Amidst headwinds such as economic weakness in China and emerging markets, financial and stock market volatility, falling oil prices and a stronger dollar, the U.S. economy weakened to end 2015. Despite these impediments to growth, several economic indicators were encouraging. During the 4th Quarter 2015, leading indices showed that consumer confidence increased, the labor market strengthened, and the unemployment rate ended at a year low at 5.0 percent.
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Before executing a commercial property lease or sales contract, the parties may prepare a letter of intent or an agreement in principle. The letter of intent or a similar document (the “LOIs”) generally signals that the parties have agreed on the outline of a deal, but not on all of its provisions or details.
Most market updates are preoccupied with shorter-term phenomena and near-term concerns. However, today’s realities are best assessed through a longer-term lens—one based on the goal of generating attractive, or at least sufficient, compounded returns over decades rather than months, quarters, or even years. Great investment opportunities are rare, and an investor’s job is to recognize them when they occur and to avoid putting capital in harm’s way.
In a recent venture market survey, entrepreneurs said they have lowered their valuation expectations and venture capitalists reported having slowed their investment pace. One of the most interesting questions in the survey was also most likely one of the hardest to answer: Which two metrics are most important when evaluating new investments today?
Corporate America is doing it, so why shouldn’t individual and institutional investors do it too? In this case, it refers to creating a so-called “fortress balance sheet” that provides protection and downside risk management by holding excess cash and cash alternatives to retain liquidity. The king of this conjectural fortress is cash—often thought of as the core foundation to a strong balance sheet due to the known and consistent outcome it delivers.
A growing trend among healthcare organizations is to evaluate and/or invest in private equity funds or directly in companies focusing on opportunities in the healthcare industry. This trend stems from the necessity of healthcare organizations to adapt to the changes within their industry in order to maintain key advantages and stay relevant. Each organization’s approach, objective, and expectation for success will differ when considering a strategic investment.
Impact investing has gone mainstream. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), which regulates single-employer and multi-employer private pension plans, now officially agrees. Recent regulatory guidance clarifies that ERISA fiduciaries may now consider ESG, impact, and other factors in their investment decisions.
Looking back over the first half of 2016, the FTSE 100 index increased by 6.7 percent when dividend payments are taken into account. However, this positive performance disguises the substantial equity market volatility seen in February, and again following the Brexit decision in June. The moves in the headline index are again misleading and market outlook is clouded in political maneuvering.
UK’s vote to leave the EU has escorted in what could be a long period of uncertainty and volatility in the market. There is also skepticism about the recent, liquidity-driven bounce in risky assets. Overall, global equities and bonds should be range bound during the remainder of 2016, although both are at the higher end of their prospective ranges. Volatility will persist due to global uncertainty, and there will most likely be a shift toward fiscal stimulus.
The 'leave' campaign, a victory for the pro-Brexit voters, was quite a surprise to markets and the world. The United Kingdom, based on a referendum of all eligible citizens, voted to leave the European Union (EU) and became the first country to do so. The effects of the referendum vote are already being felt in the political spectrum and the financial markets. However, the structural changes will take some time. Financial markets, on the other hand, have not and will not take years to digest this revolution.