The year 1865 was profound for the United States in so many ways that lost in the euphoria of the end of the Civil War was a dramatic movement that laid the foundation for our current monetarist system, and thus our current economic predicament. To defeat the Confederacy the Lincoln administration needed to pay for the vast expansion of federal [...]
This week, one particular article sparked an intense internal dialogue about some of the global economic realities that have us concerned. The article is from Peking University’s Professor Michael Pettis. Prof. Pettis opines that Chinese citizens would rather save than spend and that Japan, who has recently run a current account deficit, would prefer to run a surplus. In China, [...]
Thinking Things Over March 25, 2012 Volume II, Number 12: What ObamaCare's Fate Means for the Economy, Through Hayek's Eyes By John L. Chapman, Ph.D. Washington, D.C. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States;...... To borrow money [...]
GSCI Commodity Index: ((GSG)) Includes Energy (71%), Agriculture (14%), Industrial Metals (7%), Livestock (4%), and Precious Metals (4%) Energy: ((JJE)) Includes Natural Gas, Crude Oil, Heating Oil, and Unleaded Gas Grains: ((JJG)) Includes Corn, Wheat, and Soybeans Industrial Metals: ((JJM)) Includes Aluminum, Copper, Nickel, and Zinc Precious Metals: ((JJP)) Includes Gold and Silver Softs: ((JJS)) Includes Coffee, Cotton, and Sugar
Joseph Gomez, Sr. Investment Adviser and Portfolio Manager As we close out the quarter next week, expect to see plenty of window dressing as portfolio managers want their clients to see that they have stocks on the books during such a strong quarter for the market. Window Dressing is a strategy used by mutual fund and portfolio managers near the year or quarter [...]
Even after the Greek debt-swap deal that apparently solved the entire European crisis, Greek 10-year bonds are still trading woefully. The spread above German bunds is still over 1,600 basis points, 86% higher than just one year ago. To some, that is an improvement since the 10-year spread was nearly 3,500 basis points just before the debt-swap. Regardless of any [...]
Let me preface this post by saying that this is not an attack piece on differing investment styles or those approaches that are deeply rooted in academic research. However, the greatest investors of all time have one thing in common which I hope will become clear by the end. The people I am refer to are considered by many as [...]
The Alhambra is a Moorish palace and fortress complex in southern Spain, a symbol of wealth and refuge for centuries, lauded for its mix of Islamic and Christian architecture in a natural setting. Moorish poets described it as "a pearl set in emeralds," in allusion to the color of its buildings and the woods around them. Withstanding years of social unrest, [...]
Some important items to take away from this week: The Greek 170bln bailout package was finalized. The Fed assessed the economy as improving and instituted no new monetary programs and will continue to reinvest principal and roll over expiring treasuries at auction. Fed Press Release Commercial and Industrial loan growth is robust and the latest round of bank stress test [...]
Thinking Things Over March 18, 2012 Volume II, Number 11: The Fatal Conceit of Politicians By John L. Chapman, Ph.D. Washington, D.C. The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design. -- F.A. Hayek, The Fatal Conceit On March 15 the S&P 500 Index closed at 1404, [...]
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