are a few reasons why. Western Europe appears to be trailing the US … Continue reading Looking Abroad →

The February Barometer?

US stocks got off to a choppy start in 2015. The S&P 500 ended January down 3% and some took it as an omen for the year ahead. But the market bounced back 6% in February and is now up 2.88% for the year. So much for the "January Barometer?" Whether you use them … Continue reading The February Barometer? →

Anything and Everything for Russia

Today S&P announced it cut the credit rating on Russian sovereign debt to junk status. The Russian equity market slid about 8% on that news, but the damage wasn't as bad as some may have thought. That's because the downgrade was widely expected, and of course, the Russian market is already down more than 60% … Continue reading Anything and Everything for Russia →

Not the Biggest Loser

The year's not quite over, but I think it's safe to say that oil prices will be one of 2014's biggest losers. Year to date crude oil prices are down close to 50%. It's hard to believe that even just months ago many people assumed we'd never see oil prices below $100 per barrel again! … Continue reading Not the Biggest Loser →

Persistence Over Weakness

Despite some lingering concerns, the US economy continues to chug along in 2014. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released it's the second estimate of third-quarter real GDP growth yesterday and it came in at 3.9% annualized. That's not a terrible number, but it's not a great one either. This persistent, weak growth continues to … Continue reading Persistence Over Weakness →

Third Quarter Recap

Following a calm start to 2014, financial markets ended the third quarter with a spike up in volatility. Global stock prices fell by 3.79% in the third quarter but still managed a year to date return of 3.80%. Risky asset prices, in general, were down across the board. Most notably, foreign developed market stock prices were … Continue reading Third Quarter Recap →

Bill Gross’ Departure from PIMCO

A guest post by Wei Trieu. On September 26, 2014, Bill Gross announced his sudden departure from PIMCO, the firm he co-founded in 1971. This shake-up comes at an already troubling time for the investment company after the heir apparent, Mohamed El-Erian, announced his resignation earlier in the year. The firm’s flagship Total Return fund … Continue reading Bill Gross’ Departure from PIMCO →

The End is Near

After almost six years and over $4.4 trillion in asset purchases, the Federal Reserve plans to end its unprecedented monetary policy known as quantitative easing, or “QE,” in November 2014. Though the end of QE has been widely anticipated, the actual termination of the policy represents a major turning point for financial markets, a point … Continue reading The End is Near →

The HFT Game

There's been a lot of chatter about high-frequency-trading (HFT) -- here's a quick take on the topic for people scratching their heads. What is HFT anyway? Imagine a stock that's moving up in price due to strong buying demand. A HFT program recognizes the trend and executes thousands of sequential buy and sell orders within … Continue reading The HFT Game →