After Securitization: Who Owns America Now? [View article]
Great article as always, but isn't there a bit of a contradiction when you talk about collateral? If collateral on all the U.S.'s external debt is essentially the promises of citizens who can't pay back what they borrowed privately, then doesn't the U.S. have the option of screwing foreign investors, even if they start "coming after their collateral"?
Many of Schiff's criticisms of the U.S. are correct, but the fact is, the rest of the world is often worse. Even with the stimulus, debt/gdp ratio in the U.S. will be far lower than that in Japan or pretty much any European country.
As for the emerging markets, well, I live in Brazil, and for all the complaints about corruption in the U.S., it doesn't hold a candle to what's happening here. Plus Brazil has a birthrate below the replacement level and a long-term Social Security that makes U.S. fiscal problems seem like peanuts. Russia has similar problems. China and India are dependent on exporting to the U.S.
So if you want to flee the dollar, where will you go? What will support commodity prices if all the world economies are in recession?
I don't have any answers--but I do believe that much of the negativity surrounding the U.S. is not because things are much worse there, but because they garner more attention and so are better known.
Clear, informative article -- thanks! One question, Julian: even if Alcoa's management in the past has been poor, do you think Klaus Kleinfeld deserves the benefit of the doubt? I haven't followed it closely, but I'm under the impression he did a great job at Siemens before a bribery scandal among his underlings forced him to leave.
Petrobras: Buy and Sit Tight Like Soros [View article]
To IAM Moraes... From your name (and your passion on the subject) I assume that you are Brazilian and can read Portuguese, so here are a few links for you:
A link from the Ministry of Planning of the Federal Government of Brazil, in which Lula (on August 15) complains that half of Petrobras belongs to Americans: clippingmp.planejament...
A link from Brazil's leading newspaper, Estado de Sao Paulo, in which on August 12 Lula says "the oil is ours": www.estadao.com.br/eco...
The exact quote here is "O petróleo não é do presidente da República ou da Petrobras, ele é do povo brasileiro"
You're right that Lula has shown himself to be a market-friendly, sensible leader, and probably that will continue into the next administration. But there are risks here that the original post did not mention, is all. Risks aren't surefire disasters... they're risks.
Petrobras: Buy and Sit Tight Like Soros [View article]
Are you aware that the Brazilian government is proposing a new, entirely state-owned company to mange the exploration of these new discoveries? Details are still unclear, but they are potentially pulling the rug out from Petrobras. The reasons are explicitly nationalistic: President Lula has said that the problem with Petrobras is that so much of its profits go to American investors, while "the oil is ours."
Just a potential problem, so far, and the government says that all previous contracts (including with Petrobras) will be respected, but... Petrobras is not Exxon. There are risks to doing the vast majority of your business in a single country with a history of nationalism in relation to petroleum.
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Thank you, Dividends4Life!
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As for the emerging markets, well, I live in Brazil, and for all the complaints about corruption in the U.S., it doesn't hold a candle to what's happening here. Plus Brazil has a birthrate below the replacement level and a long-term Social Security that makes U.S. fiscal problems seem like peanuts. Russia has similar problems. China and India are dependent on exporting to the U.S.
So if you want to flee the dollar, where will you go? What will support commodity prices if all the world economies are in recession?
I don't have any answers--but I do believe that much of the negativity surrounding the U.S. is not because things are much worse there, but because they garner more attention and so are better known.
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Alcoa's Bloodbath: Weak Demand, Tight Margins [View article]
Petrobras: Buy and Sit Tight Like Soros [View article]
A link from the Ministry of Planning of the Federal Government of Brazil, in which Lula (on August 15) complains that half of Petrobras belongs to Americans: clippingmp.planejament...
A link from Brazil's leading newspaper, Estado de Sao Paulo, in which on August 12 Lula says "the oil is ours": www.estadao.com.br/eco...
The exact quote here is "O petróleo não é do presidente da República ou da Petrobras, ele é do povo brasileiro"
You're right that Lula has shown himself to be a market-friendly, sensible leader, and probably that will continue into the next administration. But there are risks here that the original post did not mention, is all. Risks aren't surefire disasters... they're risks.
Petrobras: Buy and Sit Tight Like Soros [View article]
Just a potential problem, so far, and the government says that all previous contracts (including with Petrobras) will be respected, but... Petrobras is not Exxon. There are risks to doing the vast majority of your business in a single country with a history of nationalism in relation to petroleum.