Archive - Dec 2009 - Blog entry

Oh what a year 2009 was...

Will we stand up in 2010, or keep bending over?

For all of those who feel China is going to take over the free world, just remember that when you blow a bubble (particularly a balance sheet bubble) it is bound to pop. The damage from the pop invariably does more harm than the boost from the bubble. It has always been the case, particularly when leverage is involved - which makes the impact that much more devastating. If anybody can attest to this, it should be us Americans (British, Spanish, Irish, those from Dubai, Japanese...).

We need another six Saudi Arabias, and now!The $10 trillion price tag for Decarbonization

2009 was a game changer, a year that will have profound long-term impacts on our future. These changes are generational. Here are the top 10 economic events of 2009. Understand them well because they will change your future and the future of your children and grandchildren. It won't be good change.

In support of Huffington Post's call for people to move our money from the giant banks to small banks and credit unions, here are ways to locate credit unions and assess their safety ...

What went awry at CalPERS is a textbook case of poor pension governance. And it's not just CalPERS. Reckless greed and sheer stupidity pervades the wider pension industry. Please read this comment carefully so you too are made aware of how pension investments can go awfully wrong.

A question to ask? Who knows, we may learn something. Blog economics.

"This is just another bailout of the financial system, because the tens of trillions of dollars already committed are not nearly enough."

Nuclear energy makes the greatest comeback of all time. Not your father's nuclear power plant. Better start practicing your “hustle.”

My Spanish bank and real estate thesis looks to be panning out, disrupted by that hellish bear market rally. We shall see how accurate it is as the Spanish banks start to liquidate inventory.

So, what does it mean if we get another significant downturn? Well, not only are the 2003 to 2007 vintage mortgages in trouble, but those 2008 and 2009 mortgages are at risk as well. What are the chances of this happening? Fairly significant. For all of those guys who swear we are on the brink of a booming economic recovery, recall that it was housing depreciation that set all of this off to begin with.

As the 'naughties' come to a somewhat anti-climactic close, it is important for those of us in the investment community to take stock of what new lessons have been learned, what immutable laws have been reinforced, and what changes in policy, strategy and execution need to occur in order to avoid a repeat of the booms and busts of the last decade.

While everyone is scared to death of the next Black Swan event, they're totally ignoring the Black Sloth event in the making...

On November 18th, I suggested that everyone: