In my first job as a municipal bond analyst and strategist a key datapoint to consider was the steepness of the yield curve! When the curve was at its steepest, investors would be ‘getting paid’ in the form of higher yields to assume the price and reinvestment risk of moving out to longer maturities. When flat, meaning […]
How many acronyms will fit in one article title? For this weeks articles we’ll cap it at three! Many of this past weeks articles at the Hallmark Abstract Service blog focused on the global economy in conjunction with the turmoil in financial markets around the world. These three acronyms played a critical role… PIIGS: These are the five […]
Before you ask yourself the question’ What is the Baltic Dry Index and why should I care if it drops?’, consider… Consider that the article titled ‘The Baltic Dry Index Falls To Historic Lows! One Question Though….‘ was written only ONE MONTH AGO when the BDI broke 400 for the first time ever (Note: The peak of […]
Why you may be asking yourself is this title insurance guy incessantly writing about non-real estate related issues? The answer is of course that the economy, and the real estate sector specifically, are all impacted by what is happening to the global economy. And this includes the oil industry, bank loans to the oil industry, high yield debt from oil industry related corporations and […]
How do title insurance agents view the prospects for real estate in 2016? A survey conducted by First American, one of the major title insurance underwriters, reveals the thoughts and prognostications of those businesses that are in the trenches of real estate transactions namely title agents. What This Infographic of The Real Estate Sentiment Index […]
The Federal Reserve, after raising its benchmark fed funds rate .25% in December 2015, yesterday left rates unchanged! The December increase was implemented despite inflation remaining well below the Fed’s target rate of 2% and in the face of an economic recovery that could be, at best, termed tepid. At the time some speculated that […]
Summary: The Baltic Dry Index plunges below 400 for the first time ever! You’re probably asking yourself about now why would anyone care about the Baltic Dry Index? The reason? Anyone who formulates a strategic plan for their business needs to consider the anecdotal evidence concerning the current strength and potential future direction of the […]
(Update 11:32 AM: As if investor angst wasn’t running at a high enough level already, trading on the floor of the NYSE for ALL stocks has been suspended for an as of yet undetermined reason although off-floor third market trading is still taking place!) (Update 1:45 PM: Is yesterday’s Tweet from the cyber-hacking organization Anonymous […]
Do Americans, waking-up to the fact that Greece has voted NO to its creditors demands, also understand the risks posed by China and Puerto Rico? Not to mention the potential for serious financial angst in other U.S. cities and countries around the world such as Italy and Spain when they see how Greece makes out. The […]
In a strange twist of fate only one day after the article ‘Dilbert Explains Economics And Economists!‘ was released, this video satire portraying the sameness of news about the economy was discovered! The simple premise is that regardless of the news report you are watching, the focus and theme of the output when it comes […]
