Archive - Oct 2015

Hey, everybody. Look, I sort of fell out of the public eye once people stopped eating Wheaties, and I'm glad to have a second career as a reality show freak.

Since China devalued the Yuan and surprised the world's carry traders (and central planners) by stirring up FX volatility, the demand for 'paper' gold has begun converging to the demand for physical precious metals. Gold prices are now up over $100 since August 10th, but it is another (easier to 'transport') alternative currency that has soared. Bitcoin has spike post-China-devaluation (since dipping on 'governance' concerns), accelerating from under $200 to almost $300 today, and up 25% since our September 2 explanation why China's capital account crackdown is "great news" for bitcoin.

Defying the international call for an arms embargo over war crimes concerns, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announced Tuesday it has approved an $11.25 billion deal to sell combat ships to Saudi Arabia, which has been waging a military assault against Yemen for more than six months. “The selling of arms in the middle of a war will obviously send the message that the Saudis can do whatever they want and get away with it,” said Farea Al-Muslimi, Beirut-based Yemeni writer and visiting scholar with Carnegie Middle East Center.

Following the latest hedge fund underperformance, it is no longer possible to ignore the obvious:in the year in which central banks will unleash the greatest amount of liquidity in the "markets" in history, and where we have seen at least 77 easing steps taken by global central banks, hedge funds are poised to record their worst performance since 2011, according to JPM.

If Bernie Sanders really believes that socialism is the solution, then he is misguided – even though his criticism of oligarchic cronyism is justified. Socialists believe that the society is just one “organic body” and as with all such entities resources are used indiscriminately by the organism so as to support its various functions, organs, faculties, etc., never mind who produces and who consumes the resources; those are for the whole system to use as is needed: “From each according to his/her ability, to each according to his/her need!” Trouble is some of the people will have to decide about all this.  It is not automatic, contrary to what Marxists think. And here is where the politicians and their appointed bureaucrats enter the picture.

"Our mistake in our understanding of what would happen once you removed the regime. Of course, you can't say that those of us who removed Saddam in 2003 bear no responsibility for the situation in 2015."

Watch out for a snowball-effect in the Treasury market...

How governments all around the world resort to absurd marketing to finance largesse

Yesterday Doi and Gina were back at 7 Little Bloomfield Street, Surry Hills. Their fingers crossed for greater fools because Doi was keen to offload his March purchase. The reason? Like most of us who've bought $800k crack shacks, Doi had a healthy dose of buyers' regret and came to his senses "after realising just how small the property was he decided to sell." How lucky was Doi? This is Australia! Doi found a plumber willing to go 60k higher than he'd paid six months earlier

You have to hand it to Washington. When it comes to foreign policy blunders, the US certainly isn’t afraid to double and triple down. With the West and its regional allies in full panic mode as the effort to bring about regime change in Syria continues to crumble under pressure from Russian airstrikes and Iranian ground forces, the US and Saudi Arabia have agreed to step up their support for the various proxy armies battling to oust Bashar al-Assad.

If you are seeking more freedom and prosperity, ask yourself if that is what you will get by voting for any of the current candidates. If you are seeking to reclaim the moral high ground the United States may have once had, ask yourself if these policies will do just that. Remember, not everyone is an idiot, a Republican, or an apathetic sheeple. Some of us simply disagree with Bernie’s economics and solutions.

The philosophy of individualism is the foundation of a free society; it is the basis of a community of men that does not require or demand the sacrifice or enslavement of some for the one-sided benefits of others. Individualism is the premise of a morality for mankind that recognizes and respects the liberty and dignity of every human being. It is the ethical philosophy of freedom.

The powers that be have lost control. After almost a century of playing the Wizard of Oz, the curtain is disintegrating. Institutions to ensure control, stability and prosperity are failing. People and markets were not to be trusted and most of these institutions were established to protect against such freedom. Bureaucrats, central planners and big governments were to be the answers for a better world. The damage of nearly a century of this nonsense is suddenly becoming evident. Things fall apart is characterized by institutions that no longer are trusted or believed in.

Year after year, economic growth collapses from "hope" to "nope."