Archive - Aug 3, 2010 - Blog entry

Below is a 3-part video series in which I discuss how bankers have used the concept of ideological subversion to brainwash hundreds of millions of retail investors into accepting harmful propaganda that allows them to build their bottom line at the expense of the investors while simultaneously convincing investors to ignore alternate behavior that would be beneficial to their financial welfare.

A discussion on the seven faces of "The Peril" and what more QE means for pensions.

The EURDLR closed at 1.3225. Some blood on that price.

I query, have we entered into a double-dip recession? I’ll answer my own question here, No! The positive GDP prints and “green shoots” were the direct result of government bubble (re)blowing through fiscal and monetary stimulus, culminating in QE v1.5. As the effects wear off, we start to see were the economy really stands - and which economically and consumer sensitive sectors are flying on borrowed time.

If One Product Which Was Responsible for 70% of Your Earnings Was Under Assault by the Biggest Tech Companies In the World Through Potentially Better Products Entering Into an Economic Downturn, Would You Bet the Farm on That Stock at a rich PE?

Retail investors are getting fleeced when playing the agricultural and commodities ETF’s. A harsh lesson about contangos. An entire sub industry of hedge funds has arisen to take advantage of this spread, at the expense of the ETF investor. Morgan Stanley is now chartering more tankers to take delivery of crude than Chevron. Gaming the published “roll dates.”

Crude closes above $80 yesterday for the first time since May. However, a look at some fundamental and macroeconomic signals showed crude oil could be under increasing pressure, thus range-bound, through the rest of this year.

Markets in a Flash

· Asian equity markets continued their rise last night. The Nikkei finished up +1.29%, while the Hang Seng finished up +0.21%.

· European equity markets are slightly down this morning. This is after yesterday strong rise took them to new recent highs.

· Commodities are looking strong today and are pushing to fresh 3 month highs. Oil is trading above the $81.00 level. Wheat prices fell after their recent gains as Russia calmed fears of export problems.

It appears that the Fed is ready to debate what they are going to do about a sinking economy and the specter of continued high unemployment. ZIRP isn't working, yet they are afraid to tighten rates. Will they monetize federal debt as a tool of quantitative easing? All signs point to yes.