Randy Kirk

Oil Looks Toppy - Time to Short?

Oil is highly priced because of the marginal utility of each extra unit of oil. "Why are diamonds, which are frivolous, expensive while water, while necessary for life, is inexpensive?" - Adam Smith asked this -- also known as the Paradox of Value. Economists more or less believe the solution to the Paradox of Value lies in the concept of marginal utility, as each additional unit of water was not valuable, because there was no shortage. If there is a shortage of oil currently, then it makes sense that oil is highly priced since it is significantly price inelastic.

The Markets Are Heading Straight Up? Think Again

Interesting -- the investment rate -- I've often thought that this was the key determinant, driving up equity values. I'm wondering, where did you get the IR information?

That is one huge decline in the IR after 2007 -- do you see the same sort of decline in other stock markets around the world? (odd to me that something like the Indian stock market would just start to get going (since 2003) and then suffer a prolonged bear market, if the economy continues growing)