Fitch reported that the trailing 12-month default rate remained flat in April at 1.9%, as the month produced two defaults. The recent bankruptcy filings by mortgage lender Residential Capital (ResCap) and aircraft maker Hawker Beechcraft added $3.4 billion to the … Continue reading →

What do we make of all this data and news coming at us?  How do we make investment decisions based on all of this?  Where do I put my life savings/investments as it all moves so fast?  These are questions … Continue reading →

Is this a surprise?  When you live deep in the sea of corporate financials, you have a good take on what is going on in the world.  Unlike many investment advisors across the U.S., Peritus actually builds financial spreadsheets and … Continue reading →

There has been a lot of debate about Active Management versus Passive Management and how money flows into these funds affects performance.  I don’t know how many of you watched the CNBC interview today with PIMCO’s Bill Gross.  He was … Continue reading →

Jobless claims were above all the expert expectations in the latest week.  There has to be demand for companies to hire workers.  The Kansas City Manufacturing Activity was well below expectations, which is further evidence that demand is not there.  … Continue reading →

The CPI (Consumer Price Index) up 3.1% year over year and GDP growth estimates between 1% – 1.5%, depending on who you speak to, does not add up to a growth in consumer spending and equity markets as a whole. … Continue reading →

So, do you want to own high yield bonds in your portfolio?  I have written and spoken many times about the dangers of investing in this asset class through either a passive/index-based manner or through a large mutual fund.  There … Continue reading →

I have written over and over again about active management versus passive or “index-based” management and their differences in holdings and management styles.  I have discussed the types of securities that active managers put into their client portfolios versus what … Continue reading →

Let me understand something, Americans have lost $16,000,000,000,000 in wealth since the financial crisis started and Bill Gross has previously said that the U.S. has ~$75,000,000,000,000 in debt when you add Social Security and Medicare liabilities,1 yet the government is … Continue reading →

Not to pile on the Gaming Industry, as we have written several times about Caesars/Harrahs, but yet another gaming company I was reading about today is a bloated pig too.  City Center Holdings is another name in the high yield … Continue reading →