Archive - Apr 2011 - Blog entry

Debunking the myth that only huge doses are dangerous ...

The REAL Crisis (of which 2008 was the warm-up) is fast approaching. When I say REAL Crisis I mean full-scale systemic meltdown, a situation in which the market accomplishes what the Fed, regulators, and US Government at large have failed to do: clean house. The plain facts are right in front of us. The US is broke on every level: Federal, State, Local, and individual/ consumer. We all know this, but we don’t want to admit it because doing so would likely mean wiping out at minimum 30% of what we have today.

If you really don't think a Pan-European bank collapse may be in the cards, you really haven't been paying attention. Things are coming to a had much more quickly than even I anticipated, and you know I'm far from optimistic in this regard.

The Ryan plan does nothing until 2022. We won't make it that far.

First, let me say that I’ve long enjoyed reading the rants of over-the-top inflationists like Jim Willie, but also the relatively subdued essays of Gonzalo Lira — even if the latter sometimes comes across as the kind of guy who could wear out a mirror. I feel a comradeship with both because, predictions about the financial endgame aside, I agree with much of what they have said — most particularly about the robust defensive role that bullion seems likely to play no matter what happens. But that is not to say that I agree with all of Lira’s and Jim Willie’s arguments.

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (Teachers'), the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada, gained 14.3% in 2010 but systemic funding challenges persist...

The economy is in a structural readjustment that will leave the middle class higher and drier. Long-term factors will continue to negatively affect employment. We are headed to a higher level of permanent unemployment than the 5% that existed in pre-crash 2008.

Please move along, no recovery to see here...

A heuristic approach to determining the truth of a statement.

Only in Washington would this be hailed as good news...

In other market-shaking news, The Bernank says the Fed WILL act if inflation is "more than transitory." Apparently, he finally had to pick up the check at a restaurant this week or perhaps he pumped his own gas over the weekend.

The alleged scandal surrounding once-presumed Warren Buffett heir apparent David Sokol has quite predictably generated all manner of breathy headlines about a Teflon-coated Berkshire Hathaway suffering a besmirched reputation. As if often the case, the supposed ill deed in no way measures up to the hype.

The man with the Midas touch...

A thought on a hot stock.

Contrarian, yet common sense, perspectives on Apple that so few seem able to see.