Displaying items by tag: debt

(Washington)

Three of the foremost experts on Financial Crises—proven by their experience in 2008—have just weighed in on the threat of another Crisis. Ben Bernanke, Tim Geithner, and Hank Paulson have just commented in a joint press conference that while the US financial system has better barriers in place to prevent a crisis, its tool kit should one come is considerably weaker than in 2009. The main weaknesses cited were the massive increase in debt the government has experienced since the Crisis, giving it less room to bail out the market; and secondly, the deep political divisions which could more easily block any bipartisan action that may be necessary to save the financial system. Geithner summed it up this way, saying “Better defenses, weaker arsenal”.

FINSUM: This is some very good insight from the most experienced Crisis fighters out there. All their points sound quite reasonable to us.

(Rome)

We do not cover too much European news. This is mostly because our readers don’t pay much attention when we do. However, we thought the crisis going on in Italy warranted special attention. Stocks are plummeting and bond yields soaring on the back of a political uproar over the future of leadership. In particular, two big parties (i.e. the Five Star Movement and the League) who are leading in the polls both propose lavish tax cuts and spending increases which look on the surface to possibly lead Italy to a default, which has bond investors and the European establishment worried.

FINSUM: We feel for Italy, we really do. We think the country has really been crippled by the Euro and now there is no easy way out. We expect positions will moderate, but this could cause some volatility.

(New York)

In what shocked us as a very eye opening statement, a number of funds are saying the market now is more fragile than before the Financial Crisis. According to one so-called tail fund, or funds that invest for profiting when there is a big market reversal, “The financial system is a lot more fragile than it was in 2007 … Leverage is up on every single metric, in just about every category, and debt has increased. The more you indebt someone, the more fragile they become, especially with variable interest rates”, says hedge fund manager Richard Haworth.

FINSUM: These kind of funds are always warning about the next catastrophe, but somehow their warnings seem more prescient right now.

(New York)

Small cap stocks are off to a good start this year, up over 3% this month. Furthermore, a strong start tends to signal good gains for the whole year. There is a lot of reason to be positive—the economy is good, regulations are being rolled back, and the bull market for small caps is much younger (less than two years since a big correction). However, risks abound, according to Barron’s, especially in the long-term. Valuations are still high by historical standards, and are actually higher than they first appear. Smaller companies are also more in-debt and more exposed to interest rate rises than many realize.

FINSUM: We think small caps will keep rising so long as the broader market does. Also, the fact that they had a 25% correction which ended in February 2016 gives them a bit more breathing room than their large cap peers.