Financial markets continue charging higher as we head into Q4 2025. As of Q3 end, global equity market prices were up +18% (ACWI) and U.S. bond market prices advanced +3% (AGG) YTD. Gold remains the big outperformer, with YTD price up by +45% (GLD)! Global Markets Q3 2025 YTD MACRO VIEW Economic conditions have been … Continue reading Q4 2025 Update
U.S. economic and market conditions turned on a dime more than once over the past year. Conditions went from "exceptional" in Q4 2024 to the brink of recession by Q2 2025, only to bounce back to business as usual by the end of the same quarter. The U.S. stock market has been a good reflection … Continue reading Drunken Tea Leaves
It's been a fast moving year for the markets and solidly positive overall. Yet, despite wide swings in both directions, markets ended the quarter close to where they were back in February. Year-to-date, global stock prices are up +9.7%. US bond prices are up +2.4%. Gold continues to lead, up +24.1% YTD. Global Markets MACRO … Continue reading Q3 2025 Update
Before its notoriety as an international blockbuster, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was an ancient Chinese proverb used to describe a person, place, or thing with remarkable but hidden qualities. The current tariffs and trade war resemble an analogous situation for the US with unseen dangers. I recently wrote about the obvious problems of an escalating … Continue reading Couching Tariff, Hidden Danger
The U.S. presidential election is less than a week away. Both sides are dug in and tensions are so thick you could cut them with a knife. Not only is this expected to be a close race, but as both candidates decry, it will be one of the most consequential elections of our time. They … Continue reading Red, White, & Blue
Earlier this month, a sudden and violent sell-off in global stocks was attributed to the unwinding of the Yen carry trade, i.e. when investors borrow Yen to buy other assets, like stocks. After the Bank of Japan surprised markets with monetary policies that were more aggressive than expected, investors panicked and reversed the carry by … Continue reading The Next Carry Trade?
Gold is popular, to say the least. People have conjured up more cliches and trite sayings about the metal than any other. But this year "all that glisters is not gold" (h/t Shakespeare). From April to September gold saw an intra-year drawdown of about -19% while the S&P 500 was down by nearly -15%. Figure … Continue reading All That Glitters
The bear market of 2022 feels more painful than usual because of how broad the selloff has been. From stocks to bonds, to real estate, to cryptocurrency, it seems like there's nowhere to hide. We're all hoping for a bottom in stocks, but hope itself will not help us find one. Fortunately, there are indicators … Continue reading How to Know if The Bear Market is Ending
THE DEATH OF VALUE The death knell for "value-investing" has rung many times over the years. And after a decade of lagging explosive growth stocks (like "FANGMAT") it rings louder than ever. The divergence between growth and value has reached historical levels and now looks even more stretched than during the 1990s dot-com boom. Is … Continue reading Long and Short of Value
Global equity markets have continued an "unprecedented" rally and in the US the S&P 500 has notched a new all-time-high. Many intelligent investors have watched in disbelief as stocks shot up despite dismal economic conditions. But the seemingly irrational market may be more logical than it appears. Caution and Uncertainty BCM was certainly in the … Continue reading For Better or Worse
MARKET SUMMARY After a strong 2019, global equity markets made an abrupt move to the downside in the past month. Most major stock markets have officially entered into bear market territory and are down between 20% to 30%. Figure 1: Global Equity Markets YTD Price Returns With markets already uneasy about slowing economic conditions, the … Continue reading When Boring is Better
An excerpt from my article published at SeekingAlpha.com. Last month, I wrote a piece on coronavirus and China. This month it's clear COVID-19 has become a global concern. While people all over the world are still grappling with the viral pandemic, markets are overcome by a fear pandemic and already in correction territory. Markets are … Continue reading Fearing the Pandemic
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