…Calmly observing the changing world

“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 [...]

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 [...]

(Corrected) Occasionally I have called the European Central Bank “Germany’s Central Bank” in a tongue-and-cheek fashion, hoping to spread awareness that the second is more accurate that the first. The ECB is, without a doubt, a thoroughly German institution, and the German bankers would never have turned over their currency destiny to Europe as a [...]

Normally, gold futures quietly trade on the COMEX without too much fanfare. Even when there is something worth talking about, there is an important point to keep in mind. Just because gold futures are trading hands – bits of electronic data or pieces of paper – doesn’t mean that any actual gold changes hands. At the [...]