Why Is What Was Once Affordable to Many Now Only Affordable to the Wealthy?

by Charles Hugh-Smith With these speculative and risk management skills accessible only to the wealthy, no wonder only the wealthy have gained purchasing power in the 21st century. Let’s start with an excerpt from a recent personal account by the insightful energy/systems analyst Ugo Bardi, who is Italian but writes his blog Cassandra’s Legacy in English: Becoming Poor in … Read more

The Companies with the Most Debt in America

Wolf Richter wolfstreet.com, http://www.amazon.com/author/wolfrichter The concentration of corporate debt: The top 46. The US Justice Department today approved the merger of T-Mobile, the third largest wireless carrier and Sprint Corp., the fourth largest wireless carrier. For the merger to go forward, they will have to sell Sprint’s prepaid brands to Dish. As for the rest, … Read more

Congressional activity: week of 7/29 to 8/2

by NonExpert_NotAdvice Good Sunday, and welcome to this (late) installment of Congressional activity and financial markets. The general idea is that the statements and actions of federal legislators can have an effect on broader markets. I try to provide interesting happenings as well as participants. I don’t suggest any specific positions: I’d like those to … Read more

U.S. Corporate Debt Continues To Rise As Do Problem Leveraged Loans

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how highly leveraged zombie companies threaten the global economy. After spending the last few days analyzing data and reports from the Federal Reserve, the Institute of International Finance, Fitch Ratings, Debtwire, and S&P Global Market Intelligence, unfortunately, I am even more worried. U.S. nonfinancial corporate debt of large companies now stands at about $10 trillion … Read more

David Einhorn Says He’s Short U.S. High Yield, Investment Grade Debt

(Bloomberg) — Hedge fund manager David Einhorn says that he’s shorting U.S. corporate debt as protections for creditors deteriorate. His firm Greenlight Capital is wagering against both junk and investment grade debt, according to an investor letter seen by Bloomberg. The macro position will provide a hedge for the firm’s bullish equity positions in addition … Read more

Stock picks and discussion for bulls and bears (7/29 – 8/2 trading week and beyond!)

by EsteevTrabajos1 Hey y’all! I will be creating weekly posts (depending on the feedback) with a few stocks to keep on your watchlists for bulls and bears, and for short- and long- term investors. These posts are meant to start a discussion about individual stocks, their technicals and fundamentals. My ultimate goal with these posts is simply … Read more