Fitch Ratings stripped the U.S. of its AAA credit rating this month. Unlike the similar 2011 downgrade by Standard and Poor’s, this one could “matter” (from The Wall Street Journal on August 9)…

Fitch Ratings’ decision to strip the U.S. of its triple-A credit rating last week was widely dismissed as meaningless. After all, Standard & Poor’s had done the same back in 2011 and bond yields declined—implying more, not less, appetite for Treasury debt. This time, though, bond yields rose. That suggests Fitch’s action deserves our attention,

Why Treasury bonds may no longer be a “safe haven” when the next crisis hits (from Kuppy’s Korner on July 23)…

Emerging Markets (EMs) are highly fragile. This is due to the fact that usually when there’s a recession, capital flees, the currency melts, inflation increases and interest rates explode, choking businesses, and making the situation far worse than it would otherwise be. To fight this, the local Central Bank often aggressively raises rates, which defends

Research suggests value stocks are set for another strong period of outperformance (from Vanguard on August 23)…

Once again, Vanguard research suggests opportunity in value stocks—shares marked by lower prices in relation to their enterprise book or accounting values, lower expected and historical growth rates, and relatively high dividend yields.  We’ve been here before—not long ago “The value/growth relationship is at an extreme very similar to 2020,” said Kevin DiCiurcio, CFA, head