Archive - Jun 2013 - Blog entry

Consumer confidence in the US stands at 76.2 in May 2013 (1985=100). That’s an increase from 58.4 in January. The Conference Board’s figures show that things have not looked so good for months. Things seem to be looking up. But, is the US consumer right to believe in the market and that the economy is getting better and the medicine is working?

Under their QE programs, the Fed sure has bought a lot of bonds. This has pushed down the interest rate. It's been quite a bull market. It's all good, right? People are making money, financing costs are low, and the deficit to GDP ratio is in check.

Not quite.

And Other Stunning Facts I Learned Last Night ...

Virtual currencies were hailed as revolutions. They were the way forward., the way to overhaul the system and the way to replace the Dollar, Sterling, the Euro and the rest of them.  But, just last week Liberty Reserve was closed down for illicit transactions and money-laundering activities that could have nothing more than repercussions for the rest of the companies living quietly in the auspices of cyberspace doing more or less the same sort of activity.

ECB Bath Salts available by advance order only... 

When will the US equity markets follow suit?

These rats are in charge of the con...

Technically we’re all poorer than we were before 2008 happened. Most of us are making less money. And we’re spending more just trying to get by thanks to higher food, energy, and healthcare prices. Heck, housing is now even soaring again, pricing most beginning homebuyers out of the market.

Joseph Eugene Stiglitz was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2001. We have constructed the world in which we live on recognition and awards. But, they are just for giving. They are not for anything else. We take no heed of what the ones that have been recognized might have to say or declare. They can go blue in their face, we have delusions of grandeur. Who gave them the prize anyhow?

Here is what is shaping the global capital markets.

Here are four things that seem to be dominating the weekend discussions.  

Turd Ferguson, of the TF Metals Report, does superb work and commentary on the precious metals markets. His latest analysis on Friday’s Commitment of Traders Report caught my attention for a number of reasons, in addition to it being so well done.

The Great Economic Transformation! The Chinese are suckers for adjectives to describe and give power and eminence to their attributes, actions or constructions. The Long March. The Cultural Revolution. The Great Wall, the Yellow River. A good adjective always makes it sound as if it’s true. The Chinese have taken over as the superlative attributor to everything. The tallest (soon-to-be) building in China, the Shanghai Tower, is the living proof that China plans on making itself into a byword for superlatives it’s ‘–est’ everything these days.

Don't believe those Press headlines that paint a rosy picture for SS. There's no good news in this report card.

Liberty knows what to do...