Latest thoughts on markets

"Perception is strong and sight weak. In strategy it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things." Miyamoto Musashi, 五輪書 The Near-View Risk-assets are likely to perform well into end-November or even the end of the year. Slower economic growth and geopolitical uncertainties … Continue reading Latest thoughts on markets →

Yang Wen-li’s Dilemma – Democracy, Revolutions & thoughts on Financial Markets

In Yoshiki Tanaka's epic science fiction thriller, 'The Legend of the Galactic Heroes', Yang Wen-li is caught between the horns of a difficult dilemma. Staring at the vast open space of stars from his flagship's bridge, the awkward but astute admiral contemplates the never-ending wars between his home planetary system (the democratic Free Planets Alliance) … Continue reading Yang Wen-li’s Dilemma – Democracy, Revolutions & thoughts on Financial Markets →

The Fed did not make a U-Turn

Last week's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in the U.S. took the financial community by storm as its January policy update were seen by investors and market observers as an outright 'U-Turn'. However, it may not be so. The most talked about was the change in the middle portion of the Fed's statement during … Continue reading The Fed did not make a U-Turn →

3 areas to steer clear of & 1 chart to monitor

The investment landscape is changing for the first time in 8 years. According to the IMF's data, America's economy is operating at if not above capacity (output gap closing), with a relatively tight labour market and leveraging by both corporations and households. A pickup in investment began early last year, as growth accelerated and companies … Continue reading 3 areas to steer clear of & 1 chart to monitor →

Want to become a successful investor? Howard Marks explains how!

Billionaire investor Howard Marks is one of those rare people whose words pack a rare combination of wisdom and elegant common sense. When he speaks, both Wall Street and Main Street listens. He is most well-known for his letters to his clients, affectionately known as the 'Oaktree Memos', which have been compiled into a book … Continue reading Want to become a successful investor? Howard Marks explains how! →

My takeaways from Warren Buffett’s latest letter

The most famous investor of the world released his widely-anticipated letter to his shareholders last weekend. I typically enjoy reading Mr Buffett's letters as its sprinkled with bits of business wisdom and management tips allover, wrapped with his casual-like tone and occasional humour. Here are some of my main takeaways from the CEO of Berkshire … Continue reading My takeaways from Warren Buffett’s latest letter →

The BOJ’s new framework may mean that the Yen may become Confetti some day…

In its September policy update, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) announced that it's tweaking its framework to "Quantitative & Qualitative Easing with Yield Curve Control", with 2 major components: Yield curve control: "the bank will control short-term and long-term interest rates" Inflation-overshooting commitment: "the bank commits itself to expanding the monetary base until the year-on-year … Continue reading The BOJ’s new framework may mean that the Yen may become Confetti some day… →

Deleveraging crisis ahead?

In 2008, (most) people all around the world were caught up in a rude shock as they see one of the worst financial crisis crashed upon the shores of their countries. Equity markets everywhere crashed, millions of jobs disappeared and banks all around the world had to be bailed out by governments. Even the British Queen (Elizabeth … Continue reading Deleveraging crisis ahead? →