Archive - May 2013 - Blog entry

We are told that it’s the youth that is our future. These are the people that supposedly will be governing us one day not in the not too distant future when we sit comfortable doing whatever we have to (or rather, will be able to) do as retirees.

One of the problems with QE is that the Fed is forcing people to buy riskier investments than they otherwise would have. The immorality of their actions aside, they create a significant psychological mismatch between assets and their holders. Stocks are in weak hands, insuring one great stampede for the chairs when the music stops.

The good old days are back, those of the last housing bubble when money grew on trees.

Algirdas Šemeta, the European Commissioner responsible for Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud has announced in a speech that there are ten nations in the EU that need to cut the tax burden on labor if they are going to aid the growth of the European Union. They are hindering investment and holding back output of firms across the EU, although he admits that it is not reducing the tax burden alone that will solve the problems of the economic crisis.

Gold edged higher today supported by strong physical demand internationally and especially in Asia.

Demand in the physical market continued to hold prices near $1,400/oz as the recent drops in the spot market encourage buyers internationally to accumulate bullion.

Now they are here to help: Prepare for intensive Mandarin lessons for retail, hotel and hospitality trainees and fast track privatization interns.

A false breakout occurs when the market breaks out of a technical formation in one direction then fails to follow through on the move. Looking at the rising wedge pattern in the S&P 500 this appears to be happening now.

Tim Cook was in the media yesterday saying that market share doesn't matter, profits do. Ahem, maybe you should listen more closely to your ex-boss, Steve Jobs!

Walmart has just been landed with a hefty $81.6-million fine for dumping waste in both California and Missouri.

The investigation has been on-going now for almost ten years. Walmart has admitted that they dumped pollutants into drains in California and Missouri, as well as throwing toxic waste into trash bins rather than paying to have it treated and dealt with properly.

‘Carry On’ films are a genre in their own right! British humor at its best between 1958 and 1992. Slapstick, innuendo, dirty smirks and cackles. Low-budget too! For those of us that are either too young to have heard anything about them…or for those that live in places where (thankfully) the low-budget series of films all entitled ‘Carry On this’ and ‘Carry On that’ (my favorite must be ‘Carry On Regardless’ (1961)) they are a low-budget series of situational comedy sketches that had absolutely no plot. 

Based on over 100 years’ worth of data, anyone who is looking to invest for the long term by buying the market today can expect, at best, a 4% real return per year over the next 20 years (this includes both dividends and capital appreciation after inflation).

Shale gas is the latest hot potato that is being passed around the world. Are you with the in-crowd or out on limb? Ready to take the dive and place your country’s future in shale gas or go it as usual with domination of our energy sources with the petrol industry?

Today's episode: Open Caption

The price action isn’t parabolic but the beliefs of investors have gone parabolic.