by The Investor
on December 21, 2009
A pretty good predictor of strong stock market returns is the US Treasury yield curve. And right now this signal is bleeping a strong ‘buy’ signal, if you’re not too scared of bear markets to listen.
A yield curve plots the interest rates (yields) on short, medium and long-term interest rates over a particular time period.
With government bonds, the yield curve typically charts the yields on very short-term securities that will mature in a matter of months, through medium term bonds, up to 30-year long bonds.
Due to the time value of money, longer-term bonds normally pay higher interest rates than short maturities, so the curve usually (but not always!) slopes gently upwards as you go further out in time.
Sometimes, however, the yield curve steepens.
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by The Investor
on December 19, 2009
My regular roundup of the week’s blog and financial site links.
I don’t know exactly what I think about feminism, and in particular demands that more should be done to promote equality of outcomes for men and women in career and pay.
I say ‘outcomes’ because that is different from ‘opportunity’.
To me it’s very clear that a woman who wants to achieve something professionally, who has all the talent and drive of her male equivalent – and who will put the same hours in – should meet no prejudice.
But that is not the same it should be made easier for her then for a man.
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by The Investor
on December 18, 2009
Note: Today is the last day to buy from Amazon
with free delivery for Christmas!
I hope you’ve all remembered the research from last year about how expensive gifts are a waste of money:
Academics at the Stanford Graduate School of Business recently discovered that:
- Most gift givers assume an expensive present is better appreciated…
- …yet gift receivers don’t appreciate expensive presents much more
This backs up what I’ve long noticed – expensive gifts aren’t much better received than cheaper ones, and if anything they make the recipient feel slightly awkward, unless it is an excellent gift in its own right.
By far the best presents – short of unmarked cash neatly packed into a lightweight briefcase – are gifts based on an experience that you shared with whoever is getting the gift, which you spring on them later in the year.
I don’t mean you need to steal the towels from the hotel you enjoyed a naughty weekend away at, or to keep some of your romantic meal in a frozen doggy bag for Christmas.
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by The Investor
on December 16, 2009
One way that foolhardy brave investors look to beat the market is by following the share trading of company directors in their own company’s shares.
Directors are not allowed to trade on inside information.
But they are arguably best-placed to read the runes about their industry, and to know how much their own confident talk is hot air, versus a hot tip.
At the very least, if the financial director of Widgets, Giblets and Co. is prepared to put £50,000 into shares of the company he manages, you can be pretty sure it’s not about to go bust.
Now academics have produced research that claims to prove that following director buying of Value stocks can indeed generate superior returns.
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