Is There a Silver Lining to the Gold Price Plunge?

It’s been a volatile week for gold prices, which tumbled by the most in 30 years. Although gold is still not obviously undervalued, we think the recent market moves make stock prices of gold miners look attractive when compared with prices of the precious metal. 

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Will Emerging-Market Stocks Close Gap with Global Equities?

Companies in emerging markets are more profitable and less debt burdened than their developed-market peers, and their shares trade at a deep discount. So when will emerging-market stocks close the gap with global equity markets?

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Bonds: Born to Be Mild

A 30-year bull market for bonds has come to an end, but this does not make a bear market inevitable, in our view.

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Emerging-Market Debt: Pure High-Yield Strategies Come of Age

We believe investors should be thinking about emerging-market debt in terms of credit quality buckets (investment grade or high yield) rather than sectors (sovereign or corporate). For some types of investor, pure high-yield strategies can offer significant advantages.

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Federal Judge Green-Lights Stockton Bankruptcy

Stockton, California, made headlines last June when it filed for a Chapter 9 bankruptcy. Now, a federal judge has not only given his okay to proceed; he’s also thrown retiree pension benefits into the debate. The big question is whether these benefits can be cut. The outcome could be a groundbreaking decision that would encourage other [...]

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China’s Uncertainties Won’t Stop Renminbi’s Rise

Recent data releases and the transition to new political leadership have created some uncertainty about China’s short-term economic outlook. While positive growth surprises are unlikely in 2013, we still think nothing can stop the long-term appreciation of China’s currency, the renminbi (RMB).

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Today’s Good News Isn’t Bad for US Stocks

Believe it or not, recent US housing market gains, the slight reduction in jobless rates and other signs of a revival in US economic growth are making some investors bearish about US stocks.  We think their fears are misplaced.

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Emerging-Market Debt Offers More than One Kind of Diversification

One key attraction of emerging-market debt is that it can help investors to diversify existing portfolios of developed-market fixed-income securities. But there’s more than one kind of diversification, and more than one way to approach the opportunity, depending on each investor’s objectives.

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The Sand Continues to Shift in High-Yield Bank Loans

Investors continue to pour money into funds that invest in high-yield bank loans, reciting the numerous perceived advantages of this asset class. But investors’ thirst for loans is encouraging borrowers to be aggressive, and the risks seem to be rising. Here are three commonly cited benefits of high-yield bank loans, and our take on why [...]

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SMID-Caps: To Know Them Is to Love Them

Bruce K. Aronow and James MacGregor It’s an opportunity born of neglect. Small-cap stocks have historically been the star performers of equities, handily outpacing large-cap stocks. And because they can get lost so easily in the grand sweep of the markets, small companies are often misunderstood and mispriced. That makes them great sources of alpha [...]

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