Treasurys are the "least dirty shirt," Pimco's Bill Gross says in noting that "the focus for us" is five- to 10-year notes and 30-year bonds. “The world is full of dirty shirts in terms of excessive debt, and the U.S. is one of those countries, but it still remains the reserve currency and still remains the flight to quality haven." [View news story]
The "pickup truck indicator" is way up, a sign of economic strength, says AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson. "Pickup trucks are bought by small business entrepreneurs who have their finger on the pulse of the U.S. economy... They don't buy until they see the prospects for business are brighter." [View news story]
Or maybe a bunch of dumb people can't think a step ahead (many 30 and younger remember $5 gas and not $1, so they don't cringe at today's prices) and bought a heavily discounted truck.
China's 1 child policy may be the biggest factor, how many only children do you know that are willing to work for minimum wage? It's not even about being "brats," they simply appreciate their equality as humans more so than decades ago. It's called education.
"Stop panicking," says Dow Chemical (DOW +1.4%) CEO Andrew Liveris to investors, "demand is good." At the Goldman Sachs Basic Materials Conference, Liveris highlighted the difference he sees between Wall Street (where "the sky is falling") and Main Street, where everything's fine. His order books show improving demand each month. [View news story]
I can picture the attendees sitting on the floor on all fours with their tongues out. Blankfein comes around to give them each a gift: a choke chain he places around their necks. Then Liveris grabs hold of the ends of all the chains and starts yanking the shit out of everyone as they applaud and throw their money at him.
Everything's fine on main street... Only a thoughtless obedient puppy could even listen to that crap
Consumer delinquency rates tumble at American Express (AXP), Bank of America (BAC) and Target (TGT), signaling the potential for an eventual lending thaw. With fewer tardy borrowers to worry about, banks could begin extending fresh credit to American consumers. [View news story]
Seeing as how we've been in a bear market since Y2K burst, Karl's point is crucial for any infrequent trader. 401K money should go to cash, then buy when the time is right.
The future for American jobs isn't in the middle - sales, administration, production - because they're vanishing. The job prospects will mostly be on the high end, where you'll need an advanced education and specific skills, and the low end, where you'll need the stamina to clean motel rooms or wait tables for 12 hours a day. [View news story]
Future? How is that different from the present or recent past?
Silver Short Squeeze: Once in a Lifetime Opportunity? [View article]
I think the most telling bullion market is eBay. We can see millions of listings and free-market selling prices (not short-selling prices). I was buying rolls of old silver half dollars about a year ago and was paying no more than $110 a pop including shipping. This morning they are going for $145, likely $5 or so less than days prior. My point is that premiums are over 10%, while they were often zero and generally around 5% a year ago, when silver was shooting from $12 to $16. I was even able to buy a few piles of 35% silver WW2 nickels last year on eBay for about 30 cents a coin (www.coinflation.com/si...). They auction for a buck a piece now, even though the composition makes the silver in them harder to extract.
Last year eBay was arbitrage central, with cash-strapped middle America cashing in on the gold/silver rush. Now it's investor/speculator central, with real interest in every PM auction.
Thanks for the article, the opportunity may last a while but I agree it should be explosive.
Case-Shiller Home Prices Go Up... And Down... [View article]
Good summary Tim. The move down could seemingly be much more violent than previous ones given govt. stimulus, bottom calling on cable tv, contracting consumer credit...
The Stock Market Roller Coaster: Enjoy the Ride [View article]
Emerging markets have pulled back enough to become attractive, but generally US stocks are still priced for a return to ways nobody has the buying power or stupidity to do. The crash in 08 was not random, it was induced by decades of overconsumption and minimal production.
Reports of the Dollar's Death Are Greatly Exaggerated [View article]
"The U.S. invests more in improving its human capital and research and development. The average education level in the U.S. is 12.3 years, the highest in the world. The U.S. spends around 6% of GDP on higher education, higher than China, India, Japan, Russia and Europe. Joffe cites research that places 17 of the top universities in the world in the U.S. and 39 of the top 50. In contrast, China’s top three are in the 200-300 placed rankings."
What a phenomenally ignorant paragraph! US test scores in math and science (and English for native speakers) are pathetic compared to China, India, Japan, Taiwan and most of Europe. Yes, we are the richest and can fund the best research, but is inefficiency really worth such boastful spewing? As stated above, what good does our overgrown, money-printing, thieving military do for economic growth other than establish an entitlement for those powerful enough to pursue private interest? The dollar's status as the world's reserve currency is enough to keep it strong (seekingalpha.com/artic...), but arguing economic strength in the US is quite silly.
Treasurys are the "least dirty shirt," Pimco's Bill Gross says in noting that "the focus for us" is five- to 10-year notes and 30-year bonds. “The world is full of dirty shirts in terms of excessive debt, and the U.S. is one of those countries, but it still remains the reserve currency and still remains the flight to quality haven." [View news story]
The "pickup truck indicator" is way up, a sign of economic strength, says AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson. "Pickup trucks are bought by small business entrepreneurs who have their finger on the pulse of the U.S. economy... They don't buy until they see the prospects for business are brighter." [View news story]
What Is Bond Market Signaling? [View article]
The End of Cheap Chinese Labor? [View article]
"Stop panicking," says Dow Chemical (DOW +1.4%) CEO Andrew Liveris to investors, "demand is good." At the Goldman Sachs Basic Materials Conference, Liveris highlighted the difference he sees between Wall Street (where "the sky is falling") and Main Street, where everything's fine. His order books show improving demand each month. [View news story]
Everything's fine on main street... Only a thoughtless obedient puppy could even listen to that crap
Consumer delinquency rates tumble at American Express (AXP), Bank of America (BAC) and Target (TGT), signaling the potential for an eventual lending thaw. With fewer tardy borrowers to worry about, banks could begin extending fresh credit to American consumers. [View news story]
Fallacy of 'Buy the Dips' [View article]
The future for American jobs isn't in the middle - sales, administration, production - because they're vanishing. The job prospects will mostly be on the high end, where you'll need an advanced education and specific skills, and the low end, where you'll need the stamina to clean motel rooms or wait tables for 12 hours a day. [View news story]
The Coming Crash: Pros and Cons [View article]
Silver Short Squeeze: Once in a Lifetime Opportunity? [View article]
Last year eBay was arbitrage central, with cash-strapped middle America cashing in on the gold/silver rush. Now it's investor/speculator central, with real interest in every PM auction.
Thanks for the article, the opportunity may last a while but I agree it should be explosive.
An Estimated 800,000 Households Abandoned Their TVs for the Web [View article]
Of Gold Bugs and Market Parables [View article]
Case-Shiller Home Prices Go Up... And Down... [View article]
The Stock Market Roller Coaster: Enjoy the Ride [View article]
Reports of the Dollar's Death Are Greatly Exaggerated [View article]
What a phenomenally ignorant paragraph! US test scores in math and science (and English for native speakers) are pathetic compared to China, India, Japan, Taiwan and most of Europe. Yes, we are the richest and can fund the best research, but is inefficiency really worth such boastful spewing? As stated above, what good does our overgrown, money-printing, thieving military do for economic growth other than establish an entitlement for those powerful enough to pursue private interest?
The dollar's status as the world's reserve currency is enough to keep it strong (seekingalpha.com/artic...), but arguing economic strength in the US is quite silly.