News

Do QE Markets Validate A Buy And Hold Strategy?

"Classical measures of value have been destroyed. It is very difficult to find true price discovery or a reasonable degree of certainty about these markets except that they are artificial and fragile, susceptible to infection from myriad sources. Though equity trends strongly ascend, the ascent is not based on increasing revenues but liquidity that equals debt. In this context, if one 'buys the market' one is betting on continuing QE and an absence of crises that have lingering effects. While QE is likely to continue so long as policy-makers prefer to keep the markets climbing, geopolitical, fiscal or economic crises are nascent, ready to burst into flame." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDo QE Markets Validate A Buy And Hold Strategy?

In Fed and Out, Many Now Think Inflation Helps

"Some economists say more inflation is just what the American economy needs to escape from a half-decade of sluggish growth and high unemployment. Economists, including Janet Yellen, President Obama’s nominee to lead the Fed starting next year, have long argued that a little inflation is particularly valuable when the economy is weak. The school board in Anchorage, Alaska, for example, is counting on inflation to keep a lid on teachers’ wages. Retailers including Costco and Walmart are hoping for higher inflation to increase profits. The federal government expects inflation to ease the burden of its debts. Yet by one measure, inflation rose at an annual pace of 1.2 percent in August." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIn Fed and Out, Many Now Think Inflation Helps

Salon: One World After All

"An article in Salon is entitled 'Elites' strange plot to take over the world.' It is basically an admission of the entire globalist enterprise over the past half-century or so. It clearly admits what we all know – that top Western elites have been in an open conspiracy to merge the world, at least the Western world, under one legislative, economic and military regime. What makes the article important? Well ... start with its writer, Matt Stoller, who 'has a background in financial journalism and was a fellow at the [technocratic/socialist] Roosevelt Institute and an editor of the financial site Naked Capitalism.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSalon: One World After All

Their Propaganda….Our Propaganda

"The Guardian was able to get a hold of some paintings that were made by a North Korean propaganda artist, for the North Korean people. The paintings depict their 'glorious neighbor' China. Keep in mind, when you see these, that most North Koreans have never been to China. What a glorious place...a Heaven on Earth mixed with The Land of Oz. Fortunately, here in the United States, we have freedom of the press, and it takes hard effort for that press to pull the wool over our eyes! Americans are not so easily fooled..." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTheir Propaganda….Our Propaganda

How to Make $15.6 Million, Risk-Free

"You can buy CDSs without owning the underlying bond, which is essentially a speculation that McDonald's will default on that bond. Unless, of course, you have influence over the fast-food giant's management. Then it's not a speculation at all. It's a can't-lose trade. That's what Blackstone did. It took out an insurance policy on Codere, persuaded it to default, then collected $15.6 million in payouts. There was never a chance Blackstone would lose money on this arrangement. It was literally a risk-free trade." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow to Make $15.6 Million, Risk-Free

Finally, the End of Keynesianism

"Are you a Keynesian? So many seem to be. Do you really believe that a properly functioning, mathematically literate approach to high finance can salvage what's left of the financial systems of the US, the West, the entire world? Top central bankers apparently don't. Just look at this article excerpt. They've retreated from the idea of tapering until 2014 and Peter Schiff was probably correct that they won't really taper at all because they can't. That should put an end to Keynesianism, though probably it won't. The technocratic meme of money control is the most cherished of all dominant social themes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFinally, the End of Keynesianism

U.S. Dollar on the brink of 13-month lows: the long-term consequences

"While the stock market has been rising, the U.S. dollar has been sinking. It’s on the verge of breaking major 13-month lows. It’s not far from reversing everything it gained against a sinking euro during the recent European debt crisis. And once those barriers are breached, it could crash to its lowest level in history. But Washington doesn’t care, and few investors seem to give a damn. They celebrate the fact that, in the near term, a falling dollar helps make U.S. exports more competitive overseas. Plus, they like the fact that a dollar decline temporarily drives global investors away from safety and into risky investments, including U.S. stocks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Dollar on the brink of 13-month lows: the long-term consequences

Let Our Debt Scrub Our Brains

"A majority of Americans with 401(k)-type savings accounts are accumulating debt faster than they are setting aside money for retirement, further undermining the nation's troubled system for old-age saving, a new report has found. Three in five workers with defined contribution accounts are 'debt savers,' according to the report released Thursday, meaning their increasing mortgages, credit card balances and installment loans are outpacing the amount of money they are able to save for retirement." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLet Our Debt Scrub Our Brains

Doug Casey & Jim Rogers Legendary Investors’ Roundtable

"Jim and Doug discuss today's world economic and financial situation within the context of financial history and past financial panics. Jim and Doug talk about central planning, central banking, big government and how governments have only 3 real options to raise money. Next, Jason asks Doug and Jim about competing currencies like Bitcoin, gold and silver and whether they will be allowed under any circumstance. Jason asks Jim and Doug about the turmoil in the currency and bonds markets. Doug and Jim also talk about commodities like farmland, cattle, gold and other natural resource investing opportunities. Jim Rogers was in Singapore and Doug Casey was in Argentina." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDoug Casey & Jim Rogers Legendary Investors’ Roundtable