What we’re reading (9/30)
“Stocks Finish A Losing Week, Month And Quarter” (Wall Street Journal). “Major indexes have sustained deep losses this year as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates in an attempt to tame rising prices. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite on Friday all recorded their worst first nine months of a calendar year since 2002, according to Dow Jones Market Data.”
“Bonds May Be Having Their Worst Year Yet” (New York Times). “It is a horrible time for stocks, which have spent the year in a bear market. But guess what? When you look at the historical record, bonds are worse. This year is the most devastating period for bonds since at least 1926, the numbers show. And, in the estimation of one bond maven, 2022 is shaping up to be the worst year for bonds since reliable record-keeping began in the late 18th century.”
“Wary Investors Struggle To Evade Market Tumult” (Wall Street Journal). “‘In 50 years we haven’t seen debt and equity markets fall this much in unison,’ said Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of global fixed income and head of the global allocation team at BlackRock Inc. ‘I’ve never spoken with clients so much in my life—everyone wants to know when this is going to be over.’”
“Barclays Fined $200 Million For Losing Itself $600 Million” (Dealbreaker). “You might think losing some $600 million because some back-office person forgot to keep track of how many structured notes you’ve sold and/or some lawyer forgot to file the boilerplate with the Securities and Exchange Commission informing it that you’d be selling some more would be enough to ensure that something like that never happens again. Certainly, a screw-up of similar magnitude at Citigroup seems to have done that trick. But when it comes to Barclays, well, the SEC [is] just not sure. So it has a little reinforcement to remind the Brits not to cross it again.”
“One Of The Hottest Trends In The World Of Investing Is A Sham” (Hans Taparia). “Wall Street’s current system for E.S.G. investing is designed almost entirely to maximize shareholder returns, falsely leading many investors to believe their portfolios are doing good for the world.”
