Musings on Markets

OCTOBER 4, 2023

As we enter the last quarter of 2023, it has been a roller coaster of a year. In the first half of the year, we had positive surprises on both fronts, as inflation dropped after than expected and the economy stayed resilient, allowing for a comeback on stocks, which I wrote about in a post in July 2023.

Marketability 106

Marketability Start-ups Risk Premium Treasury 106

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 26, 2023

In its early years, Tesla was dependent on equity issuances for funding growth investments, and its liberal use of options to reward management (and especially Elon Musk) opened it up to criticism. The Market : The US equity market in January 2023 looks very different from the market at the start of 2022. per share in 2022.

Start-ups 83

Start-ups Marketability Risk Premium Equity 83

Musings on Markets

AUGUST 15, 2023

In every introductory finance class, you begin with the notion of a risk-free investment, and the rate on that investment becomes the base on which you build, to get to expected returns on risky assets and investments. What is a risk free investment? Why does the risk-free rate matter?

Risk-free Rate 83

Risk-free Rate Risk Premium Treasury Start-ups 83

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 19, 2022

In a post at the start of 2021 , I argued that while stocks entered the year at elevated levels, especially on historic metrics (such as PE ratios), they were priced to deliver reasonable returns, relative to very low risk free rates (with the treasury bond rate at 0.93% at the start of 2021). The year that was.

Risk Premium 82

Risk Premium Risk-free Rate Start-ups Equity 82

Musings on Markets

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

The answer is recognizing that market-set rates ultimately are composed of two elements: an expected inflation rate and an expected real interest rate , reflecting real economic growth. There is some basis for this argument, and especially during market crises, where timely actions by the Fed may alter market mood and momentum.

Banking 100

Banking Treasury Start-ups Marketability 100

Musings on Markets

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

The first of the is as companies scale up, there will be a point where they will hit a growth wall, and their growth will converge on the growth rate for the economy. Lowering revenue growth to 15% in 2023 and raising it to 33% in 2024 will deliver almost the same value for the company, as what I get with my smoothed-out values.

Start-ups 99

Start-ups Risk-free Rate Market Capitalization Risk Premium 99

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 31, 2024

In my last three posts, I looked at the macro (equity risk premiums, default spreads, risk free rates) and micro (company risk measures) that feed into the expected returns we demand on investments, and argued that these expected returns become hurdle rates for businesses, in the form of costs of equity and capital.

Equity 78

Equity Book Value Start-ups Corporate Finance 78

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 5, 2024

Beta & Risk 1. Return on Equity 1. Equity Risk Premiums 2. Ratings & Spreads 2. Tax rates 4. Costs of equity & capital 4. Valuation Pricing Growth & Reinvestment Profitability Risk Multiple s 1. Valuation Pricing Growth & Reinvestment Profitability Risk Multiple s 1.

Dividends 100

Dividends Risk Premium Equity Book Value 100

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 8, 2022

Risk Premiums : You cannot make informed financial decisions, without having measures of the price of risk in markets, and I report my estimates for these values for both debt and equity markets. I extend my equity risk premium approach to cover other countries, using sovereign default spreads as my starting point, at this link.

Risk Premium 93

Risk Premium Start-ups Market Capitalization Corporate Finance 93

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 28, 2024

In my last data updates for this year, I looked first at how equity markets rebounded in 2023 , driven by a stronger-than-expected economy and inflation coming down, and then at how interest rates mirrored this rebound. Globally, health care has the highest percentage of money-losing companies and utilities have the lowest.

Risk Premium 95

Risk Premium Beta Start-ups Equity 95

Musings on Markets

JULY 25, 2023

For three decades, China has won this battle, but in 2023, the battleground seems to be shifting in favor of India, but it is still too early to make a judgment on whether this is a long term change, or just a hiccup.

Risk Premium 52

Risk Premium Equity Start-ups Risk-free Rate 52