Guild’s Basic Needs Index
The Deep Roots Of The College Debt Crisis
America’s College Funding Debacle Has Deep Roots From tuition-free college to student loan forgiveness, the Democratic contenders to challenge President Trump are floating many proposals to address the troubled U.S. higher education system. Those troubles are legion — essentially, education costs that have been rising at several times the rate
Market Summary
Market Summary The U.S. The U.S. stock market is having a modest pullback after touching old highs. Given the global backdrop of central banks and indebted governments with no appetite for higher rates or stronger currencies, we believe that stocks will have a long-term upward bias, supported by low
Facebook’ Power Play
Facebook’s Power Play Last week, Facebook [NASDAQ: FB] finally announced its long-rumored digital currency initiative. Although bitcoin had been rallying since April, since the announcement it has risen almost 25%, as of this writing. Why the boost for bitcoin? Won’t FB’s currency — called “Libra” — be competition for bitcoin?
Europe caves on Russia — Again
Europe Caves on Russia… Again True to form, the Council of Europe has fallen into appeasement of the illiberal regime that lies on the European Union’s eastern flank. Russia had been suspended from the continent’s human rights watchdog council in 2014 as a result of its annexation of Crimea in
THE NEW ROBOT OVERLORDS
1. Hong Kong in the crosshairs of the trade war. Hong Kong is experiencing massive protests against the Chinese government’s erosions of the city’s traditional liberties and democratic governance. These protests have occasioned the introduction of a bipartisan bill in the U.S. Congress that would strip the city of its
Market Summary
Market summary. The U.S. stock market continues its rally, with greater prospects for a friendly Federal Reserve, and relief over the settlement of possible trade troubles with Mexico – at least for now. The amelioration of these overhangs and pessimism causes us to continue to be bullish on U.S. stocks,
A longer-term perspective on Mexico.
A longer-term perspective on Mexico. It’s easy for investors to be captivated by headlines; in the case of Mexico, these can be mystifying. It’s hard to understand Mexico’s motivation for continuing to allow the migrant flows that have caused concern in the U.S. and angered the U.S. administration. In a
India, Self Driving Cars, Market Summary
Executive Summary 1. We’re long-term bulls on India. A recent U.S. action rescinded some tariff exemptions that India had enjoyed as a developing nation. We don’t feel this is a significant event, and anticipate that the friendly relationship between the U.S. and Indian administrations will continue. We see policy continuity
Trade wars, geopolitics, and the fate of the yuan
Executive Summary 1. Trade wars, geopolitics, and the fate of the yuan. Beneath the trade-war back-and-forth is a stark reality: the era of Chinas massive accumulation of foreign exchange reserves is ending, and in coming years, Chinas currency is likely headed for a significant decline. Saber rattling goes on as
Emerging Markets Beyond China
Emerging Markets Beyond China: Reforms and Opportunities in India and Brazil Six weeks ago in these pages, we wrote that 2019 might be the year during which emerging markets finally begin to outperform. We argued that after a decade of emerging-market underpeformance, global investment flows would begin favoring EM assets
How Technology Keeps Inflation Low
Executive Summary 1. Deflationary tech is here to stay. In his May press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell cited what he believed were “transitory factors” that resulted in a low inflation print over the past 12 months. Although many economists and officials talk about inflation data as if they were
