The S&P 500 Index is the best representation of large cap U.S. companies. The index was first published in 1957 and the components in the index capture 75% coverage of all U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 is the widely followed barometer of the U.S. equity markets. The S&P/TSX Composite Index is the benchmark index of …
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Technological advancements made possible by computer is destroying jobs faster than creating them according to a study by economists Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsso of MIT. Many scholars are now warning that this revolution is different unlike past warnings of destruction of jobs due to technological innovations that have proved exaggerated. From Man vs. Machine: Are Any …
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The chart below shows the Leading Exchanges for Oil and Agricultural Commodity Derivatives. It is interesting that the three exchanges that are outside of the U.S. are in China and India. Click to enlarge Source: Price formation in financialized commodity markets, The role of information, June 2011, UNCTAD
Stocks in the U.S. utility sector are lagging the performance of the overall market so far this year. While the utilities was performing up until recently, last month they fell heavily. The proxy for sector, the SPDR Utilities Select Sector (XLU) was down 8.5% just in last month through the 30th and is up only about …
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Large U.S. companies hold billions of dollars in cash and cash-equivalents on their balance sheets. The largest of these 83 companies hold over $1.46 Trillion off-shore beyond the reach of the U.S. government according to a report by Bloomberg in March this year. Companies are hoarding such huge piles of cash overseas since they do …
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