Archive - May 2, 2010 - Blog entry

With populations soaring at the bottom end of the economic spectrum, the demand for new apartment buildings is going to be huge. Immigrants joining impoverished gen Xer’s and Millennials aren’t going to live in cardboard boxes under freeway overpasses. Institutions combing the landscape for low volatility cash flows and limited risk are starting to pour money in.

A 17% bonus increase in a recession year with a nationwide jobless rate of around 10%, coupled with a reduction in lending while receving TARP money - a sure fire recipe for becoming public enemy number 1.

A big picture overview ...

After 8 months of indifference to the constant and persistent rise in stock prices, the "smart money" has finally turned bearish. It is time to pay attention.

Greece will bite the IMF bullet and go through another major recession, one that will bring about more social upheaval with the end result being far from clear. Is Greece an omen of things to come?

Bloomberg reported that crude oil open interest was 1.41 million contracts, the highest since June 11, 2008. Some analysts think the high level of open interest raises concerns about whether the market is overvalued relative to fundamentals and whether the upward price trend can continue.