Vegas Casinos Can Fire Buffett's Utility -- for $127 Million [H/T Linc] (LINK)
An excerpt from Michael Lewitt's The Credit Strategist (via John Mauldin), "Be Careful Out There" (LINK)
Commodity prices are plunging, the dollar is powering higher, the yield curve is flattening, ObamaCare is collapsing, global trade is plummeting and terrorism is spreading across the globe. The high yield credit markets are sending distress signals and 10-year swap spreads are negative. Energy companies are going out of business faster than you can say “frack” and trillions of dollars of European bonds are again trading at negative interest rates. The world is drowning in more than $200 trillion of debt that can never be repaid while European and Japanese central bankers promise to print more money and the Federal Reserve is being dragged kicking-and-screaming into raising interest rates by a paltry 25 basis points. Accurate pricing signals in the markets are distorted by overregulation, monetary policy overreach and group think. Hedge funds are hemorrhaging and investors, desperate to generate any kind of nominal return on their capital, continue to ignor e the concept of risk-adjusted returns. Some market strategists believe this is a positive environment for risk assets; I am not among them.
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I missed these earlier, but Jake Taylor's latest Five Good questions interviews were with Dorie Clark about her book Stand Out, and with Wesley Gray about his book The DIY Financial Advisor. And then released today was his interview with Kabir Sehgal about his book Coined.Companies in the United States have taken advantage of low interest rates to issue record levels of debt over the past few years to fund buybacks and M&A. This has driven the total amount of debt on balance sheets to more than double pre-crisis levels. However, cash flows have not kept pace, resulting in leverage metrics that are the highest in 10 years.
For print books at Amazon, you can use the coupon code 'HOLIDAY30' to get an extra 30% of that print book (up to $10 value) if you order over weekend. So while it wouldn't ship until next month, it looks like it'll save you $10 on a more expensive book like Capital Returns. I used my code on a cheaper option from Vaclav Smil: Prime Movers of Globalization: The History and Impact of Diesel Engines and Gas Turbines.
And for the next few days, Audible is having a sale with 300+ books priced at $4.95. After going through the list, here are some that I've either listened to and liked or that look interesting:
Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: The Acclaimed Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping
Meditations (only $2.99)
Do More Faster: TechStars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup
Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly, and the Making of the Modern Middle East
The Fellowship of the Ring: Book One in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy [A classic work of fiction with a highly-rated narration.]
What It Is Like to Go to War
Means of Ascent: The Years of Lyndon Johnson
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Medical School for Everyone: Grand Rounds Cases