We trick ourselves all the time in order to be able to function in this world. We sort of have to, it’s not willful, it’s an evolutionary trait that’s enabled our ancestors to get along and pass on their genes. Unfortunately, this survival tool has ancillary effects on the way we act that, if unchecked,…

Factset’s compiled some stats from 13F Season and gives us a sector breakdown of where hedge funds bought and sold. Energy represents far and away the place where hedge funds found value at year-end 2013 – which makes sense as it was a laggard sector and long/short equity guys are frequently driven by valuation: On…

Eric Peters: “WhatsApp,” hissed Vladimir into his iPhone. And Yanukovych made yet another horrible decision, feigning ignorance, answering lightheartedly, “Not much muchacho, whassup with you?” Putin went silent, in utter disgust, torturing his stooge. And unable to stomach the pregnant pause any longer, Yanukovych broke the silence, “Vladimir, did I lose you comrade, can you…

I actually think it is a bubble – but a bubble that does not need to “burst” so to speak; one that can mature and begin to justify itself over the coming decade. With aging populations accelerating across Europe, Japan, China and the US all at once – combined with the burgeoning middle class customer…

Cartoon

We now have the full transcripts of the Fed’s meetings from the year 2008 – the wildest era the institution has ever had to navigate through in modern times. As the world broke apart and began to melt down, there were some astonishing conversations being held by the nation’s monetary officials and economists are now…

Ask ten random financial professionals what they’re most worried about for 2014 and more than half of them will say China, at least according to Merrill’s recent poll of global PMs managing a collective half a trillion dollars in wealth. Specifically, what they’re concerned with is a hard landing for the economy (meaning GDP growth…

Here were the most read posts on TRB this week, in case you missed them: Truer Words Were Never Spoken What We’re Up Against Annuity Boiler Rooms?  Chart o’ the Day: Nasdaq Composite since 1986 The Best and Worst Thing About Investing  

Scott Minerd, Global CIO of Guggenheim Investments, says we should be looking past the recent weather-related disappointments in the econ data: The good news is that this is likely only transient noise, and that rising temperatures in March and April should revive everything from auto sales to factory activity, helping the U.S. economy return to…