Network Archives

Let’s Thank President Obama for Reminding Americans that They Should Distrust the IRS

"Last week, while writing about the latest IRS scandal, I noted that the IRS has a long record of abusive actions. It has thieving employees. It has incompetent employees. It has thuggish employees. It has brainless employees. And it has victimizing employees. So I wasn’t surprised to learn that it also has politically biased employees. But some Americans probably are shocked. Why am I thanking Obama? For the simple reason that this scandal means that more Americans now understand that the IRS is a venal agency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLet’s Thank President Obama for Reminding Americans that They Should Distrust the IRS

Argentina’s Deadbeat Special: Buy a 4% Bond or Go to Jail

"President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner wants tax evaders hiding about $160 billion in dollars to help finance Argentina’s oil-producing ambitions. Her offer: Buy a 4 percent bond or face the prospect of jail time. The tax authority announced the plan May 7, highlighting its information-sharing agreements with 40 nations and warning Argentines who don’t use the three-month amnesty window that they risk fines or arrest. Evaders have two options for their cash and the only one paying interest will be a dollar bond due in 2016 to finance YPF SA (YPF), the state oil company." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArgentina’s Deadbeat Special: Buy a 4% Bond or Go to Jail

Youth Without Hope: 60% Unemployment

"Greece has a 60% unemployment rate for people in the 18-25 age bracket. Think of this. This is a generation that is unlikely ever to save their career plans out of the recession that has overtaken Greece and is getting worse. It will mar them for the rest of their lives. The experts said this was impossible in 2007. The bankers in northern Europe believed the hype. They lent money to Greece’s government and businesses. Now they need bailouts from the European Union — the government — and the central bank, and the IMF. They care nothing about Greece. They just want someone to pay interest on their loans. They are getting what they ask for. Greece isn’t." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYouth Without Hope: 60% Unemployment

Only Half Of College Grads Work Jobs That Require A Degree

"A college degree might not be worth the hassle and expense, according to a new study. Almost half of four-year college graduates are working jobs that don’t require a bachelor's degree, according to a study by McKinsey & Co. that asked 4,900 graduates about their careers after college. Furthermore, around a third of college graduates said they did not feel that college had fully prepared them for the working world. Over half said they’d choose a different school or a different major if they could do it again." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOnly Half Of College Grads Work Jobs That Require A Degree

Calculating the ROI of a 4-Year College Degree

"People tend to assume that getting a college education is a good financial investment. But a new Brookings report 'Should Everyone go to College?' finds that the actual value of a 4-year bachelor’s degree can vary dramatically depending on factors such as field of study, type of college, graduation rate, and future occupation. The more selective the school, the higher the return on investment (ROI) as calculated by Payscale. The bad schools are pretty bad, as Payscale found that 1 in 5 have a negative ROI over 30 years. The lifetime earnings of a graduate also varies widely with the type of major and subsequent occupation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalculating the ROI of a 4-Year College Degree

Bankers: College debt bubble mimics housing bubble

"A group of bankers have just dumped two more problems on the Federal Reserve's plate. The Federal Advisory Council, made up of 12 bankers who meet quarterly to advise the central bank, warned that farmland prices are inflating 'a bubble' and growth in student-loan debt has 'parallels to the housing crisis,' which was the primary cause of the Great Recession in the U.S. Bernanke has dismissed parallels between student lending and the subprime mortgage crisis." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBankers: College debt bubble mimics housing bubble

CEO of World’s Biggest Bond Fund: Government Has Rigged the Game Against Investors

"Investors are being haircutted by at least 200 basis points judged by historical standards, which in the past offered no QE and priced Fed Funds close to the level of inflation. Large holders of U.S. government bonds, including China and Japan, will be repaid, but in the interim they will be implicitly defaulted on or haircutted via negative real interest rates. . . . Future haircuts might even include a wealth tax. Are gold and/or AA+ sovereign bonds good as money? Usually, but capital controls can clip you if you’re not careful." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCEO of World’s Biggest Bond Fund: Government Has Rigged the Game Against Investors

Investors can’t beat the machines: Computer-dominated trading takes over

"The implication of all this for individual investors is straightforward: Don’t trade. Short-term trading has become so dominated by Wall Street’s computers that individuals—and professional managers—almost certainly will lose out to them over time. The obvious alternative, experts say, is to buy and hold diversified index funds with very low expenses. Odean says some of the poorest performances in his studies were turned in by traders who were the most confident of their abilities. This led them to trade even more often and incur even more risk." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInvestors can’t beat the machines: Computer-dominated trading takes over

Rick Rule: This Is Fun

"Let's face it, I'm 60 years old. This is probably my last major market cycle. I'm going to make the most of it. I can tell you that I'm having the most fun I've had in my career for 13 years. I have spent all my life honing my skills, building up the capital, building up the client base – this is tailor-made for me. I realize this period is unpleasant for some people, but the market doesn't care if it's unpleasant. The market doesn't care if it's inconvenient. You take what the market gives you – and this market is giving me a gigantic sale on assets I want to own." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRick Rule: This Is Fun

Gold Bears Pull $20.8 Billion as BlackRock Says Buy

"Hedge funds increased bets on lower gold prices after investors pulled a record $20.8 billion from bullion funds this year while BlackRock Inc. (BLK), the world’s biggest money manager, said it’s still bullish. Speculators held 67,374 so-called short contracts on May 7, 6.4 percent more than a week earlier, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. The net-long position dropped 10 percent to 49,260 futures and options. BlackRock’s President Robert Kapito said May 9 he would still buy the metal, echoing billionaire John Paulson, who’s sticking with a bullish view even after losing 27 percent in his Gold Fund last month." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold Bears Pull $20.8 Billion as BlackRock Says Buy