On the Value of High Yield

AOK - Read through for a great graph on high yield spreads, note signifcant & fast compression from earlier in the crisis.

China tight on Farmland

China Running Out of Farmland: What This Means for U.S. Stocks
by: Greyson S. Colvin October 27, 2010

As the Chinese growth engine continues to propel forward, the government is faced with the dilemma: How do we feed our growing and developing population? China’s middle class is expected to double over the next 10 years and will demand a higher protein diet. China has roughly 20% of the world’s population although only 7% of the world’s arable land.

Goldman follows through on test 50-yr bond issuance to take in $1.3B

Submitted by Tyler Durden

"As we noted yesterday, Goldman was in the market for a 50 year bond at a token amount of $250 million. We speculated this was merely a test to gauge market interest in the space.

Commercial real estate split into three different markets ...

More on the 'Trifurcated' Commercial Real Estate Market by Brad Case

"I commented on a post last week about commercial property values that Moody’s had reported a “trifurcated” market in which the values of “trophy” properties are already going up while the values of properties from distressed sellers are continuing to sink. David Geltner, a professor at MIT’s Center for Real Estate, fleshed out this interesting market situation in a separate commentary published on the Moody’s web site.

Glut in shipping market likely to continue

AOK - Seems unlikely this will be contributing to inflation soon. On the other hand, over at least the medium terms the low elasticity of supply is likely to make oil shipping charges & availability another contributor to oil price & economic volatility ... Supertankers Face Two-Year Losing Streak as Frontline Shuns Oil By Alaric Nightingale Oct. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Supertanker owners are facing the longest stretch of unprofitable rates in 17 years as the supply of new vessels increases nine times faster than demand for oil. Shipping companies are making $3,155 a day for a single voyage, 90 percent below the $30,900 Frontline Ltd., the biggest operator, says it needs to break even.