LKofEnglish

Global Markets in Review: Share Prices Too Far Ahead of Economic Reality

Just came from Wyoming. Did a tour of the world's largest sulphate mine. Interesting stuff. Struck by how many "sugar factories" are being built in that state, too. Ethanol in Wyoming is $1.89. Cheap as Iowa. Barely grow a cob of corn in Wyoming, tho. Be interesting how many of you paper chasers can imagine how Wyoming produces so much sugar. Of course who cares about hard assets anymore, right? Let alone what Karl Marx called "the means of production." As Clemenceau of France said during World War II, "war is too important for the generals." It would appear in America today "the economy is too important for Wall Street bankers." Transports at a record high. I expect a tremendous uptick in inflation in the very near term--perhaps in the next few weeks. The trucking traffic in the American midwest right now is just amazing. Like watching salmon running upstream to their spawning grounds. Looks like that highway bill got passed just in time.

Why Argentina's Talking Again

problems with the us dollar=invest in latin america? the last time we had this problem (the end of the 70's) that investment almost brought down Bank of America, no? And that's when American Banks and Bank America in particular were the top of the world. Look at 'em now. Apparently WITHOUT foreign borrowing and our lending to them our banks can't survive? That's scary.

Funding FDIC: Why Banks Should Pay

Wait, I thought we hadn't had a bank failure yet. What do you mean the FDIC is out of money?

How to Replenish the FDIC's Coffers

Ahhhhhhhhh!!! Weeeeeeeeeee!

Bond Expert Wednesday Outlook: Awaiting the Fed

Reverse repos. Hmmm. At what point is the rumor recognized as reality?

Three Notes on the Inflation vs. Deflation Debate

oil, oil, oil, oil, oil.

Bond Expert: Monday Wrap

railroads. interesting.

Electricity Is Not an Energy Source

i remember the 60's and trying to heat a new addition with electricity. EXPENSIVE. Oil which was the heat installed in this very large house back in the 20's was VASTLY cheaper. The cheapest? Exactly as presented above: the fuel "you don't use." After that? My friends use outdoor wood furnaces and wood from their own land now. Since most people have abandoned Northeastern cities for the sunny south and west land is much more availible and wood supply is quite high because nobody cares about the farmer either and they've all gone bankrupt and their land has returned to its natural "wooded" stated. high oil prices been the best thing ever for dealing with the "too many people" problem up here so keep packin' em in down in Atlanta, Orlando, Vegas and Phoenix. The only other thing that chases the city people away more is the government response to high oil prices. Of course governments only create "less of something" so the bare shelves that are now appearing is a little striking. Can the KGB be far behind?

Options Trader Monday Outlook: Microbe Mania

bulls and bears make money. don't understand the apology. it's not like the bulls have been necessarily "right" either. to me the market is neither "bullish" nor bearish but "BSish" because once you adjust for inflation we're ALL getting creamed. should the Fed be wrong as I find it impossible for anyone to say otherwise with its QE the "market" will do just fine but the American people, one of the richest if not the richest people on earth, will suddenly see their living standards severely eroded because we have a Fed whose simple statutory purpose is to create sound money is in fact doing the exact opposite. Perhaps there is a policy rationale (fragile banking system) behind the bailouts. History is absolutely clear on what the end result of printing money for the purpose of monetizing the debt does to "create growth." If it's being done to "save the banks" then clearly Professor Bernanke has no clue about banking let alone what a banker's job is. Any market participant would be a fool not to take advantage of the fact that the Fed policy is in fact weakening the banking system they are trying to protect since while normalizing the yield curve adds to profit--the banks will not lend because the way in which the Fed is doing it is by setting up explosive volatility that could cause a run on the dollar and soaring MARKET interest rates. In other words the banks won't lend because of a crisis of COMPETENCE not confidence as the Fed has claimed.

FedEx and the Transportation Index: What Are They Telling Us?

actually there really is a lot of "churn" in Fed Ex. The guidance stunk up the joint and the stock price still went up. when you have bad news and your stock prices still goes up that says two things to me: "bull market, recovering economy."

Change in Household Net Worth and S&P 500 Back to 1951

incomes and tax receipts, incomes and tax receipts. these numbers tell real truth and they're both collapsing. while this number above is not a fiction it doesn't really tell a truth since "house flipping" is something that can be done only in extraordinary times. most of the time that "increase" in house values is an increase in our most worthless asset and certainly our biggest money pit. Our most valuable asset in a financial sense? Our job obviously. That's why a policy of full employment is so critical to society. It's the only deterrent to falling wages. Number two is the state or city we're stuck in and how the citizen is taxed or "regulated." Number three which should be obvious now to anyone are the financial markets and Wall Street (look at what did happen when that collapsed.) Number four? Policies in Washington DC (what's wrong with a war we don't want to pay for ?). Number 5? How about dumb luck?

Real Estate Will Recover in ... 2030?

PacWest "last to go up last to go down"? I remember when Boeing "downsized" and the old saying in Seattle was "last one out turn out the lights." That wasn't that long ago either. Bottom line is all this whining about "absurdly low real estate prices" and "outrageously low housing prices" is RIDICULOUS. That's about the only thing supporting the "consumer" right now and is the only good news to date coming from this crisis. Should the S&P say housing prices will stay "annihilated" for the next 15 years I'd say "good." Maybe somebody will finally use the land for a productive purpose instead of, what did they call it, "HOUSE FLIPPING." In the meantime we're going to find out what this market rally is made of as the dollar collapses and the reality of a debt crisis hits this administration and all these looney lefties like a freight train.

Inflation Scorecard: Is Reflation Upon Us?

is there any other kind of inflation than monetary? give me a break. why not just come out say "the solution is a return to chattel slavery."

Irwin Union Bank of Kentucky and Irwin Union Bank and Trust of Indiana become bank failures No. 93 and 94 of 2009, and the first in those states. The combined estimated cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund is $850M.

Let's start with Well Fargo.

Funding a Rally Extension

So it WAS Professor Plum in the Library with a candlestick after all!