When companies have excess cash on their balance sheet, they have a few buckets they can allocate towards. However as it relates to sharing that cash with stockholders, it all comes down to buybacks and dividends. Whereas companies have long returned cash to shareholders, momentum shifted earlier this decade towards share repurchases with corporate America … Continued
The decade leading up to the Great Depression was a period of significant technological advancement, broad cultural achievement and well-documented economic prosperity. Often overlooked, however, was that it was also a period of deep grief in the wake of World War I, the greatest trauma the world had known up until that moment. This unique combination … Continued
In Wall Street’s eyes, there are few things more troubling than uncertainty, which has been in no short supply during this current economic cycle. The severity of the recession, the slow recovery, atypical reaction of some asset classes and the level and degree of central bank intervention have all contributed to elevated concerns. One of … Continued
While breaking every established financial record in the movie industry, the release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” also brought into clear focus the bifurcated state of the movie industry. Given changes in our collective viewing preferences for entertainment, as well as changing economic forces, studios have gravitated towards the safety and security of producing … Continued
It has been almost seven years since the world’s economy and markets reached their global financial crisis lows. Since then, domestic stock and bond markets have recovered strongly but the economic cycle has been slow to progress, and the pace of growth has been disappointing relative to previous economic recoveries. In this lower-for-longer growth environment, … Continued
Eight centuries ago, in a muddy field near the royal fortress of Windsor Castle, the unpopular King John was forced to strike one of history’s most important bargains. A group of rebellious barons, resentful of his heavy-handed rule and even heavier taxation policy, coerced his royal seal to one of the most important documents in … Continued