David Urban's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.com/user/78410/comments http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/974131?source=feed#comment-18135291 18135291
http://bit.ly/17mOfGC

It was a money grab for political donors and did little to fix our infrastructure problems.]]> Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:03:23 -0400
http://bit.ly/17mOfGC

It was a money grab for political donors and did little to fix our infrastructure problems.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/939811?source=feed#comment-17559431 17559431
The problem is every bubble needs an increasing amount of capital to sustain it.

Looking forward to May. What is the market PE?]]> Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:44:35 -0400
The problem is every bubble needs an increasing amount of capital to sustain it.

Looking forward to May. What is the market PE?]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/939811?source=feed#comment-17548861 17548861 Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:10:30 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/927761?source=feed#comment-17275351 17275351
It just shows how far the pendulum has swung in this country away from job creation to a welfare state.

The fact that she can get more than 4x her annual salary in government benefits is out of whack.]]> Fri, 05 Apr 2013 13:55:15 -0400
It just shows how far the pendulum has swung in this country away from job creation to a welfare state.

The fact that she can get more than 4x her annual salary in government benefits is out of whack.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/927761?source=feed#comment-17271361 17271361
Living the good life off of government benefits

http://bit.ly/XVynVE]]> Fri, 05 Apr 2013 12:37:23 -0400
Living the good life off of government benefits

http://bit.ly/XVynVE]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/927761?source=feed#comment-17271171 17271171
I called the Dept. of Labor last year and asked them about their definition of employment. Turns out if you worked one day and made one dollar and received a 1099 for that one dollar you are considered employed by the US Dept. of Labor. Whether or not you are underemployed is a different statistic.]]> Fri, 05 Apr 2013 12:34:15 -0400
I called the Dept. of Labor last year and asked them about their definition of employment. Turns out if you worked one day and made one dollar and received a 1099 for that one dollar you are considered employed by the US Dept. of Labor. Whether or not you are underemployed is a different statistic.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1301631/comments?source=feed#comment-17173571 17173571 Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:21:44 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/1301631/comments?source=feed#comment-17118901 17118901
If anything it has made things less efficient and more wasteful. When people cry about austerity being bad in the US ask yourself where the additional money being spent since 2008 has gone. Are we seeing any tangible growth? Last quarter's growth was less than 1%, the third quarters was skewed due to military spending, this quarter will be skewed because of inventory replenishment.

Wages and employment are not increasing in a tangible way to outweigh the number of new entrants into the workforce.

The country has gone too far in terms of providing benefits. Should a single, mother of two children be put in a position where she has to turn down a raise or risk losing government benefits that total almost four times her salary?

http://bit.ly/XVynVE]]> Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:11:19 -0400
If anything it has made things less efficient and more wasteful. When people cry about austerity being bad in the US ask yourself where the additional money being spent since 2008 has gone. Are we seeing any tangible growth? Last quarter's growth was less than 1%, the third quarters was skewed due to military spending, this quarter will be skewed because of inventory replenishment.

Wages and employment are not increasing in a tangible way to outweigh the number of new entrants into the workforce.

The country has gone too far in terms of providing benefits. Should a single, mother of two children be put in a position where she has to turn down a raise or risk losing government benefits that total almost four times her salary?

http://bit.ly/XVynVE]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1301631/comments?source=feed#comment-16931061 16931061
He has literally led us into a Japan-style debt trap after spending his life learning how to not repeat their mistakes.

This comment from Arthur Burns wiki sums up my feelings about Ben Bernanke since it is apparent that history is repeating itself.

Conservative economist Bruce Bartlett gives Burns poor marks for his tenure as Fed chairman because the inflationary forces that began in 1970 took more than a decade to resolve. "The only disagreement among economists is whether Burns fully understood the mistakes he was making, or was so wedded to incorrect Keynesian theories that he didn't realize what he was doing. The only alternative is that he was under irresistible political pressure from Nixon and had no choice. Neither explanation is very favorable to Burns. Economists now recognize the Nixon era as Exhibit A in how the adoption of bad economic policies in pursuit of short-term political gain eventually turns out to be bad politics as well."]]> Thu, 28 Mar 2013 10:13:11 -0400
He has literally led us into a Japan-style debt trap after spending his life learning how to not repeat their mistakes.

This comment from Arthur Burns wiki sums up my feelings about Ben Bernanke since it is apparent that history is repeating itself.

Conservative economist Bruce Bartlett gives Burns poor marks for his tenure as Fed chairman because the inflationary forces that began in 1970 took more than a decade to resolve. "The only disagreement among economists is whether Burns fully understood the mistakes he was making, or was so wedded to incorrect Keynesian theories that he didn't realize what he was doing. The only alternative is that he was under irresistible political pressure from Nixon and had no choice. Neither explanation is very favorable to Burns. Economists now recognize the Nixon era as Exhibit A in how the adoption of bad economic policies in pursuit of short-term political gain eventually turns out to be bad politics as well."]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1301631/comments?source=feed#comment-16861551 16861551 Wed, 27 Mar 2013 01:25:40 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/1301631/comments?source=feed#comment-16861371 16861371
I honestly would not be on the long side of the market.

The BRICS appear ready to break with the IMF and World Bank. That puts the world now at odds between the 'advanced' nations (US, EU, and Japan) and 'developing' world.

http://bloom.bg/13vLwwq

http://bit.ly/ZpmG8G

This is not priced into the market.

You are looking at gold priced in dollars and not priced in the currencies of where the buying is occurring.]]> Wed, 27 Mar 2013 01:22:31 -0400
I honestly would not be on the long side of the market.

The BRICS appear ready to break with the IMF and World Bank. That puts the world now at odds between the 'advanced' nations (US, EU, and Japan) and 'developing' world.

http://bloom.bg/13vLwwq

http://bit.ly/ZpmG8G

This is not priced into the market.

You are looking at gold priced in dollars and not priced in the currencies of where the buying is occurring.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1301631/comments?source=feed#comment-16861011 16861011
What is next to keep the shell game running. The austerity programs are not hitting the core problems which is job growth and unemployment.

You have European countries with unemployment rates over 20% and risk a lost generation with respect to 18-25 year olds.

Germany is falling into a recession with elections scheduled for the fall.

Are we priced for a breakup of Europe? Where will the growth come from?]]> Wed, 27 Mar 2013 01:13:49 -0400
What is next to keep the shell game running. The austerity programs are not hitting the core problems which is job growth and unemployment.

You have European countries with unemployment rates over 20% and risk a lost generation with respect to 18-25 year olds.

Germany is falling into a recession with elections scheduled for the fall.

Are we priced for a breakup of Europe? Where will the growth come from?]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/906081?source=feed#comment-16706341 16706341 Sat, 23 Mar 2013 15:05:04 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/906081?source=feed#comment-16706251 16706251
Just remember, nobody forced the Fed to buy 75% of Treasury issuance or almost $1 trillion in debt securities this year to prop up the economy.

Ben is doing that all on his own.

He could have let the recession do what it is supposed to do, purge the economy of its imbalances, so that it can move forward. Instead he is trying to reinflate the debt bubble and create an artificial recovery.]]> Sat, 23 Mar 2013 15:03:48 -0400
Just remember, nobody forced the Fed to buy 75% of Treasury issuance or almost $1 trillion in debt securities this year to prop up the economy.

Ben is doing that all on his own.

He could have let the recession do what it is supposed to do, purge the economy of its imbalances, so that it can move forward. Instead he is trying to reinflate the debt bubble and create an artificial recovery.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/900101?source=feed#comment-16561091 16561091 Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:46:38 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/892541?source=feed#comment-16408921 16408921 Sun, 17 Mar 2013 16:46:36 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/1142881/comments?source=feed#comment-14460281 14460281
If there was weak demand the Central Bank would be selling through Hong Kong not buying.

That is how it works in Russia which has a similar program in place.]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:11:17 -0500
If there was weak demand the Central Bank would be selling through Hong Kong not buying.

That is how it works in Russia which has a similar program in place.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1142881/comments?source=feed#comment-14460231 14460231 Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:08:35 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/1142881/comments?source=feed#comment-14460021 14460021
Very distinct divide between the two camps at the government level.]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:01:39 -0500
Very distinct divide between the two camps at the government level.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1142881/comments?source=feed#comment-14459841 14459841
People would be surprised at some of the comments made behind the scenes.

I think this is just a short-term trade as people are rushing in at a top.

Sentiment numbers are at extreme levels and the solution from governments is not growth but monetization.]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 14:57:17 -0500
People would be surprised at some of the comments made behind the scenes.

I think this is just a short-term trade as people are rushing in at a top.

Sentiment numbers are at extreme levels and the solution from governments is not growth but monetization.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/791941?source=feed#comment-14361121 14361121
They may writedown the goodwill from the purchase price but exploration efforts this year have unlocked a major discovery.

In the end it balances itself out.]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:59:15 -0500
They may writedown the goodwill from the purchase price but exploration efforts this year have unlocked a major discovery.

In the end it balances itself out.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1142881/comments?source=feed#comment-14360111 14360111 Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:42:40 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/754501?source=feed#comment-13533821 13533821
No wonder gold and silver are up.]]> Thu, 10 Jan 2013 09:20:06 -0500
No wonder gold and silver are up.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/744511?source=feed#comment-13302991 13302991
I personally raised my average exposure and will ease it back when I see that we have become overbought technically.]]> Fri, 04 Jan 2013 11:10:29 -0500
I personally raised my average exposure and will ease it back when I see that we have become overbought technically.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/744511?source=feed#comment-13290241 13290241
The Fed is still propping up European banks through their swap programs. An unwinding there would be a huge negative and that is not happening anytime soon.

We have massive structural problems which are not being addressed worldwide. Spain and Greece have unemployment rates over 20% and youth unemployment rates over 50%. We are staring at a lost generation as GDP growth grinds to a halt.

In this country not enough jobs are being created on a monthly basis to outpace the new entrants into the workforce and people are leaving unemployment for disability not because they are disabled but because they cannot find a job.

We have to address the structural problems and we have the Fed buying almost $1 trillion dollars in debt in 2013. The game they are playing is not sustainable.

If the pedal was pulled back there would have to be a change in the problems I listed above, swaps, unemployment, and debt monetization by Central Banks, for gold to crash. .Otherwise gold would spike lower only to rush higher when everyone figures out that the structural problems are still in place and the Fed has pulled the net away.]]> Fri, 04 Jan 2013 00:29:03 -0500
The Fed is still propping up European banks through their swap programs. An unwinding there would be a huge negative and that is not happening anytime soon.

We have massive structural problems which are not being addressed worldwide. Spain and Greece have unemployment rates over 20% and youth unemployment rates over 50%. We are staring at a lost generation as GDP growth grinds to a halt.

In this country not enough jobs are being created on a monthly basis to outpace the new entrants into the workforce and people are leaving unemployment for disability not because they are disabled but because they cannot find a job.

We have to address the structural problems and we have the Fed buying almost $1 trillion dollars in debt in 2013. The game they are playing is not sustainable.

If the pedal was pulled back there would have to be a change in the problems I listed above, swaps, unemployment, and debt monetization by Central Banks, for gold to crash. .Otherwise gold would spike lower only to rush higher when everyone figures out that the structural problems are still in place and the Fed has pulled the net away.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/744511?source=feed#comment-13276201 13276201
If he pulls QE yields shoot higher, deficit explodes, and the dollar rises causing growth to slow.

If he maintains QE we continue falling towards Japan 2.0 where our debt load grows to the point that we cannot use interest rates to effect proper monetary policy.]]> Thu, 03 Jan 2013 16:27:55 -0500
If he pulls QE yields shoot higher, deficit explodes, and the dollar rises causing growth to slow.

If he maintains QE we continue falling towards Japan 2.0 where our debt load grows to the point that we cannot use interest rates to effect proper monetary policy.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/744511?source=feed#comment-13274321 13274321 Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:47:41 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/744511?source=feed#comment-13274031 13274031 Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:41:29 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/744511?source=feed#comment-13274001 13274001
St. Louis, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and Dallas are the true hawks.]]> Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:40:49 -0500
St. Louis, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and Dallas are the true hawks.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/744511?source=feed#comment-13273411 13273411
If the Fed does not buy all those Treasuries yields will move higher blowing a brand new hole in the budget.

For every 1% increase in interest paid by the US the budget deficit will increase by $160 billion and that is on a yearly basis.

Let's not forget that the recent budget deal increased spending.

The world does not have to collapse. All you need to see is that the poor decisions being made by Congress restrict economic growth.]]> Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:30:45 -0500
If the Fed does not buy all those Treasuries yields will move higher blowing a brand new hole in the budget.

For every 1% increase in interest paid by the US the budget deficit will increase by $160 billion and that is on a yearly basis.

Let's not forget that the recent budget deal increased spending.

The world does not have to collapse. All you need to see is that the poor decisions being made by Congress restrict economic growth.]]>