Blogs

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...

“It’s counterproductive to fight against windmills,” it explained

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going” is a wonderful piece of linguistic wizardry. It can be read in two different ways. Either the 'tough' become fully engaged in combat and fight it out till the bitter end or the ‘tough’ up sticks and move out. It was supposedly Joseph P. Kennedy (father of US President John F. Kennedy) that gets the praise for having said it first.

This confluence of indicators tells us point blank that stocks are in a bubble. If I know this, I can assure you that Ben Bernanke and the Fed know it. And this is why the Fed is in deep trouble. I guarantee you Bernanke is hoping he can get to the exit as Fed Chairman before the stuff hits the fan.

The wild ride in Japan's bond market is a prelude to what will happen in other developed markets.

Outlook for the dollar and major foreign currencies in the week ahead.