It’s not Treasuries that have been making their way into the Diversified Income Fund. The fund has virtually no exposure to government debt; rather, most of the fund’s fixed-income holdings are in the corporate space.
No, this isn’t a chart of the beginning of the collapse of crude oil’s price in the summer of 2008: it’s the price movement of the U.S. 30- year bond over the last couple of months. The U.S. 10-year treasury bond looks just as ugly.
We’re not kidding ourselves: the U.S. economy (and that of the rest of the world) is in a mess, even though the Q4 GDP fell “only” 3.8 per cent. Consumers aren’t spending, unemployment is rising, which will lead to less consumer spending and more unemployment. But is housing starting to look attractive?
The Big Chill?
Today we take a quick look at how the big credit freeze of 2008 might be starting to thaw. Two quick points on items to watch.
10 Things to Remember in a Bear (or Bull) Market
This has been one of those years when investors need a double helping of comfort food.
During the really good, and the really bad times, I have always found it helpful to read and re-read the observations of former Merrill Lynch market strategist, Bob Farrell, who observed equity markets for decades. I’ve always liked this list as it (should) remind us in the good times not to confuse good fortune with intellect, and, in times like now, equally reminds us that the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t always a train.
I saw a funny thing on the way to Thursday's market meltdown. Two little
pieces of data caught my eye.
First, our friends at CPMS put together a chart that shows how,
historically, flows into investment funds have been lowest just as the
equity market is beginning to rebound. Let's see if "sell low, buy high"
repeats itself.
