The Long and Short of the Gold Market [View article]
People are not just rushing to the dollar, they are also rushing to gold. The dollar may be the best looking horse in the glue factory, gold is starting to look better and better.
What 'The Economist' Doesn't Know About Gold [View article]
Who's going to raise interest rates? I'm guessing no one at the Fed is thinking of it anytime soon since once they do that the interest on the national debt will effectively bankrupt the US.
In this environment gold will probably go to the moon.
For the Last Time, Is Gold in a Bubble? [View article]
You see stuff like this on SA because the community here is more informed. Try conducting man on the street interviews. The masses are clueless about gold.
Book Review: The End of the Free Market [View article]
We don't have capitalism, we have crony capitalism. And it continues. The banks that were bailed out in 2008 are very likely going to need to be bailed out again. Because of the too big to fail myth, they will keep gambling with other people's money and excessive leverage and blow up again. Once they do, they will come to DC, hat in hand, looking for more bailouts. If failed risk-taking was actually punished instead of rewarded, we would see an end to this type of behavior and we would have real capitalism again.
The Dumbest Thing I Read Today - Tom Matzzie [View article]
Other than Matzzie calling Eisman to task on a conflict of interest sounds like the pot calling the kettle black -- Matzzie's blanket denunciation of short sellers and ad hominem attacks on the entire class raise a red flag. Short sellers are not the problem, people who run companies based on corrupt, dishonest or just plain bad business models are the problem.
Short-Seller Demonization Watch, Tom Matzzie Edition [View article]
Bruce, as much as you are biased against short sellers, please remember that legitimate short sellers do provide a useful service, much as do animals that are scavengers. You may not like the purpose they serve, but they are serving a useful purpose.
Matzzie lost me as soon as he blamed short sellers for the subprime market crash. Anyone who has actually read The Big Short realizes that the short sellers were simply taking advantage of a unique opportunity to go against the herd and make a lot of money in the process because the herd was WRONG and the people that were pushing subprime were either clueless or scum.
The exception I make for short selling is naked shorting, naked shorting is wrong and should be absolutely illegal in every possible situation. But legitimate short selling is not wrong, you should be able to bet against companies and financial vehicles that are overvalued, that is part of the price discovery process that is so lacking in today's markets, and is more and more endangered every time some CEO screams that short sellers are destroying his company.
Enron, Worldcom, Bear Stearns were not destroyed by short sellers, they were destroyed by fraud, greed, arrogance and stupidity.
The best piece of bank reform legislation we could have would be this: The next time these idiots blow themselves up with their own creations, no bailout, just let them fail!
Is anyone else incensed by the fact that Citibank has been bailed out by the federal government four times in the last 30 years? Four times! Huge, huge bailouts. And these were the guys that spent $200 million lobbying to have Glass-Steagal overturned.
Rising Consumer Confidence: A Good Sign [View article]
The confidence that is being expressed is in that of our government to be able to manipulate, spin, cherry-pick, and twist the truth in every possible way to try and convince people that things are getting better.
Unfortunately, when people are out of work, being foreclosed on, having their credit card fees and rates skyrocket, and getting dinged for more and more fees from their banks, it's hard to convince them that things are actually getting better.
Kellogg (K -0.5%) voluntarily recalls 28M boxes of cereal, saying some consumers could experience such temporary symptoms as nausea and diarrhea because of the liner in the packaging. (PR) [View news story]
What, they left statements from Geithner and Bernanke in the packaging? That would certainly cause nausea!
Inane Thoughts of the Day: CNNMoney Article Says 'Housing Shortage Is Coming'; Coldwell Banker CEO Says Now Is the 'Absolute Best Time' to Buy a Home [View article]
I don't think these people don't understand the fundamentals, I just think that they're lying.
Realtors have not been known for being particularly honest even in the best of times. Now, when they are flat out desperate, their claims are getting ridiculous.
And of course, back to the big problem. The answer to a problem of too much debt is not adding more debt. Krugman is wrong. Soros is wrong. You don't cure your alcoholism problem by going out and continuing to get drunk.
Jim Rogers Would Rather Buy Silver, Hold Gold [View article]
Your best bet is to get one ounce coins. If you buy a quantity you will get them in plastic containers that will hold 25 or 50, you can leave them in the containers until needed. If TSHTF (truly) those one ounce coins will come in handy, you will probably be able to make a lot of purchases with a single coin.
The 10 ounce and up bars are not nearly as pretty as the coins, plus people might be untrusting and you will not want to have to wait for them to assay the bars. At that level you're probably better off getting some 1/10 and 1/4 ounce gold coins (British & Commonwealth Sovereigns are great for the latter, .2354 troy ounces and there are tons of them around).
U.S. Stocks Nosedive: What Markets (If Any) Are Safe Right Now? [View article]
Heck, you can't even count on keeping your seat in Congress after you buy it, these days.
The Long and Short of the Gold Market [View article]
Update on the Commodity Conundrum [View article]
Right now it's acting like a currency, and a good one at that.
What 'The Economist' Doesn't Know About Gold [View article]
In this environment gold will probably go to the moon.
Market Face-Off: Current Alignment of Bullish and Bearish Forces [View article]
For the Last Time, Is Gold in a Bubble? [View article]
Book Review: The End of the Free Market [View article]
For the Last Time, Is Gold in a Bubble? [View article]
The Dumbest Thing I Read Today - Tom Matzzie [View article]
Short-Seller Demonization Watch, Tom Matzzie Edition [View article]
Matzzie lost me as soon as he blamed short sellers for the subprime market crash. Anyone who has actually read The Big Short realizes that the short sellers were simply taking advantage of a unique opportunity to go against the herd and make a lot of money in the process because the herd was WRONG and the people that were pushing subprime were either clueless or scum.
The exception I make for short selling is naked shorting, naked shorting is wrong and should be absolutely illegal in every possible situation. But legitimate short selling is not wrong, you should be able to bet against companies and financial vehicles that are overvalued, that is part of the price discovery process that is so lacking in today's markets, and is more and more endangered every time some CEO screams that short sellers are destroying his company.
Enron, Worldcom, Bear Stearns were not destroyed by short sellers, they were destroyed by fraud, greed, arrogance and stupidity.
Bank Bill: More Bun Than Beef [View article]
Is anyone else incensed by the fact that Citibank has been bailed out by the federal government four times in the last 30 years? Four times! Huge, huge bailouts. And these were the guys that spent $200 million lobbying to have Glass-Steagal overturned.
Rising Consumer Confidence: A Good Sign [View article]
Unfortunately, when people are out of work, being foreclosed on, having their credit card fees and rates skyrocket, and getting dinged for more and more fees from their banks, it's hard to convince them that things are actually getting better.
Kellogg (K -0.5%) voluntarily recalls 28M boxes of cereal, saying some consumers could experience such temporary symptoms as nausea and diarrhea because of the liner in the packaging. (PR) [View news story]
Inane Thoughts of the Day: CNNMoney Article Says 'Housing Shortage Is Coming'; Coldwell Banker CEO Says Now Is the 'Absolute Best Time' to Buy a Home [View article]
Realtors have not been known for being particularly honest even in the best of times. Now, when they are flat out desperate, their claims are getting ridiculous.
And of course, back to the big problem. The answer to a problem of too much debt is not adding more debt. Krugman is wrong. Soros is wrong. You don't cure your alcoholism problem by going out and continuing to get drunk.
Jim Rogers Would Rather Buy Silver, Hold Gold [View article]
The 10 ounce and up bars are not nearly as pretty as the coins, plus people might be untrusting and you will not want to have to wait for them to assay the bars. At that level you're probably better off getting some 1/10 and 1/4 ounce gold coins (British & Commonwealth Sovereigns are great for the latter, .2354 troy ounces and there are tons of them around).