MarketsA review of January 2020 major asset class performance. (capitalspectator.com)2020 has already one of the worst (and best) quarters for the S&P 500 in history. (awealthofcommonsense.com)136 of the S&P 500 stocks are positive year-to-date, not including dividends. (novelinvestor.com)2020 markets are nothing if not unsettled. (basonasset.com)Why everyone is talking about gold. (thereformedbroker.com)FacebookFacebook ($FB) is working hard to convince advertisers to stay on board. (nytimes.com)Over 400 companies have joined the Facebook ($FB) boycott. (npr.org)What if Facebook (($FB) can’t be fixed? (venturebeat.com)Like it or not, every company is a media company. (thebasispoint.com)FinanceA big fight is brewing between insurers and companies over ‘business interruption’ coverage in pandemic. (wsj.com)Dun & Bradstreet ($DNB) is once again publicly traded. (bloomberg.com)Uncle Sam just bought … [Read More...]

GoldGold most makes sense a portfolio context. (ofdollarsanddata.com)Gold has had a very good year, so far. (sentimentrader.com)CompaniesA third of all the top global brands could suspend their social media advertising. (ft.com)Amazon ($AMZN) is giving front line workers a one-time bonus. (wsj.com)Why Lululemon ($LULU) bought Mirror. (media.thinknum.com)Most companies are underinvested in cyber security. (klementoninvesting.substack.com)FinanceThe pandemic is only accelerating the digitization of the bond markets. (institutionalinvestor.com)Where is that much talked about wave of corporate bankruptcies? (wsj.com)Investing in SPACs has some wrinkles you need to understand first: the case of Hyliion. (barrons.com)Lemonade is not like other insurance companies. The bull and bear case. (sam.substack.com)NetflixNetflix ($NFLX) has pledged to start putting part of its cash balances in … [Read More...]

Portfolio constructionA guide to building better, more diversified factor portfolios. (alphaarchitect.com)What you can learn about portfolio design from Tiger Woods. (breakingthemarket.com)A way forward for active management is better engineered, concentrated portfolios. (institutionalinvestor.com)ResearchThe alternative strategies performed best during the March drawdown. (quantpedia.com)What can we learn about investing in a zero-interest rate world from Japan? (mailchi.mp)What can value investors learn from previous bear markets and recoveries? (researchaffiliates.com) [Read More...]

MarketsWhat does the stock market historically say about the Presidential election? (thereformedbroker.com)Individual investors refuse to say they are bullish. (sentimentrader.com)FacebookThe Facebook ($FB) advertiser boycott looks to go global. (reuters.com)Facebook ($FB) should buckle up for continued pushback from advertisers. (thereformedbroker.com)Why Facebook’s ($FB) business is less fragile than you think. (stratechery.com)Why Facebook ($FB) was unwilling to confront then candidate Trump in 2015. (washingtonpost.com)FinancePrivate equity has money for new investments, less to support struggling, past investments. (wsj.com)Add Shift Technologies to the list of companies going public via a reverse merger with a SPAC. (news.crunchbase.com)Chesapeake Energy has filed for bankruptcy. (washingtonpost.com)Venture capitalWhat will letting big banks invest do to the venture capital market? (howardlindzon.com)Checking in on the state of venture capital-… [Read More...]

StrategyIndividual investors, by and large, held on through the market drawdown. (wsj.com)Why 75/25 is the new 60/40 portfolio. (theirrelevantinvestor.com)Why smart people are better able to fool themselves. (cnbc.com)FinanceCorporate frauds don’t get uncovered without the work of short-sellers and journalists. (investoramnesia.com)”Fusion Acquisition Corp., a blank check company chaired by State Street Corp. senior advisor Jim Ross, has raised $305 million for dealmaking in the asset management sector.” (institutionalinvestor.com)Social mediaThe ‘shame and blame’ culture is making social media nearly unusable. (howardlindzon.com)More often than not saying nothing beats saying something unkind. (om.co)Why advertiser boycotts won’t have a big effect on Facebook ($FB). (edition.cnn.com)ETFsMore actively managed ETFs than passive have launched in the US this year. (ft.com)Longtime holdout Dimensional Fund Advisors … [Read More...]

AutosA list of the ‘most American cars’ includes three Tesla ($TSLA) models. (barrons.com)Nvidia ($NVDA) is teaming up with Mercedes-Benz to build in-vehicle computing system with artificial intelligence for autonomous driving (investors.com)The shuttered General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio is now gearing up to build an electric pickup truck. (npr.org)How Columbus, OH is incentivizing the purchase of EVs. (arstechnica.com)Everything you need to know about the new Ford ($F) F-150. (arstechnica.com)EnergyWhy America’s balkanized electric grid needs reform. (vox.com)Wind energy in Europe has a NIMBY problem. (bloomberg.com)Why American farmers can help lead in the production of “renewable natural gas.” (ft.com)EnvironmentBanks are finding ways to protect themselves against the risk of making 30-year mortgages in the age of climate change. … [Read More...]

StocksWhat makes for a ‘grandpa stock’? (albertbridgecapital.com)”There is a big difference between a growth stock and a company that grows.” (novelinvestor.com)20 warnings signs to suss out the next Wirecard. (ftalphaville.ft.com)Big TechYouTube is taking direct aim at TikTok with a rival service. (techcrunch.com)Apple ($AAPL) has a relationship with it users, who don’t care what chips are in their devices. (thereformedbroker.com)More advertisers are pulling their ads from Facebook ($FB) and Instagram. (cnbc.com)Amazon ($AMZN) has purchased self-driving car startup Zoox. (news.crunchbase.com)Google ($GOOGL) is going to start paying some publishers for news. (wsj.com)EndingsCostco ($COST) is discontinuing its half sheet cakes. People are not happy. (nytimes.com)Microsoft ($MSFT) is closing its remaining retail locations. (fastcompany.com)Coin shortages across the country … [Read More...]

MarketsMortgage rates: still low. (housingwire.com)Tech stocks are on a historic run. (sentimentrader.com)How much of value’s reputation was made on the back of the Dotcom bubble? (economist.com)Fixed incomeIt’s been quite awhile since inflation was a thing in the US. Is everyone going to freak out? (awealthofcommonsense.com)Does your portfolio need a remake in light of potential inflation? (finance.yahoo.com)Why adding additional credit risk won’t solve your fixed income problem. (blogs.cfainstitute.org)CompaniesIf conglomerate is a four-letter word for you, then Berkshire Hathaway ($BRK.A) probably isnt for you. (msn.com)What is Dell ($DELL) going to do with its big VMWare ($VMW) stake? (barrons.com)Pinduoduo ($PDD) is the most valuable company in the world never to have earned a quarterly profit. (ft.com)Bayer is … [Read More...]

Book excerptsYou are showering too much: an excerpt from James Hamblin’s “Clean: The New Science of Skin.” (theatlantic.com)An excerpt from Maria Konnikova’s new book “The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win.“ (vanityfair.com)A Q&A with Melissa Mazmanian co-author of “Dreams of the Overworked: Living, Working and Parenting in the Digital Age.” (theatlantic.com)PandemicFerris Jabr, “Other animals’ diseases have not so much leapt onto us as flowed into us through channels we supplied.” (nytimes.com)We need to prepare for pandemics like we do any other natural disaster. (wired.com)The US had a loneliness problem even before the pandemic hit. (rollingstone.com)In a change, America is now a figure of pity by other countries. (theatlantic.com)HistorySpeculation … [Read More...]

MarketsThe markets have an infinite capacity to surprise us. (theirrelevantinvestor.com)The many reasons why day trading is a bad idea. (msn.com)Single-contract options trades are on the rise. (wsj.com)The S&P 500 is above its 200 DMA but most stocks aren’t. (sentimentrader.com)StrategyThe vast majority of individual investors have no business owning individual stocks. (morningstar.com)Why Millennials have ‘weird’ ethos when it comes to investing. (americanconsequences.com)Don’t let politics drive your investing. (yourbrainonstocks.com)BusinessWhy is McKinsey & Co. associated with so many companies in trouble? (slate.com)How companies are able to pay bonuses to the C-suite prior to bankruptcy. (nytimes.com)AppleApple ($AAPL) is signaling the end of OS X. (stratechery.com)You may be surprised how much Apple ($AAPL) stock Berkshire Hathaway ($BRK.A) owns. (markets.businessinsider…. [Read More...]

Small investorsWhy every market move these days is now attributed to retail traders. (city-journal.org)The boom in retail stock trading has been building for awhile. (qz.com)How much of the ‘Robinhood effect’ is getting amplified by institutional players? (axios.com)As stock buybacks fade, individual investors have stepped in. (finance.yahoo.com)Dave Portnoy plans to return to sports betting once things open up again. (cnbc.com)NasdaqThe Nasdaq and S&P 500 have very different profiles these days. (wsj.com)The Nasdaq is at a new all-time high. (crossingwallstreet.com)The five big tech companies just crossed $6 trillion in market cap for the first time ever. (theirrelevantinvestor.com)It’s hard to notice the spread between the $QQQs and everything else. (howardlindzon.com)AppleThe deed is done: Apple ($AAPL) is transitioning away … [Read More...]

Hedge fundsAsymmetric payoffs have made hedge funds a bad deal for investors. (papers.ssrn.com)It’s hard to be encouraged by long-short equity fund performance over the past few years. (institutionalinvestor.com)AnomaliesIs the asset growth anomaly more about financing risk? (privpapers.ssrn.com)Trading costs wipe out the overnight return anomaly. (alphaarchitect.com)Established anomalies don’t have much in the way of payoff once you take into account these issues. (privpapers.ssrn.com)ResearchJunkier bonds need not generate higher returns: the case for fallen angels. (morningstar.com)Do options trades inform stock prices? Kinda, sorta. (alphaarchitect.com)How much of the drop in listed US companies is do to M&A activity? (privpapers.ssrn.com)Analysts should be wary of first impression bias. (mrzepczynski.blogspot.com) [Read More...]

MarketsHere are the four categories of stocks hit hard by the pandemic. (ft.com)How to think about the disconnect between the economy and stock market. (msn.com)By any measure, European stocks are trading at a discount to the US. (mailchi.mp)StrategyIn a zero interest rate world, bond have lost their portfolio ‘superpowers.’ (blogs.cfainstitute.org)Stop being so quick to pronounce what will happen, post-pandemic. History shows that unintended consequences rule. (awealthofcommonsense.com)Small businessesCredit card interchange fees are a huge burden for small businesses. (wsj.com)Small businesses have had to embrace technology in the pandemic economy. (washingtonpost.com)AppleWhere Apple ($AAPL) has room to grow is in health. (cnbc.com)What you need to know about the Hey-Apple controversy. (theverge.com)FinanceCitadel Securities is profiting off the boom … [Read More...]

MarketsA company’s market cap on its own doesn’t really tell us much. (theirrelevantinvestor.com)The pandemic has had a big effect on older, mature companies. (aswathdamodaran.blogspot.com)Obvious corporate frauds can go on longer than you ever think possible. (valueandopportunity.com)LessonsYou should be so lucky to be as ‘out of touch’ as Warren Buffett. (kruegercatalano.com)Lessons from Peter Bernstein about the inherent risk in investing. (novelinvestor.com)How Walter Schloss managed money. (monevator.com)RobinhoodHow Robinhood makes money. (howardlindzon.com)What you need to know about payment for order flow. (etftrends.com)FinanceA wave of corporate bankruptcies are set to overwhelm the bankruptcy courts making it harder for companies to restructure. (nytimes.com)There are now nearly 100 SPACs in the US prowling for acquisitions. (barrons.com)FundsThe problem with hedge funds is the high … [Read More...]

AutosThe global pandemic has put the entire auto industry in a hole. (axios.com)Global EV sales topped 2 million in 2019. (axios.com)Americans have swapped flying for driving. (thereformedbroker.com)The problem of licensing new drivers in the age of pandemic. (ozy.com)EnergyHow farmers and utilities are capturing methane and burning it for energy. (washingtonpost.com)Fossil fuel production by country visualized. (visualcapitalist.com)TravelGreece handled the coronavirus well and will likely benefit from it this Summer. (bloomberg.com)Some European cities, like Madrid, are enjoying the respite from tourists. (marketwatch.com)Tourists do not want to visit the US while the pandemic is ongoing. (qz.com)A chunk of the New York hotel market will not reopen to guests. (wsj.com)Has the pandemic changed the equation for travel insurance? (nytimes.com)AppsChatbot apps are gaining … [Read More...]

The bizNick Quah of Hot Pod fame is launching a podcast about podcasts. (fastcompany.com)Spotify ($SPOT) says it has a new partnership with DC to “exclusively produce and distribute a new slate of narrative scripted podcasts.” (cnbc.com)Kim Kardashian West will soon have her own podcast on Spotify ($SPOT). (wsj.com)FinanceBarry Ritholtz talks with Luke Ellis, CEO of Man Group, about the increasing costs of generating hedge fund alpha. (ritholtz.com)Howard Lindzon talks markets and more with THE Jim O’Shaughnessy. (lindzanity.libsyn.com)Patrick O’Shaugnessy and Jamie Catherwood talk sailing and investing with Chris Sommers, CEO of Unhedged. (overcast.fm)Ted Seides talks with Manny Citron, who is Managing Partner at private equity firm Volery Capital. (capitalallocatorspodcast.com)Paul Ollinger talks with Carol Graham author of “Happiness for All?: … [Read More...]

MarketsOn the parallels between American retail speculators in 2020 and China’s stock market fever of 2015. (economist.com)The rise in institutional money market fund AUM seems to have peaked. (sentimentrader.com)Individual investors, as measured by AAII, are not buying into the rally. (disciplinedinvesting.blogspot.com)StrategyWhy going all to cash in your portfolio makes for difficult decisions ahead. (theirrelevantinvestor.com)Why shorting a stock all the way down to $0 is so difficult. (alephblog.com)Investing is all about dealing with errors. (breakingthemarket.com)CryptoInvestors are paying a hefty premium to NAV for the Grayscale Ethereum Trust ($ETHE). (compoundadvisors.com)CompaniesZoom (ZM) is going to roll out secure end-to-end encryption for all users. (washingtonpost.com)TikTok’s US-based revenue expected to hit $500 million in 2020. (theinformation.com)Twitter ($TWTR) is going to add the … [Read More...]