Curated Insights

Investment Management

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Investment Management

Municipal Debt in China

As we have discussed in our other blog topics focused on China, the GDP numbers, total outstanding debt, and other various statistics reported by their government have been questioned and scrutinized over the years. While most analysts put China’s debt/GDP near 250%, The Institute of International Finance (IIF) actually believes that China’s debt load was possibly as high as 300% in 2017. Today, we expect that to be much higher.

Posted By William Saulsgiver
May 22, 2019
Investment Management

The Shifting of Leverage

We believe the 2008 financial crisis was caused by too much leverage, specifically in the financial sector. The average total debt held by S&P Financials was approximately six times their equity. In the US today, banks have done their part in deleveraging and this ratio is now approximately one for one. The Federal Reserve’s response to the crisis was to lower rates to essentially zero to encourage spending and borrowing to stimulate the economy. Both businesses and the government seem to have quickly seized the opportunities created by cheap debt.

Posted By William Saulsgiver
May 13, 2019
Investment Management

Jeffrey Gundlach’s Overview of 2018

During a December 17, 2018 interview, Gundlach discussed why various events occurred in 2018 and the implications for investors.

Posted By Schultz Financial Group Inc.
February 26, 2019
Investment Management

Bond Prices and Interest Rates

It is important to understand how a rising-rate environment impacts bond prices. A principle of finance is that when interest rates go up, bond prices go down.

Posted By William Saulsgiver
December 19, 2018
Investment Management

Where, Oh Where has Inflation Gone?

For the first time since the data collection began in 2002, there are more job openings in the US than there are people unemployed (see chart below). We are currently in the second-longest economic expansion in our history, and if it continues through July 2019, it will become the longest. This has led to a period of prolonged job creation, which has driven down the unemployment level below four percent.

Posted By William Saulsgiver
August 14, 2018
Conferences & Meetings

Mauldin Economics Strategic Investment Conference

The SFG Investment Team attended the virtual Mauldin Economics Strategic Investment Conference in early March 2018. The conference brought in experts, such as George Friedman, Jeffrey Gundlach, Louis Gave, and Grant Williams, to share their global outlook and strategies to address major economic, geopolitical, and technological risks. Here are some of the key takeaways from the conference.

Posted By Schultz Financial Group Inc.
May 31, 2018