Tom Bombadil

Will PIMCO Be Needing a Bailout Soon?

This is an article? One chart and a few words to the effect of "Treasury prices are dropping?" Yeah, we already know, thanks anyway.

Is the Media Partially Responsible For the Panic?

Yeah, why can't our papers be more like Pravda or Xinhua, and only report in the national interest? That would make things a lot better!

Bernanke's Fall from Grace

I don't think you can blame the Fed for investment banks taking on too much risk. They don't have any regulatory powers over them, or didn't back when IBs still existed, anyway.

Impending Inflation? The Global 'New Deal' All but Guarantees It

I agree with a couple of the comments above, in that it seems like all this thrashing around "should" be inflationary, but nobody can really outline how we get from point A to point B. It always comes down to the Fed and Treasury wanting inflation, therefore we get it because they are all-powerful, apparently.

The Recession Is Already Priced Into Stocks

I watched Cramer the other day and he said he didn't know if this was a bottom, and he wouldn't be surprised if it weren't. He says enough kooky things as it is without people putting words in his mouth. I don't know why all of you hate him so much, it's a show for stock-pickers, just take it for what it is.

The Favorable Outlook for Gold

Given that the rest of my portfolio is denominated in dollars and much of it is cash and treasuries, a strong dollar and falling gold doesn't seem so bad. I just keep telling myself that when gold drops it means my cash is more valuable, even if the number on it doesn't actually change. Personally, I hope I never make any money on the gold, that would be the best thing for everybody.

PS: the headline promises a "favorable outlook" for gold, but I don't see anything but bad news in the article. Or good news, I guess, if you agree with what I wrote above.

Why Are Investors Returning to the Dollar?

Guys, the line about "the best politicians money can buy" is a joke. It sounds like a compliment but can also be interpreted to mean that they can be influenced by campaign donations or other means. I'm pretty sure it wasn't meant as praise here.

I've been wondering about the strength of short Treasuries also. I wonder if it's just that people need a place to park the proceeds from selling some other asset, and they have too much (over FDIC limit) to risk putting it into a bank that they are afraid could go under. So, with Treasuries at least you are sure you will get it back, whereas you can't necessarily say that for anything else out there.

Should You Own Gold, Silver or Commodity Stocks?

Wow, an article about gold that is reasoned, informative, and doesn't sound like some deranged cult leader wrote it. Very nice work.

As for the physical/paper thing, I still don't understand why it is a surprise that prices are higher at retail for small quantities than they are for wholesale purchases in bulk. Why do we need market manipulation conspiracy theories to explain it?

Not Your Grandfather's Great Depression

I don't see how people can be so confident in what they think Obama would do in office. Who would have predicted Bush would be so activist? Everything he has done is the exact opposite of what he campaigned on. But, he ended up reacting to events (I guess?), and surely an Obama presidency would be the same. It seems like that little dig at the end was unnecessary and probably incorrect since nobody can know the future.

Gold, Silver and Deflation

Gold bugs seem to always be astonished that something costs more at retail in small quantities than it does at wholesale in bulk. Doesn't seem all that strange to me, but what do I know...

Is Gold As a Safe Haven Just a Myth?

There's no doubt that gold stinks as an investment since it has no return. For me, it only works as part of a policy portfolio where you rebalance into and out of it as the rest of the portfolio goes up and down. You can use other commodities or real estate but gold has historically been the purest inflation play out there. It takes up the slack when your bonds and stocks are dissolving away, then you sell it and put the money back into the productive investments which eventually get back on their feet.

The bit about "all fiat money societies collapse" would be more convincing if there were a society with convertible currency that has been going for thousands of years. Maybe societies that don't adopt fiat money collapse even sooner, before they become noteworthy at all? It's a specious argument at best in my opinion.

Cramer's Now a Market Timer?

I think this guy must have a crush on Cramer that he is overcompensating against or something. Probably better to work these things out in private.

Countdown of Manipulated Gold Price Running Out

I bought some gold recently as part of setting up a Harry Browne-style "permanent portfolio", which includes it as an inflation hedge. The hardest part about it was getting past the fact that 99% of gold advocates I run across are such nutters, and I didn't want to be anything like them. I actually hope it goes down because it would mean the monetary policy hasn't gotten out of control, and presumably my other investments would then be doing well and offsetting the loss. Also it will lead to more hilariously stupid conspiracy theories, and who doesn't enjoy that?

Iceland: When Too Big to Fail Becomes Too Big to Rescue

It's one thing to prepare for the worst, but what kind of person actively roots for their friends and neighbors to be wiped out? Some of you people need to take a long hard look inside. Think about how distasteful it is to see Iraq war opponents gloating about high casualty figures, because it proves they were "right". They're really cheering that somebody got killed and that's basically what many of you are doing too.