The Latest from

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  September 16, 2024

  Broader market growth brings more opportunities

  

  For the first time since 2022, non-AI companies have started growing their earnings. Even the smallest firms are staking their claim. Of course, the "Magnificent Seven" technology stocks have carried the market...

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  September 9, 2024

  AI “enablers” deserve more spotlight

  

  In 2013, Thomas Herndon, a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was assigned a seemingly straightforward task: Select an economic study and attempt to replicate its results.

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  August 26, 2024

  This private credit pioneer is driving the industry to collapse

  

  When Prospect Capital (PSEC) launched its first Business Development Company (“BDC”) two decades ago, it unwittingly laid the groundwork for what would become the $2 trillion private credit market today. Initially, it was a low-key business, simply lending money to small and financially distressed firms and getting a steady stream of payments in return.

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  August 19, 2024

  Consumer savings have dried up

  

  To start August, U.S. job data for July showed that the unemployment rate had climbed to 4.3%, up from June's 4.1%. This was near a three-year high and higher than estimates for unemployment to remain at 4.1%. This triggered the Sahm rule—a reliable recession indicator—and investors panicked. The U.S. market lost more than $1 trillion in a three-day sell-off

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  August 12, 2024

  Rate cuts loom as economic pressure mounts

  

  Bill Dudley, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, spoke in late July before the market bloodbath happened last week.

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  August 5, 2024

  Be skeptical when the government offers help

  

  Since the onset of the pandemic, the U.S. has done a lot to build up its own industries. American companies were burned by shutdowns and shortages at their global manufacturing plants. Many are rebuilding production back on U.S. soil.

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  July 29, 2024

  You should be worried about repo workers being so happy

  

  Attendees at last year’s North American Repossessors Summit had a lot to discuss, namely the historic demand they've been experiencing with the decline in consumer financial health.

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  July 22, 2024

  Known by many, used by few

  

  More than half of the U.S. population has at least heard of AI chatbot ChatGPT. And nearly one-third of the population has used it. On the surface, it looks like AI has already made a huge dent. However, when you look deeper... the story is quite different. Only around 7% of the U.S. population uses ChatGPT daily. Most people who reported using it only did so a handful of times.

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  July 15, 2024

  The world still runs on the U.S. dollar

  

  According to the International Monetary Fund (“IMF”), one-third of the world's capital has flowed into the U.S. since the pandemic... Pre-pandemic, that number was just 18%.

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  July 8, 2024

  Earnings growth, duh

  

  In the world of Wall Street, investors focus on one thing above all else, earnings growth…

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  July 1, 2024

  U.S. companies are gearing up for major investments

  

  Many companies tried to wait for interest rates to come down before spending or borrowing. But as regular readers know, debt-laden businesses couldn't outwait the Federal Reserve. We saw a wave of refinancing for U.S. corporations earlier this year. Also, many companies held off on investing in their businesses with rates so high.

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  June 24, 2024

  Investors have already settled into the ‘New China’

  

  While most Indian prime ministers serve a maximum of two terms, Narendra Modi became the second ever to reach a third term. Indian citizens are clearly happy with how the last decade has gone. Modi has done a lot to help India’s economy become one of the fastest growing in the world, including welcoming a lot of new foreign investors over the last few years.

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  June 17, 2024

  Redirecting public discontent

  

  China's economy has been hit on many different fronts lately… First, the country faced a debt crisis in the real estate. Recently, there have been conversations about how the government is trying to bail out the sector with efforts to push regions to buy homes outright.

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  June 10, 2024

  The hidden impact of ‘Phantom Debt’ on consumer health

  

  In the shadows of traditional credit, “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) loans are quietly stacking up as “phantom debt.” These seemingly benign, interest-free installments bypass credit reports but are increasingly driving delinquency rates higher, reflecting growing financial strain among consumers. In today’s FA Alpha Daily, we explore the hidden risks of BNPL, its impact on […]

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  June 3, 2024

  This ‘vanilla’ tool can help you invest more in bonds

  

  Investing is less about picking the right company than you think.

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  May 20, 2024

  Far from the 1970s

  

  The last time the U.S. saw stagflation was in the 1970s...

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  May 13, 2024

  Finding silver linings in ‘‘bad’’ data

  

  The recent U.S. job report has given investors and economists a rare reason to celebrate despite its seemingly modest numbers.

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  May 6, 2024

  Japan’s economy is showing signs of life

  

  Japan's GDP grew from $91 billion in 1965 to $1.1 trillion by 1980...

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  April 22, 2024

  Choking on credit

  

  Employment and wage growth are going strong... but everything isn't fine in today's economy. Consumers are grappling with borrowing at elevated interest rates unseen in years. Over the past few quarters, both auto loans and credit card loans have soared to unprecedented levels.

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  April 15, 2024

  Don’t count on rate cuts anytime soon

  

  Limbach Holdings (LMB) is a full-service building construction and facilities services company. The company provides integrated design, installation, maintenance, and repair services for the built environment.

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