Blog Posts

A reserve currency is one that is held in significant quantities by governments and institutions as part of their foreign exchange reserves. These currencies are often used for international transactions and tend to be currencies of the world’s most powerful and stable economies. The US dollar, the Euro, and the Japanese yen are examples of […]

It is a common misconception that a currency is a permanent thing and cash is a safe asset. Every currency is susceptible to devaluation or complete dissolution. When this occurs, cash and bonds (promises to receive currency) become worthless or significantly devalued. This phenomenon is largely tied to debt burdens and how economies manage these […]

Inflationary depressions are an economic phenomenon that can have devastating consequences for an economy. They are born out of the interplay between the amount of currency and debt in the economic system. Below we look into the relationship between currency, debt, and central banks’ role, the balancing act they must perform to stave off economic […]

Economic development is a dynamic process, often visualized as a cycle that progresses through various stages. These stages are not merely a measure of income and wealth but also show up in terms of societal values, behaviors, and self-perception. The economic life-cycle of a country, consisting of what might be viewed as five main stages, […]

The Fama-French three-factor model is a statistical model formulated in 1992 by Eugene Fama and Kenneth French, both then colleagues at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Eugene Fama, a 2013 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences laureate, designed this model to help predict and understand stock returns. The three factors in this […]

The Carhart four-factor model is an approach to portfolio management that adds an extra dimension to the widely recognized Fama–French three-factor model. First proposed by Mark Carhart, this advanced model integrates a momentum factor into traditional asset pricing of stocks. This approach broadens the analytical parameters, offering a more comprehensive and detailed understanding of market […]

Financial markets are tied together by a vast web of currencies, each with its own value relative to the others. These values are not static and fluctuate based on various factors including economic performance, geopolitical events, and policy decisions. One of the primary mechanisms by which these currency values are determined is through the relationship […]

Financial markets have a variety of metrics and indicators that aid in analyzing, understanding, and predicting market trends. One such tool is Duration Times Spread (DTS), a market standard method used to measure the credit volatility of a corporate bond.   Key Takeaways – Duration Times Spread (DTS) Duration Times Spread (DTS) is a useful […]

The H-Model is an advanced method of dividend discounting that traders and investors use to value stocks. Unlike more rudimentary models, the H-Model accounts for a gradual change in dividend growth rate, making it more realistic and relevant in many cases.   Key Takeaways – H-Model The H-Model is an advanced dividend discounting method used […]

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have been touted as powerful tools for analyzing financial markets, with the potential to revolutionize the way traders/investors make investment decisions. While AI and ML have shown great promise in some areas, there are inherent limitations that make it unlikely that they will ever be able to fully […]