High yield cefs

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Honda's revamped Clarity fuel cell sedan is a technological marvel, but hydrogen fuel stations ... [+] remain scarce. (Honda) Honda The dogged persistence Honda has shown in its decades-long quest to perfect hydrogen as a zero-emission replacement for gasoline can be seen as quixotic or futile. But the quirky company that makes motorcycles, lawnmowers, jets, humanoid robots, boat engines and a few million cars soldiers on, along with GM, Toyota and Hyundai, in the face of haphazard government support for hydrogen, minimal consumer awareness and withering critics like Elon Musk , a tireless advocate for Tesla’s battery-powered cars. All the sweat equity Honda engineers have invested in its fuel cell program, year after year, has yielded a remarkable new version of the Clarity sedan, the most compelling argument yet for the potential hydrogen cars still hold. Yet for all its technological sophistication, … [Read more...] about Honda’s Dogged Hydrogen Push Yields A Remarkable New Clarity Fuel Cell Sedan

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin A few weeks back, bond giant PIMCO trimmed a bunch of payouts from its closed-end funds (CEFs). Which was no bueno for income investors, who buy CEFs solely for their dividends. We don’t own any PIMCO funds in our premium portfolios currently. But readers, who rightfully recognize me as a PIMCO fanboy, have written in to ask what’s up. “Any thoughts on PIMCO recent slashing of dividends? Do you think they will also cut PDI’s dividend?” — John S John, you know me well. Maybe too well! My nightstand currently boasts a copy of The Bond King: How One Man Made a Market, Built an Empire, and Lost It All . (I’m 128 pages in… and would enthusiastically recommend it to fellow fixed-income geeks.) Bond nerd or not, most of us dividend investors do know the “Bond King” Bill Gross. He was Morningstar’s Fixed Income Manager of the Decade from 2000 to 2009. Gross netted 7.7% yearly returns for his investors—a big … [Read more...] about We Dumped This 13% Dividend—Time To Reconsider?

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Defensive Stocks Recent News The investing landscape in 2022 was notable not only for the severity of losses but also their breadth: It was the first year, since at least the 1870s, that U.S. stocks and long-term bonds both fell by more than 10%. As a result, investors have turned to defensive stocks. Defensive stocks are companies that generally hold up well in times of economic distress. The main defensive sectors are generally considered to be utilities, healthcare and consumer staples, all of which have outperformed the market in 2022. Even in a downturn, consumers continue to spend money on these products. As of December 29, the S&P 500 index’s utility stocks as a whole fell 0.5% in 2022, while consumer staples were down 2.7% in the period. This may seem poor, but the broader market fell roughly 20% during the year. Despite the better performance, cyclical sectors such as industrials and consumer … [Read more...] about Protect Your Portfolio With Defensive Stocks Like These

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Key News Asian equity markets were broadly higher as Taiwan and South Korea outperformed. The European Central Bank (ECB), and the Bank of England (BOE), followed the Fed’s +25bps interest rate hike with a higher, +50bps rate hike, while the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) mirrored the US with a +25bps rate hike. Meanwhile, CNY, China’s currency that trades during local market hours, gained +0.27% versus the US dollar to close at 6.72 CNY per USD, while the Asia Dollar Index fell -0.09% versus the US dollar. Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong opened higher but slid to close down slightly/mixed on little news. Hong Kong-listed internet stocks were mixed as the Hang Seng Tech Index managed a small gain as Hong Kong’s most heavily traded stocks were Tencent, which fell -0.52%, Meituan, which fell -1.94%, Alibaba, which fell -0.91%, and Baidu, which gained +4.99%, riding the ChatGPT-like AI search announcement and … [Read more...] about CNY Rallies, ECB & BOE Hike Interest Rates

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Key News Asian equities had a strong day following US stocks’ positive move yesterday, with the Philippines having a very strong day in advance of today’s Fed +25 bps rate hikes which will lead the European Central Bank (ECB) to raise rates +50bps, Bank of England (BOE) +50bps, and a whole host of other central banks doing the same tomorrow. Malaysia was closed for Federal Territory Day which celebrates "the formation of the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur in 1974” according to Google GOOG . President Xi attended and spoke at the CPC Central Committee which focused on “accelerating the construction of new development pattern” i.e., DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION. I took the artistic license of highlighting where investors should be focused i.e., DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION. The speech also focused on “self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology”. This was front page news in China AFTER the market close. We are … [Read more...] about President Xi Addresses Domestic Consumption In Speech

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Gasoline prices are rising again – up more than 30 cents a gallon in the past month and around 15 cents in the last two weeks alone. Motorists should brace for more pain. One reason is that the global market for refined products is about to be upended by the latest European Union (EU) sanctions on Russia’s petroleum industry. On February 5, the EU will ban imports of Russian refined products like diesel, jet fuel, gasoline, and heating oil. While global oil markets have recently handled a similar ban on Russian crude imports quite well, these product sanctions could be far more disruptive. Markets for refined fuels are much more complex than for crude, with refineries configured to process certain types of feedstock crudes and to manufacture varying slates of products, depending on regional demand patterns. The issue for Europe is that it relies on Russia for about 40 percent of its refined product imports and … [Read more...] about EU’s Ban On Russian Diesel To Stoke Turmoil In Global Fuel Markets

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin This week, MLB Network rolled out their list of the Top 10 major league starting pitchers. In that soft couple of weeks before spring training camps open, it’s a fun exercise, as the network goes position by position, running down the best players in the game. Obviously, there’s tons of subjectivity involved, and the exercise is largely based in fun, and geared to generate conversation and feedback. Every now and then, however, there are omissions that are so egregious that deserve to be called out. The Phillies’ Aaron Nola is one such omission - in my humble opinion, he was the very best pitcher in major league baseball in 2022, and as he is squarely in his prime, he should be included in any current Top 10 list. I’ve written plenty about Nola this offseason, and will choose to focus on another hurler today. There are three basis components to pitching - missing bats, minimizing walks and managing contact. For the very … [Read more...] about White Sox’ Dylan Cease Belongs On Any List Of MLB’s Top 10 Starting Pitchers

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Roughly 11 months ago marked the launch point for the Federal Reserve’s tightening cycle, adding over four full percentage points to its target for the Federal Funds rate since March 2022 to a current upper bound of 4.75%. Notably, the level is the highest for the benchmark since September 2007, with the pace of Fed tightening virtually unprecedented. No doubt, many think the Federal Reserve hiking the Fed Funds rate should be a big headwind for equities, but seven decades of returns data show that stocks in general have performed admirably on average, both concurrent with and subsequent to increases (as well as decreases) in the Fed Funds rate. This is the case over 3-, 6-, and 12-month time spans, with Value Stocks leading the charge no matter the direction. Anticipation of significantly tighter monetary policy spurred higher rates across the various maturities of the yield curve. Of course, moves back into … [Read more...] about 2023 Value Stock Picks: Fed Punching A Hole In The Punch Bowl

Food inflation remains a problem for both national governments and households across the world as the factors that caused fast-rising prices last year, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are still influencing the world market, according to the United Nations (UN). In their latest monthly report, the Agricultural Market Information System (Amis) which is administered by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, said the decrease in world market prices of staple foods during the second half of 2022 has, at best, slowed domestic food price inflation, which remains stubbornly high in most parts of the world. “Food affordability thus remains a challenge at both the macroeconomic level (countries’ ability to pay their food import bills) and at the household level (increased prices in local currency for imported food and energy),” the Amis said. Overall inflation in the Philippines has risen—largely on account of food and energy items—from 3 percent in March to 8.1 percent in … [Read more...] about Food inflation still a problem globally, says UN report

The budget managed to keep the focus intact on infrastructure, long-term capacity building, and much-needed tweaks to the taxation framework to optimise tax mobilisation. Given the needs of the Indian economy and the government’s previously outlined economic vision for the next 25 years, expectations were indeed high from Budget 2023. However, there were other realistic aspects like the lingering fiscal impact of COVID-19 relief measures, persisting global inflation in the last few quarters, rising interest rates and slowing economic growth, that kept the expectations in check. In such a situation, the Budget presented by the Finance Minister successfully tread the tightrope and checks all the right boxes. Most importantly, the Budget has affirmed the government’s resolve to stay on the fiscal consolidation course. Other than maintaining macroeconomic stability by operating within means, the budget managed to keep the focus intact on infrastructure, long-term capacity building, … [Read more...] about Tax changes in Budget 2023 to boost consumption & savings