Skip to main content
top links

A new version of its MarketPsych Indices, which Thomson Reuters runs in conjunction with MarketPsych Data, will scan over 400 websites, many specific to cryptocurrencies, to capture market-moving sentiment and themes.JIM URQUHART

A roundup of what The Globe and Mail's market strategist Scott Barlow is reading today on the Web.

I like 'top picks' stock lists in the same way I like NFL and NHL mock drafts – knowing they're probably not a great guide to the future. After all, underperforming portfolio managers have access to all the top picks from everywhere. They are not exactly an investment panacea.

Those inconvenient caveats aside, Morgan Stanley research published their best 'fresh money' U.S. investment ideas earlier this week. Names include some usual suspects – Microsoft and Walt Disney – and also some lesser knowns like NextEra Energy, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings and Iqvia Holdings.

"@SBarlow_ROB MS: Fresh money buy list" – (table) Twitter

**

Landlocked oil production has significantly depressed Canadian crude prices but an end to the glut may be approaching,

"While the discount to West Texas Intermediate futures for the coming month has mostly lingered around US$25 a barrel so far this year, the discount for delivery in months further into the future is shrinking, with July futures now trading at less than US$20 a barrel below WTI, data compiled by Bloomberg show. .. Oil pipeline operators are optimizing space so that more crude can be shipped out of the country and some of the larger oil sands producers are signing contracts with rail companies that will help break the backlog, [Auspice Capital Advisors Ltd. CIO Tim] Pickering said."

"Canadian Oil Curve Indicates Relief From Glut May Be on the Way" – Bloomberg

**

Nick Maggiulli's investing and personal finance site is new and very good. In 'Stay on Script,' he discusses how difficult it is to stick with an investing plan,

"There is plenty of evidence that the typical investor would be better suited if they stuck to their investment plan. Joel Greenblatt reminds us that investors that manage their own portfolios will underperform portfolios managed by a predetermined set of rules despite the fact that the 'self-managed' investors are choosing from the same set of top ranked stocks as the rules based investors… Though we think we can outsmart such simplistic investment notions, chances are we cannot."

"Stay on Script' – Of Dollars and Data

**

The investment arm of Germany's largest insurance companies had some blunt words for cryptocurrencies,

" 'In our view, its intrinsic value must be zero,' Stefan Hofrichter, the company's head of global economics and strategy, wrote in a recent web post. 'A bitcoin is a claim on nobody – in contrast to, for instance, sovereign bonds, equities or paper money – and it does not generate any income stream.' "

"Bitcoin Is Worthless, Bubble May Pop Soon, Allianz Global Says" – Bloomberg

"@Schuldensuehner Crypto rout continues. #Bitcoin falls to 5wk low as #Ethereum drops below $600. ft.com/content/422bf8…" – (chart) Twitter

**

Tweet of the Day: "@RateSpy Bond traders still think we'll get two more @bankofcanada hikes by December. But as this Bloomberg chart shows, rate expectations can change materially in just 1-2 months." – Twitter

Diversion: "@rshotton Worth remembering this musician's response next time you're asked to do work for free Via @Brilliant_Ads " – Twitter

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe