Archive - Apr 2010 - Blog entry

sia is on its way back up to an historical weighting of 50% of world GDP/ that means china’s economy triples from here. Another $500 billion stimulus package is sitting on the shelf. Don’t count on China bailing out our $14.4 trillion economy. (FXI), (DBC), (DYY), (DBA), (PHO).

The governments of 10 western countries called Google evil in a letter demanding the company improve user privacy, citing concerns about Google Buzz and Street View services.

While there’s a general consensus among the Zero Hedge community that the big boys are manipulating the various markets to maintain and even accelerate the Ponzi, this still requires a great deal of conscious participation by those lower down the ladder. While many of us are calling for the hangman’s noose around Blankfein or Bernanke’s neck, shouldn’t we also being stringing up your next door neighbor or that self righteous prick of a brother-in-law or maybe even you?

According to estimates by The Economist, foreign banks’ exposure to Greece, Portugal and Spain combined comes to €1.2 trillion. All this could all end horribly, if governments refuse to cut spending and markets refuse to fund that spending.

"When the facts change, I change my mind." - John Maynard Keynes

It's time for the annual trip to Omaha.

The poor are suffering Depression-level unemployment, while the well-off aren't feeling a thing ..

A new symbol of China's market ambitions: It is getting its own charging bull sculpture for its Shanghai Stock Exchange, similar to the one in front of the New York Stock Exchange.

In its influential World Economic Outlook, the IMF said the recovery in global growth over the past year had relied on "highly accommodative" policies and there was a risk of a relapse. But the Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer, a former top official at the IMF, said advanced economies don’t face a deflationary threat and the U.S. economy is rebounding faster than anticipated. Are we out of the woods yet?

Will someone explain to me why the world is so enamored with Goldman. It appears that their research department is now recommending clients to bet on European bank contagion risk. LTTP (Late to the Party), we first warned on European bank risk in Spain with BBVA in January of last year (The Spanish Inquisition is About to Begin…).

I am getting to the point where I don't trust anything. Even Jon Hiselrath at the WSJ.

Yet ANOTHER reason the TBTFs should be broken up ...

Derivatives might be useful, but when 5 American banks have most of 'em - and are insisting they not be made transparent - recipe for disaster ...

A chart explaining the six primary strategies of buy-side short-term algorithmic traders.

When I make a mistake I will admit it.

In my analysis of consumer spending I asserted that the sources of increases in spending were (1) a draw-down of savings and (2) the redirection of defaulted mortgage payments to spending. I was half-right which another way of saying I was half-wrong.

I missed one the basic laws of economics, Bastiat's "Broken Window Fallacy." Ouch!