Research & News
Weekly Geopolitical Report – Taiwan and the Risk of Deglobalizing the World’s Semiconductor Industry: Part II (June 7, 2021)
by Patrick Fearon-Hernandez, CFA | PDF This series is written as a corollary to our recent multi-part WGR series titled “The Geopolitics of Taiwan,” published last month.[1] In Part I of this report, we showed how Taiwan and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM, $111.85) represent a key vulnerability in the global computer chip industry. … Read More »
Asset Allocation Weekly (June 4, 2021)
by the Asset Allocation Committee | PDF (Due to staff vacation schedules, there will not be an accompanying podcast and chart book this week. The multimedia offerings associated with this report will resume next week, June 11.) Over the past five years, the United Kingdom has been the backwater of investment attraction. Much of the… Read More »
Asset Allocation Weekly (May 28, 2021)
by the Asset Allocation Committee | PDF Gold moved steadily higher from the late summer of 2018 into last August. Prices declined toward 1,700 into March but have been recovering since. In this report, we will update our views on the metal. We have been holding gold in our asset allocation portfolios since 2018, although… Read More »
Weekly Energy Update (May 27, 2021)
by Bill O’Grady, Thomas Wash, and Patrick Fearon-Hernandez, CFA | PDF (Due to staff vacation schedules, the next report will be published on June 10.) Oil prices continue to trade in a range from $60 to $68 per barrel. (Source: Barchart.com) Crude oil inventories fell 1.7 mb compared to the 1.0 mb draw expected. The… Read More »
Weekly Geopolitical Report – Taiwan and the Risk of Deglobalizing the World’s Semiconductor Industry: Part I (May 24, 2021)
by Patrick Fearon-Hernandez, CFA | PDF (Note: Due to the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, the next report will be published on June 7.) In our recent WGR series titled “The Geopolitics of Taiwan” (see Parts I, II, and III), we examined Taiwan’s geopolitical position in relation to China and the United States. We described how… Read More »
Asset Allocation Weekly (May 21, 2021)
by the Asset Allocation Committee | PDF In March, job openings rose to their highest level on record. According to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), there were over 8.1 million job vacancies, surpassing the previous record of 7.6 million set in November 2018. The surge in vacancies is supported by data from… Read More »
Weekly Energy Update (May 20, 2021)
by Bill O’Grady, Thomas Wash, and Patrick Fearon-Hernandez, CFA | PDF Oil prices continue to trade in a range from $58 to $68 per barrel. (Source: Barchart.com) Crude oil inventories rose 1.3 mb compared to the 2.0 mb build expected. The SPR fell 1.9 mb, meaning without the addition from the reserve, commercial inventories would… Read More »