How Piracy Works Against an Unnatural Monopoly

What the market giveth, the state rises to taketh away.

One of the more striking features of this whole modern spectacle must surely be the stark contrast between the state and the free markets that exist stubbornly, gloriously, in spite of its best efforts. Wherever evidence presents itself, it appears to do so with the sole purpose of expressing this juxtaposition in ever-higher relief.

[Read more...]

Investment Alternatives in a No-Growth Market

Baltimore…best bet for investors?

We drove back into town on Sunday night. People moped around in front of bars. Groups walked uptown from the stadium, their shoulders down, the chins dragging. The city was dark…and unhappy.

There was no joy in Baltimore on Sunday night. Baltimore is a sports town. The Ravens — the only team we know named after a poem — had lost. They would not be going to the Super Bowl.

[Read more...]

Gold in the Face of Facebook

Stocks are up today. The major indexes have jumped 1%… for no obvious reason.

There’s talk of a halo effect from the pending IPO of Facebook, which could file the paperwork as early as today.

Oy… Talk about “riding on a smile and a shoeshine,” to borrow from Death of a Salesman.

[Read more...]

Goldman Sachs is a “Sell”

For once, we agree with the insiders at Goldman Sachs. The company’s stock is a “Sell.”

Okay, so the insiders didn’t exactly say their stock is a “sell,” but they didn’t need to. Their feet did all the talking. Last week, nine Goldman insiders scurried away from their stock as fast as the law would let them.

[Read more...]

Creating More Debt to Solve the Crisis

Readers who expect an early end to this Great Correction are going to be disappointed. There is no sign of it reaching its conclusion anytime soon. Just the contrary…there’s no end in sight.

The Great Correction seems to be going along just as you’d expect. Or, just as we’d expect.

[Read more...]

Manufacturing Growth Continues

I have to tell you what’s on my mind this morning after watching the price action again yesterday… I know, it’s just me, and no one else in the writing/analyst world will tell you this, because they have no proof… I don’t either, but that never stops me from saying what’s on my mind regarding these markets now, does it?

[Read more...]

Goldman Sachs is Probably Not a “Buy”

“I don’t know much about the stock market,” says Matt Taibbi, the witty critic of Goldman Sachs and other financial atrocities, “but when the O’Neills of the world start telling me what a great investment opportunity the American stock market is, I start getting the urge to buy canned food.”

[Read more...]

Persistent Questions About the Future of the US Economy

We’ve covered a lot of ground over the past few months. Not much action in the markets yesterday, so let’s stop here and take stock.

What we know so far…

First, it was clear from the get-go that there was a bubble in finance and housing. The only people who couldn’t see it were the people in finance and housing…and the feds. It reached its peak in ’05-’07…then, exploded.

[Read more...]

Currencies Rally on Eurozone Agreement

The currency rally that stalled yesterday was back on last night… I have to tell you that I was up most of the night on Sunday and after getting poked and stuck at the doctor’s office yesterday, I went home, straight to my recliner and slept for the next five hours! Then I woke up, went to my computer and checked the overnight markets, and I saw the currencies had turned around, along with gold. So naturally, I began to scour the news to see what was going on.

[Read more...]