The U.S. Debt Bubble in Five Charts
– Post-2008 interest rate compression engineered by global central banks have resulted in a massive accumulation of debt by both sovereign and corporate issuers.
– U.S. corporate (non-financial) bonds outstanding have grown by 63% to over $6.3 trillion just since 2011.
– U.S. government debt outstanding has ballooned by 148% to over $15.8 trillion since 2008.
“Sign of the Times, or Just Plain Loco”
Consistently throughout 2017, I’ve observed several financial transactions, or some type of valuation, that just doesn’t settle quite right with me. Perhaps near zero interest rates around the globe have permanently changed financial markets.
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Competing For Jobs May Have Just Gotten Harder
Immigrants are relatively better educated when coming to America and the share of those with college degrees has nearly doubled over the last 20 years, further complicating the employment picture…
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Gridlock on Capitol Hill: What Markets are Conveying
Asset class performance in 2017 is significantly different than during the period from Election Day through year-end 2016. What are markets conveying?
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Winners & Losers: A Look into the Recent Past
Below is a look at 10-year annual returns of major asset classes in 2008, 2013, and 2016. What’s notable is how an asset class deemed “today’s favorite” becomes a “dawg” a handful of years later. For example, in 2013 emerging market stocks led the pack with a 10.5% annualized return only to severely underperform thereafter,…
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