EUROPE’S ENERGY CRISIS IS KEEPING ENERGY PRICES AND INFLATION HIGH
America leads the world in oil and gas production. We believe midstream energy infrastructure offers predictable cash flows to investors..
Why a Greek Exit from The Euro Isn't Inevitable
As we head towards another deadline for Greece, during which they must convince the troika that austerity is on track, there is growing speculation that Greece may be forced out of the Euro. A “Grexit” to use a popular term. Well, maybe, but here’s why it’s not inevitable. First, from Germany’s point of view, Greece’s […]
The Dumbest Idea in Finance
Modern financial theory holds that a diversified portfolio of securities is the most efficient way for an investor to access an asset class. Idiosyncratic risk, the risk associated with an individual stock say, can be diversified away and therefore theory holds that investors don’t achieve any additional return for holding concentrated portfolios of their favorite […]
Patriot Coal Succumbs to Cheap Natural Gas
The Energy Information Agency (EIA) is a rich source of data on everything related to energy production, consumption and storage in the U.S. This chart caught my attention, showing that coal use for electricity generation continues to fall sharply, with the result that in April for the first time natural gas was used to produce […]
The Economist Once More Writes About The Hedge Fund Mirage
I am once again indebted to The Economist for writing about my book and noting some of the points I made about hedge funds’ poor performance. On January 7 they covered it in the Buttonwood column, and this weekend they once again discussed the issues I raised. They are performing a public service by highlighting […]
The Bond Market Rejects Coeur d'Alene
Last week Coeur d’Alene (CDE) announced plans to issue debt, even though they have no obvious need of any extra cash. It looked very much as if the company was planning to make an acquisition rather than focus on returning value to shareholders, and we commented as such on this blog. It seems the bond […]