…Calmly observing the changing world

While the press core is enthralled at the prospect of the Obama administration’s renaissance (no matter how unlikely), and statiticians pour over census data, most normal Americans are making last-minute preparations for Christmas gatherings. Not the number crunchers over at Moody’s though. While admittedly it was a dud, they fired a shot across the political [...]

“Germany cannot keep paying for bail-outs without going bankrupt itself,” said Professor Wilhelm Hankel, of Frankfurt University. Daily Telegraph (Ottowa Citizen) Well, I guess we’ll find out.  Despite significant opposition from the actual citizens of Germany, the bailouts seem unlikely to stop for the time being.  You see, the bailout-proponents wisely set aside a lump [...]

As the trick-or-treaters darted from house to house under a waning crescent, seeking to mount up chocolate treasure, the markets have bided their time – seemingly for ages.  In all likelihood, the market is done treading water and (perhaps after a false start) will again pick its direction. Dial L for Landslide With likely voters overwhelmingly [...]

No, the title doesn’t suggest politics – although it easily could.  Something far scarier is afoot. Today, the federal government conned investors into buying bonds which pay negative 0.55%.  There is, of course, more to the story, as these were inflation-protected securities (TIPS). Investors were hungry today for the bonds, pushing the prices up – [...]

These days, investors are being diligent to try to find a solid investment.  Well, so much for that – but if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.  So, for the non-small investor, one of the closest things to a sure bet would seem to be shorting Greek bonds. The government has never shown restraint.  The [...]

It’s no secret that the stock market has gone nowhere for a decade and that interest rates are so low that money is essentially free.  Armed with this knowledge, investors are exploring alternative avenues of building wealth – or at least preserving it. All companies are predicated on the fact that they put money to [...]

William F Buckley, Jr. usually casts an unseen and unmentioned shadow upon the American political landscape.  So when he is invoked by name to reinforce an argument, we should perhaps all listen a bit more closely – but certainly skeptically.  In this case, it’s Charles Krauthammer who calls forth the invocation: Unfortunately for Krauthammer, invoking [...]

Wouldn’t It Be Loverly? Usually when there are rumors flying around the internet about commodity intrigue, with deliveries potentially causing a shortage and a subsequent price spike, we are talking about gold or silver.  In this, very unusual case, we are talking about… chocolate. An originally mysterious investor stood for delivery on a massive number [...]

More often than not, the Federal Reserve presents a united front in as many of their statements as possible.  So we should take notice when – like now – there is a high profile departure from the consensus opinion. “Monetary policy is a useful tool, but it cannot solve every problem faced by the United [...]

Welcome to the world of bullion coin investing, a business that has soared alongside the popularity of gold despite its disadvantages… MarketWatch (emphasis added liberally throughout) This certainly caught my eye.  I wondered, just what were the disadvantages?  Surely, I could read on and be informed of these. The coin craze is part of gold’s [...]