Archive - Apr 2011 - Blog entry

Hey judge, we need to "Give the Plaintiffs/ProVest a very strong argument should someone challenge service of process." AND I have an "Idea as to how we may be able to help out..." So, what do you think, judge? "I like this new work out, I am in agreement." Chief Judge G. Keith Cary

A regular commentator on BoomBustBlog has been attempting to make the case for a housing recovery based upon rising employment metrics. One of his primary arguments was rising hourly earnings. I thought I would take this time to point out that average hourly earnings can rise due to the fact that less people are working. The aggregate employment in the US has literally fell off of a cliff. Since you know that I love pictures, let’s do this graphically…

The idea that the US will default on its debt and we’ll somehow re-enter the stone age is false. Human ingenuity and survival skills are far better than that. Indeed, the human race was in much worse conditions when we were hiding in caves and running from prehistoric monsters. We somehow survived that situation and evolved to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and drive cars… so I’m sure we’ll figure out how to deal with the collapse of the US empire and the end of the Dollars status as world reserve currency.

This could get ugly, prepare to go 'old school'!

There's a White House over yonder...

The Silver market is in a bubble stage right now. No one really knows how long this will last, whether Silver goes up another $5, 10, 20 doesn`t really matter for investors who are buying the physical metal in the form of coins because when the bubble ends they are going to be sitting on a depreciating asset.

Tuesday is my 40th birthday so please be kind as you read through my comment on life, health, work, markets and friendship. I'm also soliciting advice and donations for my blog...

On almost any metric applied, QE2 ends up not only falling well short of its proposed goals, but actually turns certain metrics like GDP growth negative compared with the prior quarter, and heading in the wrong direction.

Equities (unch) managed to algorithmically outperform credit (wider) and un-sync from correlation and vol on the day amid rather tepid conditions. Up-in-quality remains in cash and synthetic credit and protection in vol seems bid again (for now).

Whether or not you like QE (yes, there are some insane people who think it’s a good idea… unfortunately they work for the Fed), this is the reality our financial system faces. Indeed, if the Fed were to quit QE for good the resulting crisis would make 2008 look like a picnic (the 2008 collapse was triggered by the CDS market which was only $50-60 trillion in size, les than one third of the interest rate based derivatives market).

Hmmmmmm...

I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls,--And each damp thing that creeps and crawls--Went wobble-wobble on the walls.

More BKTV.

You only get to shop at the store WE tell you to, and you only get to buy what WE decide you need!

The world is now moving away from the US Dollar in a rapid pace. Russia and China are no longer using the US Dollar for trade between each other. Saudi Arabia is sending representatives to China and Russia to strengthen trade ties (which hints that oil may not be priced in Dollars in the coming years). And the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and now South Africa) recently staged a conference in southern China to discuss trading in their domestic currencies rather than the US Dollar.