A roundup of what The Globe and Mail's market strategist Scott Barlow is reading this morning on the World Wide Web.
The Atlantic's Quartz business site presents a compelling case that a stealth rally in the U.S. housing market is already underway. Builder Lennar Corp. reported much stronger-than-expected profits in the most recent quarter and, according to the National Association of Home Builders , confidence levels are approaching pre-crisis highs. The trend is excellent news for Canadian forestry stocks like Norbord Inc.
"You are probably underestimating the economic momentum in US housing" – Quartz
Today's vote on Scottish independence is soaking up all the media oxygen and, since I don't have an informed opinion on the matter, this leaves me an eclectic list of other reading material.
Economic professors Atif Mian and Amir Sufi, co-authors of the best-selling House of Debt, presented a chart that clearly defines the post-crisis economic dilemma of economic inequality and labour productivity. The chart compares median U.S. family income compared with productivity (output per hour worked) and pinpoints a major divergence that started in 1980.
Mr. Mian and Mr. Sufi add a key piece to the puzzle in the related commentary – households used credit to offset the decline in labour's share of the economy. The implication is that higher wages could go a long way in solving recent credit and financial upheaval.
"The most important economic chart " – House of Debt blog
FT Alphaville's Dan McCrum continues his assault on the hedge fund industry with a stunning estimate. Between late 2008 and now, "public sector pensions paid about 72 cents for every dollar of investment gain they got back from hedge funds over the last six and half years."
So for instance, if a $10-billion pension fund had $1-billion allocated to hedge funds that added $200-million in fund returns, the hedge fund managers portfolio likely made about $140 million in fees.
"The (obscene) cost of hedge funds" – FT Alphaville
Canada's best economics blog, Worthwhile Canadian Initiative, presented some excellent global perspective on the competitiveness of domestic corporate tax policy. Laurentian University economics professor Livio di Matteo concludes, "Overall, Canada could probably move up the consumption tax rankings by broadening its base, lowering its rate and reducing the complexity of compliance."
The charts comparing Canadian corporate taxes to the rest of the world make the post worthwhile in their own right.
"Tax competition" – Worthwhile Canadian Initiative
Anonymous U.S. financial insider Dutch Book published an entertaining and useful "Ten Commandments for Finance Twitter." I am highly biased on this subject – I'm so dependent on my Twitter feed that I'm not sure I'd survive without it. My timeline is curated now to the point where my investment information is filtered through top industry traders and portfolio managers across the globe, most of whom are generous enough to answer in-depth questions 140 characters at a time.
The post is a good starting point for those considering using Twitter to increase their investment knowledge.
"Ten commandments for finance Twitter " – Stone Street Advisors
See also: "The 102 finance people you have to follow on Twitter" – Business Insider (and follow its laugh out loud funny author @lopezlinette
Tweet of the day: "@ReutersJamie Overnight sterling volatility rockets. Is there something happening today/tomorrow? pic.twitter.com/iT9yPo72Rh
Diversion: George Mason University professor Tyler Cowen never seems to sleep. He's read everything, been everywhere, and written numerous books. Professor Cowen revised his secrets for time management in a recent post, which included this admonition, "There is always time to do more – most people, even the productive, have a day that is at least forty percent slack."
"Do I wish to revise my time management tips?" – Marginal Revolution
Follow Scott Barlow on Twitter @SBarlow_ROB
Scott Barlow