xpatUSA's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.comuser/237327/comments http://seekingalpha.com/article/116252-gold-will-shine-in-2009-part-ii?source=feed#comment-365126 365126
T.C.]]> Sat, 24 Jan 2009 15:22:01 -0500
T.C.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/111881-james-grant-wants-to-know-who-will-buy-our-greenbacks?source=feed#comment-336016 336016
Meanwhile, GoldMoney offers a good alternative to fiat currency - goldgrams. Maybe they'll catch on!

T.C.]]> Mon, 22 Dec 2008 15:10:38 -0500
Meanwhile, GoldMoney offers a good alternative to fiat currency - goldgrams. Maybe they'll catch on!

T.C.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/13227?source=feed#comment-328586 328586
Some stuff that we have to buy, like cars, refrigerators, A/C's and such are not investments nor are they supposed to be.

So we'll hang on to Wifey's Jeep CRD and keep running my gas-guzzler on E85, thereby doing our little bit ;-)]]> Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:27:02 -0500
Some stuff that we have to buy, like cars, refrigerators, A/C's and such are not investments nor are they supposed to be.

So we'll hang on to Wifey's Jeep CRD and keep running my gas-guzzler on E85, thereby doing our little bit ;-)]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/107387-manhattan-mansions-fall-from-the-sky-barron-s?source=feed#comment-313107 313107
Stable is doubtful, but dropping is highly likely in the decades and centuries to come.

Meanwhile, outsourcing is nothing new - not even in the USA. The Hamilton Watch Company was outsourcing it's military watch cases back in the 70's. Outsourcing is just easier now.

BTW, Americans have been at it for longer than that by voting directly with their wallets. Cars, TV's, stereos . . . the list is endless.

T.C.]]> Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:43:06 -0500
Stable is doubtful, but dropping is highly likely in the decades and centuries to come.

Meanwhile, outsourcing is nothing new - not even in the USA. The Hamilton Watch Company was outsourcing it's military watch cases back in the 70's. Outsourcing is just easier now.

BTW, Americans have been at it for longer than that by voting directly with their wallets. Cars, TV's, stereos . . . the list is endless.

T.C.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/107278-gm-buyout-better-than-bailout?source=feed#comment-311557 311557
Or can it be that the Fed is being asked to hand out money to 3 companies with zero credit rating? And was this not the cause of the housing bubble? Are we now going to see a "major company" bubble?

Puzzled.]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:42:54 -0500
Or can it be that the Fed is being asked to hand out money to 3 companies with zero credit rating? And was this not the cause of the housing bubble? Are we now going to see a "major company" bubble?

Puzzled.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/10749?source=feed#comment-299614 299614
"Buyers come out of the woodwork."

I did . . . . . this morning :-(

T.C.]]> Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:49:05 -0500
"Buyers come out of the woodwork."

I did . . . . . this morning :-(

T.C.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/103466-correlation-between-the-loonie-and-oil?source=feed#comment-296842 296842 Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:40:06 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/103477-stock-market-cycles-part-4-primary-cycles?source=feed#comment-296839 296839
hmmm . . . . deliberate?

;-)]]> Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:21:20 -0500
hmmm . . . . deliberate?

;-)]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/103444-why-the-fed-s-out-of-control?source=feed#comment-296487 296487
Today's posts predict deflation, inflation, hyperinflation, anarchy - all convincingly presented as our certain future here in the good old U.S. of A.

T.C.]]> Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:59:59 -0500
Today's posts predict deflation, inflation, hyperinflation, anarchy - all convincingly presented as our certain future here in the good old U.S. of A.

T.C.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/99747-the-dangers-of-timing-the-market?source=feed#comment-282000 282000
At 68 years old and being a diabetic, I don't have the luxury of putting my money for 20 years anywhere! Therefore, I am a very frequent trader, consciously timing individual investments, both stocks and commodities.

All I want is to beat about 1.5 % a month i.e. price inflation and taxes. Might even get there this week if stocks rise enough.

T.C.

]]> Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:28:14 -0400
At 68 years old and being a diabetic, I don't have the luxury of putting my money for 20 years anywhere! Therefore, I am a very frequent trader, consciously timing individual investments, both stocks and commodities.

All I want is to beat about 1.5 % a month i.e. price inflation and taxes. Might even get there this week if stocks rise enough.

T.C.

]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/99536-how-is-inflation-related-to-cpi?source=feed#comment-280498 280498
(blush).

T.C.]]> Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:03:48 -0400
(blush).

T.C.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/99536-how-is-inflation-related-to-cpi?source=feed#comment-280488 280488
While the Victorians were verbose and flowery in their prose, at least they did use full, grammatically correct, sentences and their meaning was, by and large, quite clear.

In modern times, we have to shorten everything down and use acronyms to the point of being meaningless to outsiders and to the point of ambiguity to insiders.

Don't even get me started on the disappearance of the hyphen ;-)

T.C.]]> Sun, 12 Oct 2008 10:53:49 -0400
While the Victorians were verbose and flowery in their prose, at least they did use full, grammatically correct, sentences and their meaning was, by and large, quite clear.

In modern times, we have to shorten everything down and use acronyms to the point of being meaningless to outsiders and to the point of ambiguity to insiders.

Don't even get me started on the disappearance of the hyphen ;-)

T.C.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/99062-renewable-energy-is-at-the-center-of-the-presidential-debate?source=feed#comment-277807 277807
We may have different views but the concensus is that it CAN be done and will be ultimately necessary. The only problem would appear to be is the government and they who control it (vested interests in the suppression of significant growth of alternative energy).

Great thread!

T.C.]]> Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:17:18 -0400
We may have different views but the concensus is that it CAN be done and will be ultimately necessary. The only problem would appear to be is the government and they who control it (vested interests in the suppression of significant growth of alternative energy).

Great thread!

T.C.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/99062-renewable-energy-is-at-the-center-of-the-presidential-debate?source=feed#comment-277126 277126
A vigorous rebuttal indeed. A little knowledge can certainly be misleading. There is of course a place for alternative energy and we should do all of it, in fact about 20% of my portfolio is in GEX as we speak and 10% in an algaeic biodiesel Company. Another 10% sits in a Chinese wind turbine Co. But, with reference to your 80%: 80% of what?. By mid-centrury, crude oil and NG energy production might well be low enough to perhaps make the total provided by alternative energy close to your quoted percentage but the "American way of life" will be long gone, I reckon.

Makes me glad to be old and retired ;-)

T.C.]]> Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:18:54 -0400
A vigorous rebuttal indeed. A little knowledge can certainly be misleading. There is of course a place for alternative energy and we should do all of it, in fact about 20% of my portfolio is in GEX as we speak and 10% in an algaeic biodiesel Company. Another 10% sits in a Chinese wind turbine Co. But, with reference to your 80%: 80% of what?. By mid-centrury, crude oil and NG energy production might well be low enough to perhaps make the total provided by alternative energy close to your quoted percentage but the "American way of life" will be long gone, I reckon.

Makes me glad to be old and retired ;-)

T.C.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/99062-renewable-energy-is-at-the-center-of-the-presidential-debate?source=feed#comment-276753 276753
A post on Carpe Diem is against energy sufficiency on the basis that other people's oil is cheaper! Like, should we also be coffee independent by the same logic? I can't really buy such simplistic thinking. Doesn't the balance of trade and our economy come in there somewhere?

The potential for alternative energy in the USA is quite a small fraction of our total future use. We would gain as much, if not more, by simply increasing energy efficiency in buildings, vehicles, appliances, etc. by a surprisingly small percentage.

McCain is perhaps a little more realistic than Obama on the energy front. On the other hand, McCain is less convincing on his grasp of economics. Sad, isn't it?

Roll on the NAU ;-)

T.C.]]> Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:14:01 -0400
A post on Carpe Diem is against energy sufficiency on the basis that other people's oil is cheaper! Like, should we also be coffee independent by the same logic? I can't really buy such simplistic thinking. Doesn't the balance of trade and our economy come in there somewhere?

The potential for alternative energy in the USA is quite a small fraction of our total future use. We would gain as much, if not more, by simply increasing energy efficiency in buildings, vehicles, appliances, etc. by a surprisingly small percentage.

McCain is perhaps a little more realistic than Obama on the energy front. On the other hand, McCain is less convincing on his grasp of economics. Sad, isn't it?

Roll on the NAU ;-)

T.C.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/98715-food-for-thought-how-green-are-biofuels?source=feed#comment-275359 275359 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:36:00 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/98572-80-down-for-the-year?source=feed#comment-274431 274431
Happy Googling!

T.C.]]> Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:20:54 -0400
Happy Googling!

T.C.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/95928-is-the-aig-deal-death-blow-to-the-etf-industry?source=feed#comment-257079 257079 GLD) is doing just fine, I'm pleased to say ;-)]]> Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:20:12 -0400 GLD) is doing just fine, I'm pleased to say ;-)]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/95339-how-much-have-our-real-estate-assets-gone-down?source=feed#comment-254123 254123
The departure of the dollar from the gold standard in the 70's
The creative real estate financing from the late 90's
And, of course, the collapse of same - starting c. 2005

T.C.]]> Sun, 14 Sep 2008 12:52:41 -0400
The departure of the dollar from the gold standard in the 70's
The creative real estate financing from the late 90's
And, of course, the collapse of same - starting c. 2005

T.C.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/93715-three-reasons-solar-sell-off-may-be-in-early-innings?source=feed#comment-244767 244767
@english fan - sad to say, bad spelling and typos are almost the norm these days. It's been almost 60 years since I got slapped around in class by an English teacher for mis-spelling a word twice. So, my spelling is pretty good ;-)

I agree with all those who say the USA has to encourage all forms of energy production because, gentlemen, bad times are just around the corner, IMHO.

T.C.]]> Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:52:54 -0400
@english fan - sad to say, bad spelling and typos are almost the norm these days. It's been almost 60 years since I got slapped around in class by an English teacher for mis-spelling a word twice. So, my spelling is pretty good ;-)

I agree with all those who say the USA has to encourage all forms of energy production because, gentlemen, bad times are just around the corner, IMHO.

T.C.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/93053-how-to-explain-fiat-currency-to-silverbugs?source=feed#comment-241841 241841
We can do without the epithets, thank you!]]> Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:04:50 -0400
We can do without the epithets, thank you!]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/92760-ethanol-our-answer-to-reducing-u-s-dependence-on-foreign-oil?source=feed#comment-239917 239917
T.C.]]> Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:05:28 -0400
T.C.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/92529-the-real-story-of-precious-metals-returns?source=feed#comment-239029 239029
All have been presented at some time or other, in various combinations and ratios over various time-periods to make some behavioral point and/or to portend the future.

To a non-economist, it's all very confusing . . . . is there really not any single asset in this world that can be considered absolutely constant in it's value to mankind, against which all other assets can be meaningfully compared?

(when I was younger, it was claimed that the Mars bar was such an asset, but my question above is a little more serious).

T.C.]]> Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:19:42 -0400
All have been presented at some time or other, in various combinations and ratios over various time-periods to make some behavioral point and/or to portend the future.

To a non-economist, it's all very confusing . . . . is there really not any single asset in this world that can be considered absolutely constant in it's value to mankind, against which all other assets can be meaningfully compared?

(when I was younger, it was claimed that the Mars bar was such an asset, but my question above is a little more serious).

T.C.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/92303-looming-financial-catastrophe-a-real-inconvenient-truth?source=feed#comment-237746 237746
There's a four-letter word that describes the current U.S. condition, sad to say.

]]> Sun, 24 Aug 2008 12:58:57 -0400
There's a four-letter word that describes the current U.S. condition, sad to say.

]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/91927-obama-s-economic-policy-and-reagonomics?source=feed#comment-236080 236080 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:07:43 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/91478-events-in-russia-could-push-u-s-toward-a-clearer-energy-policy?source=feed#comment-233387 233387
Google and ye shall find!

Just to get you started, Sun straight down gives about 1200W/sq.meter and PV solar cells run about 29% efficient and the necessary inverter to make 120 AC from battery power is maybe 75%. Of course, said sunlight is free, so it's the capital and operating costs that'll get ya ;-)

More Googling will tell you that too!

TTFN.

Perhaps others can fill in the gaps.
]]> Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:25:43 -0400
Google and ye shall find!

Just to get you started, Sun straight down gives about 1200W/sq.meter and PV solar cells run about 29% efficient and the necessary inverter to make 120 AC from battery power is maybe 75%. Of course, said sunlight is free, so it's the capital and operating costs that'll get ya ;-)

More Googling will tell you that too!

TTFN.

Perhaps others can fill in the gaps.
]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/91478-events-in-russia-could-push-u-s-toward-a-clearer-energy-policy?source=feed#comment-233379 233379
In the heavy emphasis on electricity, this topic is a bit light on nuclear power, i.e. not even mentioned so far. Meanwhile, we read that France - a somewhat more forward-looking country than one we could mention - gets 70% of it's electricity from nuclear.

Sad, isn't it?

xpat]]> Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:14:49 -0400
In the heavy emphasis on electricity, this topic is a bit light on nuclear power, i.e. not even mentioned so far. Meanwhile, we read that France - a somewhat more forward-looking country than one we could mention - gets 70% of it's electricity from nuclear.

Sad, isn't it?

xpat]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/90996-changes-in-p-e-ratios-during-the-current-bear-market?source=feed#comment-232273 232273 Sun, 17 Aug 2008 08:51:10 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/90003-getting-more-constructive-on-crude-oil?source=feed#comment-226512 226512
gabe, they've been extracting oil from there for quite a while, AFIK. It's bitumenous oil, thick and quite hard to extract. Were you perhaps thinking of the Williston Basin (thin layers of light, sweet crude-bearing shale) up there in Montana, North Dakota and Saskatchewan?

T.C.
]]> Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:32:21 -0400
gabe, they've been extracting oil from there for quite a while, AFIK. It's bitumenous oil, thick and quite hard to extract. Were you perhaps thinking of the Williston Basin (thin layers of light, sweet crude-bearing shale) up there in Montana, North Dakota and Saskatchewan?

T.C.
]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/89937-the-energy-follies?source=feed#comment-226500 226500
The consensus in the real world is an increasing inability of all oil-producers to meet the U.S.A's projected energy requirements.

I see a future where EVERY alternative energy posited today will find it's place, large or small, in our future world - especially if re-cycling is involved. Thieves, so in touch with commodity futures, will soon be switching from copper to waste vegetable oil I'm sure.

T.C.

]]> Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:07:51 -0400
The consensus in the real world is an increasing inability of all oil-producers to meet the U.S.A's projected energy requirements.

I see a future where EVERY alternative energy posited today will find it's place, large or small, in our future world - especially if re-cycling is involved. Thieves, so in touch with commodity futures, will soon be switching from copper to waste vegetable oil I'm sure.

T.C.

]]>