The non-dollar currencies and commodities are flying high this morning, hammering the dollar. The Aussie (AUD) and Canadian (CAD) dollars are heading to parity once again, the euro (EUR) is back over the 1.45 handle, and gold is up $20! It’s “all good” for non-dollar investors this morning… I don’t want to sound like a cheerleader – of which I have in the past – but, this is a currency/economy letter, and it’s geared to non-dollar currency investors… So, take that as it may come.
[Read more...]Another Lost Decade?
January 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment
In today’s edition of The Daily Reckoning, we turn our attention to the “Decade of No Returns” – aka, the “Lost Decade.” Students of recent financial history may recall that our friends over in Japan have already logged a couple of “lost” decades. Japanese workers still punch time clocks every day, but the national economy barely seems to notice. Meanwhile, the Nikkei Index has surrendered 73% of its value during the last twenty years.
[Read more...]“Aughts” Ruined by Wall Street
January 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment
We’re back in the USA after 15 years of living in Europe.
Bethesda is one of America’s wealthiest suburbs. Money from all over the nation rolls this way. The playing field is tilted in Bethesda’s direction.
“I was sitting in the Starbucks, having a cup of coffee,” Elizabeth reported. “One man next to me was on the phone. He was talking about some deal he had done with the US Army in Afghanistan. It sounded as though he was very happy with it. The man next to me on the other side was on the phone too. He was a jollier fellow, talking loudly about how much money he had made. I thought he was a stockbroker or something like that. Then, I realized he was talking about a contract with the government.”
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US Trade Deficit Widens
The price of oil has dropped from $83.18 a week ago, to $79.80 this morning… Why did this spoil my day? Well, like Lloyd Bridges in Airplane, I must have picked a bad day to fill my gas tank – the other day, when oil was so high!
Well… Even with oil backing off, the Canadian dollar/loonie (CAD), remains well bid this morning… That’s strange… But, in the whole scheme of things, not too strange… I mean, not Tiny Tim strange… Just strange enough to make someone think for a moment about what else could be underpinning the loonie? It sure wasn’t their return to a deficit, which, by the way, was only $0.3 billion in November, which reversed October’s $0.5 billion surplus… I’m talking about trade balances here.
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