Gold has had a fantastic run, getting to within sight of $2,000 recently. Many see this as a clear indication of hyper inflationary pressures arising out of loose monetary policy. The informed recognise that you can’t have hyperinflation if all sensible measures of actual prices other than a particular, volatile commodity are showing very low…
Some interesting papers on the ERP: Market Risk Premium used in 56 countries in 2011: a survey with 6,014 answers Interesting not least because it is a survey of required Equity Risk Premiums (or Market Risk Premiums) rather than expected. The rates are higher than I use, although this is also useful information when attempting…
It’s chock-full of analysis, numbers, tables and charts showing how as much as things change, the scope for financial crises changes very little. The comparison of Developed and Emerging Markets is particularly interesting in that the differences, while they do exist, are far smaller than stereotypical views. Emerging Markets do tend to have more ongoing…
Commodity prices rise and the world screams hyperinflation. Elsewhere, alternative investment managers espouse the virtues of commodities as an asset class that generates “alpha” returns (i.e. returns not related to the overall direction of markets). The thing is, it’s hard to have it both ways. Â The link between unexpected/expected inflation and equity prices in the…
I heard someone talking on Classic Business tonight. Pity I didn’t catch his name so I can avoid his advice in future. He was saying that he doesn’t see the point in investing in debt instruments. Â He explained that the return is low and the risk high since if the company gets into trouble, you’ll…
I hope Make A Million’s systems are playing up. Â Otherwise some players are losing more money than I ever expected.
Junk Bonds are debt instruments issued by corporates that have relatively low credit ratings. Â They pay interest at high rates as a result. Typically viewed as risky investments, the junk bonds boom of the 80s showed that there is more to junk than just a risky investment. Locally, our pension funds and other retirement savings…
In How Not to Lose Money in Make a Million I showed that the game was massively more likely to lose you money than make you money. Â It may be a great way for the promoters to gain some new client and some media coverage, but it’s a really poor way to introduce the masses…
