More on increasing concentration risks in the U.S. equity markets: Goldman Sachs estimates that almost 1/4 of total return to S&P500 over the last 10 years came from just 10 stocks:Of these, Apple alone accounted for almost 1/5th of total return to…

Read on →

As raging buybacks of shares and M&As have dropped the free float available in the markets over the recent years, Earnings per Share (EPS) continued to tank. Yet, S&P 500 valuations kept climbing:Source: Factset As noted by the Factset: 1Q…

Read on →

In January-February 2019, Global manufacturing PMI sunk to its lowest reading since 2Q 2016 averaging 50.7 over the first two months of the year. With it, the slowdown has also been impacting the BRIC economies, overall BRIC Manufacturing PMIs average …

Read on →

Having posted a record-breaking USD939 billion of shares repurchases in 2018, Corporate America is on track to set a new record-wrecking year of buybacks in 2019. per latest data from JPM (via @zerohedge), January-February 2019 saw USD187 billion worth…

Read on →

My take on today’s ISM for Manufacturing data here: https://twitter.com/GTCost/status/1101512164584546304, with charts:Chill-ax everyone… #ISM is not even close to signalling a serious trouble ahead… Not that it is a measure I would even consider …

Read on →

Australia – a country with the biggest property bubble of all times and of all countries – is retracing the exact mis-governance steps as its predecessor claimant of the title, Ireland. Just as in Ireland pre-2008 bust, Australian central and regional …

Read on →

Since the start of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and through subsequent Euro area crises, the EU frameworks for reforming financial services have invariably been anchored to the need for reducing the extent of systemic risks in European banking. Wh…

Read on →

Euro area high yield corporate credit rates are under pressure to continue moving:But they are far from being dramatic, even though banking sector margins have now surpassed ex-crises averages:The problem, however, is what awaits on the horizon. So far…

Read on →

A promise of economic convergence was one of the core reasons behind the creation of the Euro. At no time in the Euro area history has this promise been more important than in the years following the series of the 2008-2013 crises, primarily because th…

Read on →

U.S. corporates spending or ‘investing’ over the last 10 years:CapEx ($6.4T), including often non-productive M&AsBuybacks ($4.9T) and Dividends ($3.4T) via @mbarna6Just another reminder why productivity growth is not being aided by cheap …

Read on →