aussiereader4

Marc Faber Is Conflicted About the Price of Gold

(By the way - Is it just me or do others hear Dr. Faber's thick accent in their head whenever they read something in quotes attributed to him?)

I do now, thanks a lot!


On Nov 12 03:08 PM The Recusant wrote:

> "BTW - Is it just me or do others hear Dr. Faber's thick accent in
> their head whenever they read something in quotes attributed to him?"
>
>
> Thanks for that...it's probably the funniest thing I've read in the
> news today. And yes, I do!

Can't the Fed Pretend to Care About the Dollar?

Why should they pretend to care about the US Dollar?

Changes in the Dollar's Value Reflect Changes in Money Velocity

so much opinion, so little data. M2 appears to be re-balancing; does that mean we are in for a correction?

GE to Close Its Only U.S. Solar Panel Factory

you can blame this state of affairs on 'head in the sand' 'George dubya' . If you had embraced climate change 10 years ago as the experts told you, you may have had a viable auto industry and a solar manufacturing base. Instead you got a climate skeptic and little green manufacturing base.

On Nov 09 12:24 PM Old Wizard wrote:

> This is more evidence that we don't have a comprehensive energy plan
> and that our administration is not capable of creating one. The loss
> of production to China and Asia in the field of renewable energy
> is helped by the environmental, tax and actual stimulus grant policies
> our Government is pursuing. We refuse to back natural gas-driven
> transportation and instead force electric cars as a solution. Our
> cash for clunkers benefitted foreign cars more than ours. Our battery
> grant money went more to asian suppliers than our own in the final
> analysis. With over 400 Chinese companies involved in alternate energy
> activities and with the environmental constraints and wage disadvantages
> our domestic companies have the result is inevitable. Multi nationals
> make money no matter where production occurs as long as the selling
> price is higher than costs and if the dollar declines they make more
> equivalent dollars selling abroad. GE stock can easily go up as the
> dollar declines, but those US citizens whose savings are in the bank
> will have increasingly less purchasing power with those dollars.
> A kind conclusion one can draw from our government policies is that
> it is incapable of analyzing the multivariable problems we face in
> energy, job creation and economic viability. A more critical conclusion
> might be more accusatory.

Q3 GDP: Obviously Fictional

'Let's start with the big picture. At the end of 2008, official GDP was -6.4%. This was also likely an understatement, but for the sake of argument let's treat it as “fact”. Move ahead to the Q3 2009 reading of +3.5% and we see a swing of 10% in U.S. GDP – in merely the span of nine months.'

Dear Jeff,

I do not want to rain on your party, but you have misunderstood what this means. It is 3.5% growth from the bottom, not 3.5% on the figure from last year. The turnaround is a drop of 4% not a rise of 10%.

Your point regarding interest rates is valid. I have also done the figures, interest rates cannot go above about 3-4% without causing a major depression.

The only option for the fed and the treasury is to print 10-15% of GDP every year to inflate away the debt or to let the debt holders fail.

Roubini: Commodities Due for a Correction

The rest of the world taxed oil and gas to drive efficiency. America open your eyes, you have an auto industry that has just about disappeared as a result of an orgy cheap gas that suddenly became expensive.


On Nov 06 10:58 PM ryanclarke wrote:

> Roubini said : Well, in my view, commodity prices have increased
> since the beginning of the year too much, too fast, when compared
> to the improvement in economic fundamentals.
>
>
> My response is: This is exactly why the improvement in economic fundamentals
> won't last for much longer. The strength of the U.S. currency from
> 1982-2000 relative to other currencies ... allowed the U.S. to amass
> a "cheap oil" infrastruture full of jobs that require "cheap oil"
> ... with little to none capital investment in the energy sector.
> Now the U.S. must solve it's "energy problem" in a year ... after
> having wasted nearly thirty years of research time and development.
> TIME IS MONEY and the U.S. has wasted too much to keep the game going
> much longer ... unless one believes big oil will be able to pull
> a google barrels of oil out of the Gulf of Mexico and Iraq ... in
> a year.

Rail Traffic Data: Still Recessionary

Only 13% down on 2008. A Time when the world stood still! This is not so bad. Compare it to the last week of June 2009 for a better assessment.

A Sit-Down with Treasury Officials (Part II)

Treasury buying up the bad debt by printing money, is the only option there is short of a great depression two. In effect the wealth drops slowly rather than fast. This way the wealthiest take the biggest hit. In a depression, the poorest take the biggest hit.

Commercial Paper Contracting at Nearly Fastest Rate on Record

The other possibilty is that it is being snapped up by investors. Without knowing the commercial paper figure and which way it is heading, this number is meaningless.


On Nov 05 03:57 PM John Ryskamp wrote:

> The main importance of this figure is to direct attention to the
> supply chain. That is what has begun to collapse, and this will
> be the coup de grace of the economy. I think this is the reason
> the Administration is preparing a $2.4 trillion stimulus for February
> 2010. The society is collapsing.

Seeking Safety in Volatility Trading

I only trade in volatile markets. It is the only reliable way of excluding both bulls and bears from the decision. It really does not matter what happens.

More Fodder for Inflation / Deflation Debate: Higher Gasoline Prices

This is year over year price not absolute numbers. Please stop peddling garbage data.

4 Possible Market Scenarios, Updated

Why Japan? Why not Zimbabwe or the Wiemar Republic?

Canadian PMI Expansion Isn't a Proxy for Real Growth...Yet

There is a reason it is called the looney.

Tough Times for High Yield Securities

I guess the yield suggests the market thinks a third will fail. I wonder which third?

Trading Week Outlook: November 8 - 13, 2009

Does that include condoms, forex.