Of all the economic numbers coming out this week, Thursday’s report on August US manufacturing activity from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) is the most important, in my opinion. I’m watching this report closely for three reasons.…
In my last two posts on this subject, I discussed finding your “magic retirement number” and the importance of asset allocation in a retirement investment strategy. When we last left off, I mentioned that asset allocation decisions could be…
Earlier this month, as part of my changed view of emerging markets. I initiated an overweight view of Brazil and noted that I am paying close attention to Chile. As promised, here are more of my thoughts regarding these two emerging market…
Call #1: Maintain Neutral TIPS Several months ago when I first staked out a neutral view of Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), I said that if break-even levels on 10-year TIPS approached 2%, I’d consider switching my view to…
Last week a colleague asked me if, given all the focus on investing for income this year, the “i” in iShares might come to stand for income. He was kidding, but he had a serious point too: With government bonds generating historically low…
On the NYT’s Economix blog, Catherine Rampbell noticed the new iPhone app that donates money to charity every time you hit the snooze button on your phone and wonders—what if Congress had some similar mechanism in place, so that every time it…
Would you be surprised to learn that an institutional portfolio manager recommends resources such as Investopedia and InvestingInBonds.com? iShares Managing Director Sue Thompson recently sat down with Head of iShares Fixed Income Portfolio…
In recent days, market watchers from Bill Gross to Morgan Stanley have warned of the high possibility of a double dip recession for reasons ranging from more regulation and “policy errors”, to slowing consumption, weak economic data and the…
When talking with investors, I often hear the terms “corporate” and “credit” used interchangeably to describe a certain segment of the bond market. But while these designations are often lumped together, they actually refer to two different…
Call #1: Update on good news the market ignored on Thursday Last Thursday, the market got hammered, largely due to weak economic data. One of the catalysts for the selloff was a collapse in the Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook. While the number…
