Foreign investors sold a record amount of U.S. government debt in April 2013. It was just $60 billion of U.S. Treasuries, but it was a record nonetheless. And when you consider that U.S. central government needs approximately $85 billion of new debt every month to cover its fiscal losses, the $60 billion dollar move is...Read More
Since there was little change in the news this week I’m going to take this blog in a slightly different direction. I was struck by a recent Wall Street Journal article entitled, The Weekend Investor: 100% Stock Solution. The article reported that 9% of all mutual fund investors are “all-in” on the stock market. What a huge...Read More
I cringe every time I hear someone say that they don’t have the time to invest on their own. There’s plenty of time in the day, week, or month, to do what is required to invest successfully on your own.—You just need to know what you’re doing. All of the steps required and techniques needed...Read More
I diagnosed U.S central government with an illness I call Management Deficit Disorder (MDD) in February of last year. Since then they have shown no inkling of getting better. Instead the disease is getting worse, as widespread abuse is being uncovered everyday in Washington DC. It is a place gone mad. In the face of widely available remedies,...Read More
Japan bucked the trend of bleak news this week by reporting GDP growth of 3.5% for the first quarter. While three-and-a-half percent growth cannot be considered a boom, it might feel like one in Japan. Their economy has never really recovered from the tsunami, and until this welcomed first quarter news, has contracted for six...Read More
This week the Dow Jones Industrial Average did what it couldn’t do last week – it found the courage to close over 15,000 points for the first time in history. The chart below compares the Dow’s performance to Real and Nominal GDP; a discussion follows. In terms of today’s dollar, the DJIA has 500 more...Read More
If the Wall Street establishment had any guts the Dow Jones Industrial Average would have blown past the 15,000 mark and ended the week comfortably above it, say 15.3 or 15.5. That would have made a huge statement that this Bull Run is legitimate and worth investing in, and not just another fluff and puff...Read More
Gold bounced this week as traders covered shorts and pushed gold 8% over its April 15, 2013 low. That’s the story this week. Aided by rumor, pomp and circumstance, traders create volatility by placing huge bets on future movements of securities. Recently at record highs, short activity for gold has been well publicized. (Shorting is...Read More
I’m hearing more and more confusion about the investment markets these days. The stock market won’t down, some say, and gold is going the wrong way. What’s going on? Admittedly, if you have to make money in this market your situation gets much harder. Most of your money should have been made when it was easy. Now it’s...Read More
Analysis of the investment markets is a two part story this week. It starts with gold and ends with stocks. Gold took a nose dive this week, dropping 5% on Friday and 7% for the week. Why such a dramatic move? Speculation. Gold is widely used as an indication of inflation. The thinking here is...Read More
