Global Market Commentary, Analysis and Investments
Tutto va bene…
That was what the crew told passengers on the Costa Concordia just before it sank.
And it was what the crew of the USS America — the biggest cruise ship of all — were telling passengers last week.
Tutto va bene.
Trouble was, tutto was not going as bene as they claimed. Instead, the ship is sinking.
[Read more...]Yesterday, Europe was back in the news. Whenever Europe is in the headlines, the headlines are bad. And the ideas behind the headlines are absurd. In fact, it is amazing how many crackpot ideas the press can throw at you in a single day.
The immediate problems in Europe were two:
First, it looked like Portugal was going the way of Greece. It would soon need another bailout, said the papers.
[Read more...]We have a wintry landscape here in Baltimore…or what is left of one. But forget the weather, happy days are here again.
At least, that is what you might think from reading the newspapers. Unemployment is going down. Consumer debt is going up. Even the housing market is showing signs of improvement.
[Read more...]The European leaders were battling a pretty major storm that the ratings agencies helped create late last week when S&P cut the ratings on 9 euro-region countries. The most dramatic move was the loss of France’s AAA rating, leaving Germany as the sole AAA rated country in the currency union. Austria also lost its AAA rating while Italy and Spain fell by two notches and Portugal’s debt was cut to junk status. The ratings of Malta, Cyprus, Slovakia, and Slovenia were also lowered.
[Read more...]Yesterday’s trading revealed nothing of importance. Small moves in stocks and gold. And oil dipped below $100.
But the news has been generally “good” ever since the European Central Bank made it clear that it will print money rather than see major banks or minor nations get what is coming to them. Like its US counterpart, the ECB will not permit a major bank or sovereign debtor to go bust.
[Read more...]The Financial Times led off its series on ‘Capitalism in Crisis’ with a wandering piece that attempted to outline the problem. Unfortunately, the FT writers don’t seem to understand what capitalism is, let alone what is wrong with it. They say they are “rethinking capitalism.” But it doesn’t appear that they ever thought about it the first time.
[Read more...]Good day… And a Tom Terrific Tuesday to you, and… HAPPY NEW YEAR! Here’s hoping that 2012 brings us a correction to the 1 in 5 Americans out of work, and that it is a healthy, prosperous, and peaceful year! Hey… Stranger things have happened, right? But, we have some HUGE hurdles to clear this year, folks… So, keep your fingers crossed!
[Read more...]What’s new?
When we signed off last week, the Germans and the French were trying to hold Europe together. This morning, they are still trying.
“Don’t you live in Europe?” asked a friend at a party over the weekend.
“Yes…much of the time.”
“Well, maybe you can tell me what is going on with this European debt crisis?”
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Trends that Won’t End
U.S. taxpayers have lost $133 billion from TARP — the abominable acronym inflicted on us by former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson — a new report out this morning shows.
We begin another week pulled in two directions: In one direction lie unresolved failures in policy… and the mayhem it has wrought in the financial system. In the other lie breakthroughs in energy and biotechnology.
[Read more...]