Derivatives are the “meat and meat by-products” of the financial markets. They look, smell and taste just like regular securities, but almost no one understands why we need them in the first place. After all, what’s wrong with actual meat? Or to re-phrase the question: Is Spam really an advancement over ham?
[Read more...]Unsettling News on the Unresolved Eurozone Crisis
April 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment
We are not entirely sure what a “resolved” Eurozone crisis is supposed to look like, but we are pretty sure it is not supposed to look like the chart below…
A Case of Cult Envy
April 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Today, we examine two cults — one with a charismatic leader and millions of disciples; and one with no leader whatsoever, but billions of disciples. Neither cult engages in fringy activities like polygamy, sacrificing goats or building armed compounds in the desert. Nevertheless, both cults attract a very fanatical following.
[Read more...]A Positive Approach to the US Economic Downturn
April 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment
In the spirit of Good Friday, we’ll keep our message upbeat today.
For starters, all government offices are closed. So there’s some good news right off the bat! The financial markets are also closed, which is probably good news for the holders of gold and silver. If the markets are closed, no one can enter a “Sell” order.
[Read more...]Successful Investing Strategies in a Government-Centric Market
April 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment
You’ve heard of “risk on”; you’ve heard of “risk off”… But have you heard of “everything off”?
That’s the trade that seems to be underway right now. Investors are dumping everything with a ticker symbol: US stocks, foreign stocks, government bonds, corporate bonds, precious metals, crude oil and almost every other commodity.
[Read more...]Bashing Buffett…Once Again With Feeling
March 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment
“Right now bonds should come with a warning label,” opines Warren Buffett in this year’s letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. That seems like a reasonable idea, but why stop there? Why not slap a warning label on each one of Buffett’s public pronouncements as well?
The warning would go something like this: This pronouncement may or may not express my honest opinions, but it will almost certainly advance a hidden political agenda that enables me to gain access to preferential treatment from elected officials and various agencies of the federal government.
[Read more...]Bless You, Greg Smith!
March 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Today’s reading comes from the Book of Greg Smith… We hope you will find it both illuminating and edifying.
Who is Greg Smith? Well…he is not exactly a prophet…and he probably isn’t a perfect saint. But he seems to know something about the difference between good and bad…between moral and immoral…and between ordinary Wall Street greed and putrid Goldman-Sachs-style greed.
[Read more...]Absolutely Nothing About Goldman Sachs
March 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Joseph Saylin did not like to take chances. He didn’t trust people very much and he didn’t trust paper wealth very much. He trusted dogs and real estate…and that’s about it.
Joseph Saylin, my grandfather, was the son of Latvian immigrants. Joseph worked hard… always. And saved money… always. He was ambitious. He was a physician at the age of 21, a lieutenant in the US Army at the age of 24, a captain at 27, a major at 31, a colonel at 35. “I was always the ‘boy this’ and the ‘boy that,’” he would often boast during his twilight years. “I was the ‘boy doctor’ and the ‘boy colonel.’ A lot of guys were jealous. But they didn’t even think about how hard I worked.”
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Feral Drones…and Other Invasive Species
“There’s a bull market in targeted killings,” quips Lauren Lyster, the witty and insightful anchor of RT’s Capital Account.
Admittedly, this bull market is in its early stages. (Only a couple of American citizens, so far, have met their demise at the losing end of a killer-drone strike). But Lyster is formulating her view of the future by drawing trend-lines from the present — just like any forward-looking investor would do.
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