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Why the largest group of American corporate bonds is a notch above junk
would become a prolific essayist and fearsome debater. Rather, it was a choice. His tutors warned him about neglecting his studies. But he preferred to divide his time between his…
Is China losing the trade war against America?
No major Chinese-language newspaper reported his tweets. One of his claims—that China’s stockmarket has fallen 27% in the past four months—was an exaggeration. But why would any self-respecting propagandist…
Tariffs on steel and aluminium are creating some winners
drop trade barriers and crown him as dealmaker-in-chief, or they will pay down government debt while saving favoured industries. “Plants are opening all over the US, Steelworkers are working again…
Why is macroeconomics so hard to teach?
But he could not find the classroom. Then he woke up and remembered with relief that he had just retired. Learning macro is a source of anxiety for many students…
Blockchains could breathe new life into prediction markets
market. Whether it takes off will be a gauge of the viability not only of such markets but of decentralised applications built on blockchains, the databases underlying crypto-currencies. Augur is not…
Factor-based investing spreads from stocks to bonds
traders by phone. So when new investing strategies do arise, they make an even bigger splash. “Factor” investing is the latest example. This is the idea, credited to economists Eugene Fama…
Our cities house-price index suggests the property market is slowing
locations have gone through the roof. The Economist’s new house-price index covers 22 of the world’s most vibrant cities (see table). They are home to 163m people, with an economic…
Myanmar’s state-owned enterprises show how much reform is still needed
factories like this one made a loss of more than $200m. When Myanmar moved from military dictatorship to a form of democracy, its new government embarked on a series of reforms…
A milestone is reached with the first zero-cost tracker funds
asset-management industry. On August 1st that trend reached its logical endpoint with the launch of two zero-cost tracker funds by Fidelity, a Boston-based firm built on active investing that is…
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