Apple CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday he’s “heartbroken” by the recent events in Minneapolis, and that he has voiced his concerns about the situation with President Donald Trump.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday he’s “heartbroken” by the recent events in Minneapolis, and that he has voiced his concerns about the situation with President Donald Trump.
Japan’s 40-year government bond auction drew stronger demand than its 12-month average, easing immediate concerns about long-term debt, even as political and fiscal uncertainties persist. The bid-to-cover ratio at the sale was 2.76 compared with 2.585 at the last offering, and a 12-month average of 2.53. The 40-year bond gained, with the yield dropping 3.5 basis points to 3.9% after the auction. T...
Japan’s 40-year government bond auction drew stronger demand than its 12-month average, easing immediate concerns about long-term debt, even as political and fiscal uncertainties persist. The bid-to-cover ratio at the sale was 2.76 compared with 2.585 at the last offering, and a 12-month average of 2.53. The 40-year bond gained, with the yield dropping 3.5 basis points to 3.9% after the auction. The supply comes just a week after Japanese bond yields soared to record highs following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s plan to remove the sales tax on food for two years set off a period of unprecedented volatility . Forty-year yields surged more than 25 basis points last Tuesday to the highest since its debut at 4.215%. While yields have since pulled back from those levels, concerns remain high. Investors are bracing for more volatility to come ahead of the country’s Feb. 8 snap vote. Japan’s largest opposition party, the Centrist Reform Alliance, has pledged a permanent tax cut on food, fueling concerns that fiscal discipline will weaken regardless of the election’s outcome. The impact of the yen’s depreciation on price trends has been a concern to some Bank of Japan policy makers. The yen touched its strongest level since October in US trading Tuesday after comments from Japanese officials, including just recently the finance minister, fueled speculation that the government may intervene in the market to prevent the currency from resuming its slide. A slide in the dollar after President Donald Trump indicated he’s comfortable with the declines also boosted the yen. Read: Japan’s Katayama Says Will Coordinate With US on FX If Needed The finance minister’s comments come after Takaichi sent a fresh warning on Sunday that the government will be ready to take action amid a weakening yen and surging bond yields. Japan’s premier didn’t specify which market she was referring to. Figuring out how to get past the election without markets blowing up is causing headaches for Takaic...
J Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images It is my expectation that the Invesco S&P SmallCap 600® Pure Value ETF ( RZV ), a passively managed exchange-traded fund with a maximalist value strategy, will underperform the market proxied with the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF ( IVV ) in the short to medium term, so I find it necessary to reiterate the Hold rating I assigned to it in February 2023 and then m...
J Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images It is my expectation that the Invesco S&P SmallCap 600® Pure Value ETF ( RZV ), a passively managed exchange-traded fund with a maximalist value strategy, will underperform the market proxied with the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF ( IVV ) in the short to medium term, so I find it necessary to reiterate the Hold rating I assigned to it in February 2023 and then maintained in January 2024 . For clarity, the main drivers behind my stance are unchanged, namely RZV's small exposure to the quality factor (the low-to-mid single-digit capital efficiency metrics look quite depressing, to be honest), as well as its rather lethargic growth characteristics (a point even could be made that they are simply non-existent, since, as per my calculations, more than half of the holdings are forecast to deliver EPS contraction going forward). So the problem is that in the current market environment, growth and quality are the two main factors to favor, and RZV cannot offer adequate exposure to either of them. My belief also remains that for maximalist value investors who are tolerant to negative weighted average growth rates and quite compressed margins and just want to maximize their exposure to the value factor, RZV offers access to multiple gems. Of course, they should understand the depth of risks they are taking in this pursuit of distressed valuations, more likely with little or even no reward. Also, it is necessary to explain why I will not be advocating for a bearish view. The gist is that to construct such a thesis, we would need a catalyst, potentially with sweeping consequences that would reverberate both through the SMID equity universe and the market overall, and I see no such factor at this juncture. RZV Strategy And Portfolio What is inside the RZV portfolio at the moment? As of January 23, it encompassed 162 common stocks and REITs, with the top one being SunCoke Energy, Inc. ( SXC ), a materials company with a 1.34% weight. SXC has an...