Capitalogix

Here Are Some Interesting Links to Read This Weekend

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• How to Overcome Failure. The key is a flexible view of learning. (WSJ)
• The Genetics of Stupidity.  (Wiring the Brain)
• What Klout Really Measures? (BrandSavant)
• The World's 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams. Dallas Cowboys are #3. (Forbes)
• 8 Ways The World Will Change By 2052. 40 yrs from now, how much will energy cost? Will you be richer? (FastCo)

 

Trading Links:

• How To Tell When Finance is Working. (Forbes)
• Monetary Policy and the Next Crisis. (Wall Street Journal)
• Why China Can’t Adjust. Symptoms of deep institutional problems & vulnerability. (PS)
• Say Goodbye to First-Class on U.S. Airlines. (WSJ Video)
• Election Trumps Foreign Policy — White House Memo. The attempt to subordinate foreign policy to domestic politics is a quadrennial phenomenon (NYTimes)

Apple Claims 71% of the Mobile Phone Industry's Profits

This chart shows Apple's exceptional position in the global mobile phone industry.

 

  via Statista.

It is no secret that Apple’s iPhone business is exceptionally profitable. New numbers, released by an analyst of investment bank Canaccord Genuity, show just how exceptional Apple’s position in the mobile phone market really is.

In the second quarter of 2012, Apple claimed an estimated 71% of the industry’s total profits. A number that is even more astonishing considering that the iPhone only accounted for 6% of global mobile phone shipments in the same period.

Related articles

Apple Has Sold $50 Billion Worth of iPhones in U.S.

Apple vs Windows: Choosing the best mobile phone

iPhone launch caused 'crisis in design' at Samsung HQ, claims Apple

Apple Gorging on Mobile Industry Revenue

Euro Shorts Scurried When ECB Declared It Was Ready To Do ‘What Ever It Takes’

Being short the euro was a popular position recently. In addition, being short Spanish and Italian debt and long treasuries  and Bunds was the way to go.

 

That was then, this is now.

 

The European Central Bank’s mandate allows it to fight excessive borrowing costs for eurozone countries, Mario Draghi, its president, said last Thursday.

 

He went on to say the ECB was “ready to do whatever it takes” to preserve the single currency.

 

The euro strengthened and the bond prices of debt issued by stressed eurozone countries rallied after Mr Draghi warned ... "Believe me, [my actions] will be enough [to hurt the shorts]."

 

Here is link to the comments that sent shorts scurrying.

 

 

 

While traders know not to fight the Fed ... there are not many “bullets in Draghi’s gun”.  Of course, threatening to do something major was one of them. He just used it. If there is no follow-through, his credibility drops and there will be ramifications.

 

Related Articles

Back In December, Mario Draghi Gave A Speech That Explained Everything That's Happening In Europe

Draghi Overpromised What the ECB Could Achieve

The Best Theory For Why Markets Are Booming After Yesterday's Disaster

There be Draghis

Yanis Varoufakis: Draghi Greatly Diminished the Office of the ECB, Sacrificed the Fiscal/Monetary Distinction, and Didn't Do Much for the Euro While He Was At It

Draghi allows time for eurozone politics to prepare for Spanish bail-out

Here Are Some Links for Your Weekend Reading

Having just come back from the Jersey Shore, where Cheesteak sandwiches seemingly grow like grass ...

 

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• Integrate Data into Products, or Get Left Behind. (Harvard Business Review)
• Confessions of an Ex-Mormon. (TheNewRepublic)
• How To Win an Olympic Event. Great Interactive Graphic series. (NYTimes)
• How To Win Marathons? Hint. It doesn’t involve fancy footwear. (TheGlobalMail)
• The Strongest Man in the World. A new era of strength competitions tests the limits of the human body. (TheNewYorker)

 

Trading Links:

• Was the Financial Crisis a Male Syndrome? (Businessweek)
• Why I Rarely Short Anymore. (UpsideTrader)
• Amazon ‘Robo-Pricing’ Sparks Fears. (FT)
• Is the Postal Service About to Default on Its Bills? (Wall Street Journal)
• The Scam Wall Street Learned From the Mafia. How America's biggest banks took part in a nationwide bid-rigging conspiracy. (RollingStone)

David Stendahl Interviewed on Traders.com

Traders.com is a great resource for technical traders, and so is their Technical Analysis of Stock & Commodities Magazine.

Our Portfolio Manager, David Stendahl, was recently featured in the August 2012 issue. 

In the interview he describes some of the processes by which Capitalogix creates diversified portfolios.

David discusses the systems design process and how trading styles, across multiple time frames, complete with stop management are applied to variety of global futures markets.  

He then describes how Capitalogix combines these systems into baskets (which are specialized mini-portfolios) using techniques liked fixed fractional and ratio level position sizing algorithms. 

The interview ends with a description on how the baskets get allocated properly using Optimal Weight, Minimum Variance or Risk Parity allocation formulas to form the final trading portfolio.

As a trader, you are likely to find something interesting in Technical Analysis of Stock & Commodities Magazine.

Related articles

David Stendahl: Portfolio Manager at Capitalogix on Covel Podcast

Portfolio Construction: Risk Vs. Capital Allocation

Not Equal: A Comparison of "Risk Parity" and "Equal Risk Contribution"