Why have interest rates been falling steadily for such a long time? Let’s think about interest rates in terms of the demand and supply of bonds, and not as the cost of credit or some abstract cost of money. Demand for bonds: Savings and Investment. Households may deploy their savings in bonds. Households save out

FOMC: Current expectations Dec 21, 2015. The Fed raised rates last week Dec 16 by 0.25%. Currently, the market expects 4 rate hikes in 2016. There are 4 FOMC meetings in 2016 in which a press conference follows and it is at these that interest rates are expected to be raised. Interest rates are not

Last week the FOMC finally raised interest rates, the first time in 9 years. Risk markets rallied in relief before falling back on concerns in commodities and credit markets. Equities Year to date MSCI World is -3.45%. The S&P is -2.6%, FTSE is -7.8%, MXAPJ  is -13.6% and MSCI Emerging Markets is -15.3%. In China,

Success sews the seeds of its own demise. Adversity improves the breed. Human beings are dynamic and adaptive, which means they adapt to hardship by growing stronger, becoming more resilient and more resourceful, and they react to comfort by growing lazy, complacent and vulnerable. A society which has won success and comfort through toil, enterprise

Hedge funds and their prime brokers should get more creative with their business development. One area is illiquid side pockets which can be used to house either illiquid assets or long gestation strategies. These strategies should ideally not be in the main liquid structure of the hedge fund but carved out as a side pocket.