Archive - Feb 2011 - Blog entry

In essence, the opportunity to enact austerity and fiscal restraint passed a long time ago.

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!

Investors involved in the equity markets often pay close attention to which stocks the prominent fund managers in the market are buying and selling every quarter when 13F filings begin to roll in. These reports provide insight into how the brightest investing minds and most successful money managers are currently investing their money and shed light on any big bets being made by these "gurus".

BiTCHeZ!

As if the world is not complicated enough. Now we have to go to war with pirates.

Is the ECB ready to admit the potential failure of the Great Global Macro Experiment? What will an increase in interest rates bring? Prepare for global cap rate expansion and the potential equivalent for the first global real estate depression...

GBPUSD has become firmly entrenched in the Strong Long zone, at the time of writing this we're seeing GBPUSD pull back from the highs, the bias for this pair does however remain to the long side overall. We have some market moving events including UK Public Sector Net Borrowing at 04:30 EST and US Consumer Confidence at 10:00 that could potentially add some spark.

The following are my exclusive notes from a presentation by Oaktree Capital's Howard Marks. In the presentation, Marks held an extensive discussion of Oaktree's investment strategy and answered questions on his views on gold and fraud in the financial system. Needless to say, there were many nuggets of wisdom for all investors.

The last time the oil price lost touch with gravity, which it threatens to again with the price of Brent crude now well north of $100 a barrel, it helped tip the world economy into the deepest recession since the 1930s. Is history about to repeat itself?

Chaos ...

When we talk about “solvent” Europe we’re largely talking about Germany which is currently in the process of seven state elections. If the first, in Hamburg, is anything to go by, the German people are sick of both the bailouts and the European Union and want to ditch the Euro entirely. Merkel now has a choice, stick with the Euro and commit political suicide or ditch the Euro/ demand the less solvent members leave.

Caterpillar is only as good as the dollar.

Libya is in the same predicament, as is Sudan, Algeria, Nigeria, Angola... What happens when people are starving while they see their leaders living lives of luxury? They get pissed! They demand CHANGE.

Come on down to Banzai7 Burbank Studios and don't forget to bring the gold bars...

Thousands of protesters gathered outside government headquarters this week, ultimately seizing the legislature building on Friday and Saturday. Estimates ran as high as 68,000 people crammed into the main square. Sunday marked the sixth day of protests organized by labor unions and university students. Protesters shouted angrily and signs denouncing the regime were evident everywhere. On Saturday, a smaller pro-government group invaded the square, but thanks to the action of the state police, the two groups were kept apart and no violence resulted. The protesters had high praise for the police.