Archive - Dec 8, 2009 - Blog entry

“It is alarming to look at what the Europe and Central Asian countries are soon to face as the region continues to age,” said Schwarz. “Future pension system deficits can be threefold than what is currently expected, and are expected to remain at that level for more than 20 years before slightly improving. Policymakers need to use the opportunity of the current crisis to address long-term issues, which could bankrupt pension systems precisely when the numbers of people who need them are growing.”

A Detailed Technical update of the DJIA Cash, S&P Cash, Gold Futures, US Dollar Index and Goldman Sachs

Japan has been the poster child of what not to do. They are a textbook case for the failure of Keynesian stimulus. After 20 years of repeating the same mistakes with the same results, you would think they would learn. They haven't. Now they may enact a policy that will lead to depression level unemployment. Remember the definition of insanity: do the same thing over and over and expect a different result?

It's a scam ...

I don't want anyone to think this is a Goldman bashing exercise. I actually admire their prowess. Not for operational excellence (as many mistakenly consider them to have when not adjusting accounting returns for risk), but for the way they seem to get away with murder, time after time. You gotta give it to them. I want readers to take time to go through the anecdotal evidence here and decide if it is more profitable to invest with Goldman, or actually attempt to put your bid in to get a slice of that $19 billion, middle class taxpayer funded, regulator protected bonus pool.

Large public pension funds in New York, California and Ohio are looking increasingly to alternative investments in hedge funds, private equity and emerging markets in a global hunt for yield, senior managers and trustees said. What does this mean for the rest of us?