• December 31, 2011

Collateral Damage

"Whoever cannot seek the unforeseen sees nothing for the known way is an impasse."
― Heraclitus, Fragments

Which path will we take? If we could only grow our way out of our sovereign debt problems. But growing debt creates even more problems if not dealt with, making it even more difficult to deal with; yet getting the debt and deficit under control brings its own form of pain. As I keep pointing out, there are no easy choices left. Some countries must choose between difficult...

• December 30, 2011

Complimentary Issue of The Year(s) Ahead Report

What should business leaders and investors do to prepare themselves for the difficult year(s) head? David Rhodes and Daniel Stelter of The Boston Consulting Group have compiled an excellent guide in which they consider 4 possible economic scenarios. Included are detailed actionable steps that companies and investors can take right now to prepare themselves for 2012 and beyond. Simply enter your email below to download this important, must-read report.

• December 24, 2011

Your Three Investing Opponents

It’s Christmas Eve and that time of year when we start thinking about what we did in the past year and what we want to do in the next. Why do we make the mistakes we make (over and over and over?) and how do we avoid them in the future? If it seems to be part of our basic human condition, that’s because it is. Recently I have been having a running conversation with Barry Ritholtz on the psychology of investing (something we both enjoy discussing and writing about). Since I am busily...

• December 17, 2011

The Center Cannot Hold

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

- The Second Coming, by William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

This coming week we shall likely see Congress pass an extension of the "temporary" payroll tax...

• December 10, 2011

A Player to Be Named Later

We have come to the end of yet another European Summit that was supposed to be the one to fix the problem. If you are confused as to what happened then you are not alone. Was it something we will look back on in ten years and say, "This was where it all started," or will it be viewed as just another meeting in what will prove to be a string of even more meetings? I will argue that both views are the correct answer, depending on your frame of reference.

But what did...

• December 3, 2011

Time to Bring Out the Howitzers

It is now common to use the term bazooka when referring the actions of governments and central banks as they try to avert a credit crisis. And this week we saw a coordinated effort by central banks to use their bazookas to head off another 2008-style credit disaster. The market reacted as if the crisis is now over and we can get on to the next bull run. Yet, we will see that it wasn't enough. Something more along the lines of a howitzer is needed (keeping with our WW2-era military arsenal...