Global Market Commentary, Analysis and Investments
What a nuisance! Our laptop computer collapsed this morning. Hours were wasted trying to revive it. We were like a carpenter without a hammer…a clown without a red nose…an idiot without a village.
Meanwhile, the financial world seemed to be on the verge of collapse too. Stocks rose 161 points on the Dow yesterday…after a big drop the day before. Gold rose a bit too.
[Read more...]Nothing much to report from the markets. The Dow gained 28 points yesterday. Gold lost $6. The dollar was weak…as was the bond market.
The Fed came out with a report from its regional banks. Almost all the indicators showed a slowing economy. Not that we're headed into a double-dip. We haven't even gotten out of the first dip yet. Here's Bloomberg with the news:
[Read more...]Sign of the Times, Part 1: Federal bailout spending now exceeds the inflation-adjusted cost of World War II, according to our friends at the Independent Institute.
Senior Fellow William Shugart says World War II cost $3.6 trillion, but the bailouts now top $4 trillion. That's actual money out of the taxpayer's pocket, as opposed to the $12.8 trillion “lent, spent or guaranteed� figure you run across from time to time, a chunk of which might eventually be repaid.
[Read more...]Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be…
Simple words of wisdom – let it be
The Dow lost 107 points on its first day of trading after Labor Day. Gold rose to within $3 of its all-time high.
What do you make of it, dear reader?
Watch the bonds… We could be seeing the first crack in the bond market. But it seems too early to us. It seems more likely that the bond market will stretch this out…bringing more and more hapless investors on board before finally sinking.
[Read more...]You just can't keep a good economy down. At least, that's what you think upon reading the headlines this weekend.
“Fears of double-dip recession recede,� was the headline in The Financial Times.
Why the receding fear?
The private sector created 235,000 new jobs in the past three months, the paper explained.
[Read more...]With his toes in the sand and the cool waters of the Atlantic Ocean lapping gently at his feet, your editor can fairly say we have reached the end of our little Daily Reckoning Coast-to-Coast Correction Tour. So where to now for your Ho-Jo-hopping correspondent? Ahh, more on that below. First, some more important considerations…
[Read more...]First, the good news: Stocks staged a mammoth rally yesterday. The Dow managed a 2.5% run, while the broader S&P 500 scooted ahead 3%.
What a wondrous achievement this must have seemed like…to anyone who spent the previous month on the golf course, far away from their computer screen.
[Read more...]Why don't people borrow?
Because it's not a liquidity problem. It's a debt problem. A solvency problem. And it won't go away by making more cash and credit available. Instead, all those bad decisions, bad loans, and bad investments have to be cleaned up. And that takes time. And while the economy is de-leveraging, people are becoming more cautious…more risk-averse…more modest in their expectations.
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Germany to Push Aid to Greece
The currencies, led by the resurgent euro (EUR), are stronger across the board versus the dollar, this morning. A German newspaper reported that Germany was considering dropping its push for early restructuring of Greek debt before they would facilitate aid for Greece. This news has lifted a heavy weight from the euro’s shoulders, and the single unit is up to 1.4410… I would have to think that when the boys and girls return from the Hamptons, the US traders would tend to like this news too, and the euro could see a further push higher today.
[Read more...]