Description:Â Most investors own some mix of stocks, mutual funds and exchange traded funds. In building an equity asset allocation for their portfolio, without knowing it, or simply accepting it, they are taking about 100% of the risk of the equity markets. There is however a safer option for building the equity portion of your… Read more »
Posts Tagged: Derivatives
Green Mountain’s short problem
Description:  Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, maker of the popular K-Cup, have plunged after hedge fund manager David Einhorn recommended shorting it. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 10/21/2011 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/10/21/n_bz_gmcr.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Explain the impact David Einhorn`s position has had on Green Mountain. What is a “momentum“ stock? Where do you think… Read more »
Inside the hottest gold market in town
Description:  NNi’s Felicia Taylor spends the day with gold traders in the NYMEX, during the markets’ roller-coaster week. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 08/12/2011 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/08/12/n_nymex_taylor.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Describe the mechanics of gold trading. What is the reason for the sudden increase in demand? When will this trend stop? How can investors play… Read more »
3 big stocks facing Borders-like trouble
Description: Borders Group Inc., like Blockbuster before it, failed to surprise Wall Street as it has limped into oblivion. The second-biggest U.S. bookstore chain won bankruptcy court approval last week to liquidate hundreds of stores in an attempt to bring in $175 million to satisfy its creditors. Source: Marketwatch.com  Date: 07/28/2011 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/3-big-names-about-to-go-bust-like-borders-2011-07-28 Questions… Read more »
Morgan Stanley Goes Against the Shorts in China
Description: It’s investing $50 million in Yongye International, a fertilizer company that’s been under attack Source: Businessweek.com Date: 06/29/2011 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/morgan-stanley-goes-against-the-shorts-in-china-06302011.html Questions for discussion: Summarize the issues in this report. What would you advise investors to do at this time?
Bonds: How to Play Interest Rate Peril
Description:Â With uncertainty high, some bond investors are looking to “unconstrained” managers who take a more active approach to selecting fixed-income securities Source: Businessweek.com Date: 06/23/2011 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/jun2011/pi20110623_808293.htm Questions for discussion: Summarize the various strategies employed to manage bond funds? As an investor, which strategy looks best to you today looking forward?
What Are the Largest Hedge Funds Holding?
Description: W.R. Grace, Potash Corp. and Viacom are among the top holdings of the world’s largest hedge funds, according to Mazin Jadallah, founder and CEO of AlphaClone, who says the funds are overweight materials and also financials. Alistair Barr reports. Source: Moneywatch.com – video report Date: 05/23/2011 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/what-are-the-largest-hedge-funds-holding/4D9E306D-DE9E-433A-B458-9E5721F9B298 Questions for discussion: Summarized the essence… Read more »
$100 oil: Here to stay or soon to go?
Description: Market veterans were expecting oil prices to reach $100 a barrel even before the political turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa hit the fan this year, and now that oil’s reached triple digits, predicting prices is more daunting than ever. Source: Marletwatch.com Date: 03/04/2011 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/100-oil-here-to-stay-or-soon-to-go-2011-03-03?siteid=nwtwk Questions for discussion: Summarize the reasons… Read more »
At Center of Derivatives Debate, a Gung-Ho Regulator
Description:  Gary Gensler has his work cut out for him. As chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, he is leading the charge to overhaul the murky $600 trillion derivatives market, which was at the center of the financial crisis. The Dodd-Frank Act, the financial overhaul law enacted last year, requires Mr. Gensler’s agency to… Read more »
Stock-Hedging Lets Bankers Skirt Efforts to Overhaul Pay
Description:  Intent on fixing a banking system that contributed heavily to the recent financial crisis, lawmakers and regulators pushed Wall Street to overhaul its pay practices. Big banks responded by shifting more compensation into stock, a move intended to align employees’ interests more closely with those of investors and discourage excessive risk-taking. Source: NYTimes.com  … Read more »
