BIBL News and Press, Inspire 100 From 12/23/20

Fiscal and monetary stimulus was, and is, critical for bridging affected households and businesses to the other side of this pandemic. Barring any major surprises, our view is that this latest package should be sufficient to do precisely that - to keep consumer and corporate balance s...

Today, investors are so uncomfortable with near-zero bond market valuations that they've priced nearly every other asset class at levels that can be expected to produce near-zero, or negative, 10-12 year returns as well. Low interest rates tend to go hand-in-hand with high stock marke...

Flash PMI survey data show the US expansion losing pace amid rising virus numbers, while looser lockdowns in Europe boosted the PMI data. Services remain hardest hit by containment measures, manufacturers report stronger growth. COVID-19 containment measures will likely continue t...

The world currently has $18.1 trillion in negative-yielding debt, which is a boon and a godsend for the nations and corporations that have it. It is a "Borrower's Paradise" and a "Fixed Income Investor's Hell." All across the spectrum, the compression to Treasuries is taking place. Th...

As the year end of 2020 approaches, there are signs everywhere the markets have reached a "mania" phase. "Retail investors" are more confident than ever before, and options traders are exceedingly confident the market will not crash. While the stock market rout was vicious, it was the...

The US economy has recovered for some and is still deeply wounded for others. That is one of the large, looming issues for 2021. If you're at an upper income level, you are probably whole in financial terms. The middle cohort has experienced some setbacks and losses. But those at the ...

What does being optimistic mean from an investment perspective? It means we are cautiously optimistic about the general economic and market environments. We think 2021 will be a "risk-on" year, especially in the second half, as the full impacts of both COVID-19 vaccinations and fiscal...

The "recovery" trade is a hot topic of conversation, and so far the trends appear to support that storyline. But it's important to watch out for blind spots and biases. Recently, we sat down to discuss what we're seeing in the markets and the questions that could surprise us in 20...

S&P Dow Jones Indices' recent report on buyback activity for the third quarter shows buyback activity increasing to $101.79 billion from $88.66 billion in the second quarter. With the economy mostly reopening, at least through Q3 2020, companies reported an improvement in 'as repo...

In 2019, we wrote about how corporate share repurchases, or "stock buybacks," had accounted for nearly all buying in the market. A year later, that significant support for asset prices has reversed. Notably, while investors are willing to "pay more for less" in earnings, revenue g...