Global Market Commentary, Analysis and Investments
If I leave here tomorrow
Would you still remember me?
For I must be travelling on, now,
’Cause there’s too many places I’ve got to see.
— Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Bullying small and medium businesses, sending armed goons to American factories, confiscating private property, closing down production and harassing business owners and their employees; a curious strategy for nurturing domestic job creation, wouldn’t you say?
[Read more...]Copper slightly disappointed investors, ending the first half of the year with a decline of 3.50 percent. Worries about global inflation and, more specifically, the potential slowing of China’s economy weighed on copper’s price. The red metal rose 5 percent quickly in the new year, but similar to zinc, lead, palladium and platinum prices, declined sharply at the beginning of May.
[Read more...]Qingdao BridgeWhen the new Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay Bridge opened to traffic this week in China, it made the Guinness World Records for the longest cross-sea bridge in the world. The 26.4-mile long and 110-foot wide bridge stretches across the bay, linking the Huangdao district to the city of Qingdao and Hongdao Island.
[Read more...]In 2010, China had been overtaking the US as the number one biggest manufacturer in the world. However, a recent study from the Boston Consulting Group entitled, The Return of US Manufacturing, suggests that a “manufacturing renaissance” may be afoot in the US.
[Read more...]You can chart the course of human progress in terms of how clean our clothing is. In early times people used animal skins, had no change of clothing, and had no soap. By Adam Smith’s day, soap had improved in quality, was produced industrially, and was becoming available to the common man.
In fact, the Industrial Revolution, which is usually discussed in terms of iron, steam, and factories, was actually all about bringing products like soap and underwear – previously only available to the rich – to the common peasants.
[Read more...]In our travels around the world, somewhere…somehow…we lost the re-charger to our laptop.
So…this will have to be short…we’re running out of juice!
Yesterday, the Dow fell again. Oil is still below $100. And gold is sinking.
In other words, everything is happening as it should. It’s too early to draw a conclusion or spot a near-term trend. We’ll have to wait to see.
[Read more...]The dollar sold off through most of the day on Tuesday, but seems to be stabilizing this morning. The selloff began early yesterday morning with the release of US housing data and the industrial production numbers. Housing starts, which were expected to show a small increase, were actually down 10.6% MOM. And the future isn’t so bright either, as building permits also fell 4% MOM in April. The previous month’s numbers for housing starts were revised up slightly, but this revision was offset by March’s permit number, which was revised down. As I wrote yesterday, the US housing market continues to be a drag on the economic recovery, and a rebound isn’t in sight.
[Read more...]First, a brief look at the markets…
Stocks rallied a bit yesterday, reversing a sharp selloff from the previous day. The Dow added 65 points. The S&P 500 ended up a smidge and the NASDAQ finished 40 points ahead of where it began the session. Gold fell off by almost $25…before recouping all of its losses to end the day more or less where it began, at $1,506 per ounce. Silver trended likewise. As did oil.
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China to Show More Manufacturing Weakness?
What looked like a workable situation for Greece and private creditors has taken a turn that has the euro (EUR) vulnerable again this morning. It’s not as if the situation is unworkable. It’s just that they are struggling to come to an agreement, and since it’s not as smooth as Jiffy, then the Chicken Littles come out of the crowds… But then, quite frankly, I have been surprised by the strength the euro has displayed this week. The euro has always shown resiliency, but as I’ve said a couple of times now this year… I wouldn’t be surprised to see it fall to 1.18 and then rebound to 1.40… But we have 49 more weeks to go in 2012. There’s a lot of give and take here, so buckle up, yes, that’s right: Click it or ticket…
[Read more...]