Here are some important articles exploring topics for the past month or so. The most important events of this month include the European debt crisis, the Chinese soft landing, and especially the fiscal cliff. Stay up to date on the most important financial news by subscribing to this blog and by following my financial Twitter microblog at @husky2016 ( http://www.twitter.com/husky2016 ).
1. The fiscal cliff could prove to be one of the most significant developments in terms of its impact on the market. I have been keeping an eye on the recent news, and I predict that the issue will simply be delayed just like last time. If there is no compromise made, we could see a 720 billion dollar GDP reduction, which is 4.6% of the annual GDP. Here is an interesting article regarding the fiscal cliff and stock futures (which are somewhat predictive of the short-term future of stock prices, excluding news updates): http://www.reuters.com/
2. Europe continues its debt crisis as leaders cannot agree on a compromise. Although recently overshadowed by the fiscal cliff, this remains a key factor impacting the markets. Personally, I have increased my portfolio's upside exposure to the debt crisis (as well as the fiscal cliff) by maintaining a roughly 50% equities and 50% bonds (when excluding annuities, cash equivalents, and alternatives) portfolio allocation, and have gone long on bonds, and sold off some equities. Here is an update on the European debt crisis: http://www.businessweek.com/
3. Developing nations, especially China, are increasingly significant to the global economy. China has contributed a major share of the world's economic growth in the past several years. It was recently noted that China may be encountering a "soft landing scenario" in the short term and a long term situation involving demographics that are aging rapidly due to the One Child policy. However, news reports are stating that China may be bouncing back in the short-term. http://online.wsj.com/article/
4. Here is an article on the relationship between the bond market and the deficit. The bond market continues to rally due to the fiscal cliff as well as the uncertainty in the European debt crisis. As treasury yields lower, the bond prices appreciate. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/
5. Volatility this year has been significantly below the long term average, as calculated by the number of trading sessions when the Dow Jones Industrial Average changes more than 1 percent.
6. This link is a great summary of financial news. http://www.businessinsider.
7. This document lists the trends of Seattle finance. Most importantly, it includes a list of all the financial companies with an office in Downtown Seattle. https://docs.google.com/a/uw.
8. Here is a list of careers in high finance and a description of each. http://interviewbay.com/blog/
9. Here is a detailed list of the regional boutiques in each major city in America. Notice that Seattle is listed as well. http://www.streetofwalls.com/
10. Here is a list of investment banks in America sorted by category and city. http://www.wallstreetoasis.
11. This article lists the 10 best websites for your career. http://www.forbes.com/sites/
12. This article lists the 75 top websites for your career. http://www.forbes.com/sites/
13. Here are 10 rules to interviewing for a job. http://www.wallstreetoasis.
14. This thread discusses the basics to cold calling. It is also helpful for cold emailing and networking in general. http://www.wallstreetoasis.
15. This article lists 25 Twitter hashtags that job seekers should use. http://edudemic.com/2012/03/
16. It appears that job growth is increasing, but at a very slow rate. http://www.fool.com/investing/
17. The U.S. could lose its #1 ranking in the economy to China by 2030. http://finance.yahoo.com/
18. The top 30 financiers under 30 years old. http://www.forbes.com/special-
19. John Boehner the House Speaker to pursue Plan B in Fiscal Cliff talks. http://www.fool.com/investing/
20. Minutes from the recent Fed meeting. http://blogs.wsj.com/
21. Bond bubble isn't bursting yet. http://buzz.money.cnn.com/
By the way, the websites and news sources I look at most often are the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, Bloomberg (and Bloomberg Businessweek), Wall Street Oasis, Mergersandinquisitions, Managementconsulted, Lifeonthebuyside, the Economist, the Motley Fool, MSN Money, Yahoo Finance, Google Finance, CNN Money, Business Insider, Harvard Business Review, Dealbreaker, New York Times Dealbook, and Scottrade Research.
