The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact economies across the globe as they emerge from lockdowns, including emerging markets.

We believe the risk that preferred-stock dividends will be suspended is low despite the recent announcement by the Federal Reserve that it is requiring banks to cap their common stock dividends.

Global equities rebounded sharply in the second quarter. But new risks are looming as companies and countries count the costs of the pandemic.

The pandemic has delivered a global growth shock, but in doing so, it has accelerated the timeline for several mega trends that we have been actively investing in, such as productivity enhancement (robotics, automation, and software), e-commerce, electronic payments, and health care.

A key lesson of 2020 is the importance of staying invested even during times of high volatility. We believe that an appropriately risk-targeted, globally diversified portfolio is as important as ever. Maintaining an optimally risk-controlled portfolio is most desirable.

As we enter credit repair, we are wary of using the global financial crisis as a benchmark for the path to recovery. We see several key reasons that suggest this time will be different.

June was a mixed month. The national reopening in May and June led to new viral outbreaks and a spike in new infections in multiple states. Surprisingly, though, both the economic recovery and financial markets did very well. As we enter July, the question of many minds is whether the medical situation will improve—and whether the good economic and market news will continue.

The nice thing about being the boy who cried wolf is that you look stupid before you are proven correct and you look smart when you are right, but nobody believes you until it is too late.

This is the second in a series of posts focusing on the formula of advisor value. In this post, we tackle the behavioral mistakes that investors typically make. Addressing the investment behavior of your clients may be the greatest value you provide.

The June job market report and other indicators remained consistent with an unprecedented steep drop in economic activity in March and April, followed by a sharp-but-partial rebound in May and June. Many of these data were collected before the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.

The worse economic fundamentals and forecasts become, the more mysterious stock-market outcomes in the US appear. At a time when genuine news suggests that equity prices should be tanking, not hitting record highs, explanations based on crowd psychology, the virality of ideas, and the dynamics of narrative epidemics can shed some light.

The market does not care about our opinion regarding what it “should” do. Right now the market does not seem to care that COVID-19 cases and positive test rates are on the rise in the US. What the market cares about now is that economic data has been better than expected...

Even with today’s low yields, credit barbell strategies can still meet their objectives of downside protection, upside participation and efficient income.

The economic calendar is modest, and many market participants will probably extend their long weekends. The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index and jobless claims data will be the most important.

Not since the 1960s and 70s has the United States experienced social upheaval like it is experiencing today. We have protests (both peaceful and otherwise), and a massively divided political landscape. On top of that, we have a virus that is spreading across the country, creating fear and an acceptance of economic shutdowns.

The pandemic has created an extraordinary risk/return trade-off for the shares of high quality U.S. banks. We believe there is the potential for decent returns for bank investors without improvement in the current environment, and the potential for enormous returns if the rate of change in the economy remains positive.

While no one is ever really comfortable losing money, we often hear from investors that they are most uncomfortable when it seems that the stock market isn’t making any sense whether it’s heading up or down. In order to help try to make sense of it all, let’s take a look at where the stock market makes sense right now and where it doesn’t.

It’s all about the pandemic. Rising cases in a number of states fueled fears of a second wave of infections and a more protracted economic recovery.

The five largest US growth stocks now comprise more than a third of the Russell 1000 Growth Index. Investors should be alert to the risks of high benchmark concentration.

Pricing dislocations and adjustments between companies, industries, regions and asset classes due to the impact of COVID-19 offer opportunities for select hedged strategies, according to K2 Advisors.

The COVID-19 crisis is likely to bring about further rapid and far-reaching shifts in the economic ground beneath us. But we need not view these changes with dread if the pandemic also propels a transition to better and more universal higher education.

If you missed Part-1 of our series on the “Theory Of MMT Falls Flat When Faced With Reality,” start there. In Part-2, we complete our analysis of the theory and the potential ramifications. The premise of our discussion was this recent explanation of “Modern Monetary Theory” by Stephanie Kelton. As discussed previously, economic theory always sounds much better than how it works out in reality.

In the aftermath of recent strong gains in jobs, some analysts have been latching onto pandemic-related classification errors to claim the headline unemployment rate is at best distorted to show an overly optimistic picture of the labor market, and at worst a downright lie to try and manipulate public perceptions.

I read The Black Swan shortly after it came out. The financial crisis and Great Recession were brewing, and I was already beginning to predict a recession. We sensed something big was coming but didn’t know the details. Rereading my September 2007 review of Taleb’s book is an eerie glimpse into the past. It’s also a good reminder that more big events lie ahead.

The coronavirus pandemic is hurting Brazilian banks in the near term, but is the outlook entirely grim? Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Equity’s Gustavo Stenzel explains why certain banks could emerge from the outbreak stronger relative to a new pack of financial technology competitors.v

The protracted low-yield environment has left many investors with insufficient returns to meet their goals: how can credit help? Here we highlight where we see 5 credit opportunities.

The challenges keep mounting for global trade, unemployed workers, and banks.

American ingenuity is something to take pride in this weekend as we (safely) celebrate the Fourth of July.

As states ease their COVID-19 lockdown measures, rising case numbers have put pressure on equity markets.

After reporting better than 4^th quarter results on Tuesday, the stock price of FedEx Corp. (FDX) has been on a tear. With this article, I plan to demonstrate that the fundamentals support the current price rise.