• April 28, 2012

A Gold Standard?

There are times, my friends Michael Lewitt and Dr. Lacy Hunt agreed today at lunch, when the study of economics is best informed by a sound knowledge of history. Indeed, Michael's son wants to follow his father into the finance world, and Michael is starting him off in history. I have spent hours listening to Lacy stroll through economic history, detailing the path of economic thought from Fisher to Kindleberger to Minsky. The last few days have been one of those times when I...

• April 21, 2012

A Little Bull’s Eye Investing

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cheshire Cat.
"I don't much care where . . . " said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.
". . . just so long as I get SOMEWHERE," Alice added as an explanation.
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."

—Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Bull's Eye Investing was the book that...

• April 14, 2012

The War for Spain

I fully intended to ignore Spain this week. Really, truly I did. I had my letter all planned, but then a few notes drew my attention, and the more I reflected on them, the more I realized that the inflection point that I thought the ECB had pushed down the road for at least a year with their recent €1 trillion LTRO is now rushing toward us much faster than ECB President Draghi had in mind when he launched his massive funding operation.So, we simply must pay attention to what Spain...

• April 13, 2012

Complimentary Issue of The Pain in Spain Presentation

What are the major problems Spain is facing right now, and how will they impact your investments? Carmel Asset Management has written an outstanding presentation in which they analyze Spain's economic outlook, and what investors can do to prepare themselves. Simply enter your email below to download this important, must-read presentation.

• April 7, 2012

It’s All About Jobs

Today's employment numbers were decidedly soft, but the unemployment rate went down anyway, and that is about the best you can say. And this being a holiday weekend, it provides us an opportunity to look deep into the employment numbers, while we put off thinking about Spain for at least a week. And who knew that being an unmarried Asian-American in the US was a risk for unemployment? Plus a few other interesting items will make for an interesting letter.