curious cat

Friday Roundup: Commodities, Emerging Markets

wherever there's money to be made, someone will game the system. you can't go to the racetrack, the casinos, lotteries, wall street or washington, expecting to get an even break. i know you won't believe this, but even professional wrestling is fixed.

god, master of the universe, please do not smite us all. some of your rabbis seem to have taken berney madeoff as a role model. every politician in new jersey has been arrested. everyone and their mother is on the take. where will it end?

ok, the house has an advantage going in. once we know those odds, the best we can hope for may be... beating other suckers. just remember that luck still favors the prepared mind.

Wednesday Outlook: Commodities, Emerging Markets

always enjoy your charts and comments. thanks.

Fed Easing: No Free Lunch for Dollar, Oil and Commodities

sbernard,

lasting prosperity should not be a national goal. it should be an international goal. for years, americans have spent their hard earned dollars trying to help poorer nations. we aided those who could not free themselves, who could not feed themselves and who could not protect themselves. most of the world has forgotten our efforts, but they were valid goals, because one nation under god, cannot be free, well fed and protected, while the rest of the world is not.

similarly, we have enjoyed the fruits of cheap labor from other countries for many years. it is time they enjoyed some of our goods and services at a more reasonable rate of exchange. why should our dollars be worth more when we have printed so many? the market will settle a value on the dollar that is equitable based on what we spend and have spent.

if our people have to work a little harder, it will be good for our soul. if we have to accept some charity from other nations, it might be good for theirs. they say that money always goes where it is most appreciated. when corporations invest everywhere, that is in the world's best interests. it's win-win, sbernard, not the dark ages.

let everyone work and everyone share fairly in the world's wealth according to their efforts. if we all act in moderation, instead of greedily, we can all give thanks. what is the nature of the world's discontent? they believe that we have everything and they have nothing. give them the opportunity to work and succeed. that's what everyone deserves.

Fed Easing: No Free Lunch for Dollar, Oil and Commodities

the cheaper dollar is the solution to the world's biggest problems, my friends. america is full of people who are programmed to consume until they get obese. remember, h.g. wells time machine? we are in that future and those blind mole guys underground, providing for all our needs, have been cranking stuff out for many years now.

if the dollar devalues, we consume less. that is good, not bad. most of us do not need one quarter of the stuff we have.

if the dollar devalues, we consume less, our underground friends can give back some of the jobs they took. that is good, because americans were becoming a two class system, rich and poor. we need those manufacturing jobs to have a middle class.

if the dollar devalues, we will only travel to other countries as much as they travel to our country. we need to balance out our books with the world. personally, i'm waiting for the day when someone in india calls us for help with their computer.

i want to have a world where everyone is paid at least minimum wage, where they do not have to work 14 hour days, seven days a week, or sell their sister to get a meal.

america has been supersized for long enough, my friends. if you believe in capitalism, you should know that eventually the scales must be balanced and those people willing to work the hardest, who create the best, will still enjoy an improved standard of living. but, we have had an artificial edge on the rest of the world for a half century now.

what are the odds that america contained all the people who deserved an improved standard of life? when the curtain came down and true competition began, we had to come down some too, to meet the rest of the world half way.

now, it's up to our advertising machine to convince them that they cannot live without big screen tvs, computers, three bedroom houses, etc. don't be afraid of the rebalancing act. their are huge opportunities being created.

just consider, for a moment, the alternative. they could simply have waited a few more years and sounded the air raid sirens for their next meal.

Peak Oil, Gold and the U.S. Dollar

man, if there ever was a contrary indicator for the price of gold and commodities,... try checking out historical movements in these things and be amazed at the cyclicality. sure it looks like the end of the world is near, but it always looks that way to people living in darkness and on the edge. you will eventually see that the earth is round, that you can continue going forward and that our way of life is not the only way of life.