The OMB’s 2011 budget showed that the US debt-to-GDP ratio will continue to rise over next 10 years until 2020, where the projection ends and when US debt will equal 77.2 percent of GDP.
Inflation is one strategy that could be used in an attempt to lessen that debt burden. By putting more dollars into circulation, [...]
Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the rally. The Dow rose a piddly 11 points. Gold sold off $1.
This rally has gone on for so long most people think it is not a rally at all, but a new bull market. Worldwide, it has taken equities up some 73%…making it one of the greatest rallies [...]
If you don’t read the newspapers you run the risk of missing something. Of course, if you do read them, you run the risk of catching something.
Not much in the financial news worthy of comment this morning…
The Dow gained $13. Gold lost $13. Nothing much to say about it…
So we will comment on something beneath [...]
“The US is insolvent,” says a report from a hedge fund. As of the third quarter of last year, the federal government had assets of $2.67 trillion and total liabilities of $14.12 trillion.
That leaves a net negative position of more than $11 trillion. By the way, this is projected to get a lot worse, fast. [...]
Since the feds can’t grow their way out of debt…they’ll have to try to inflate their way out.
Trouble is, first…central bankers don’t have that good a grasp of inflation. They can control the amount of money in the monetary base at the Fed. But they don’t really control what happens to it next. For a [...]
The zombies are taking over!
Stocks went up 4 points on the Dow on Friday… Gold went up $10.
Noise. Distraction. Headlines. Opinions.
The important trend is the big one – the shift of resources from the private sector to the public sector.
During the bubble years, the private sector made a big, big mistake – taking on far [...]
“How can you keep talking about a depression,” asks a Dear Reader, “when the economy is clearly recovering just as it should be.”
Ah ha! We’ll explain in a minute.
First, the latest from Wall Street: The Dow fell 18 points yesterday. We’re still not sure whether the final, fading phase of the bear market has begun [...]
Oil edged up towards $80 a barrel yesterday. And the latest numbers for producer prices showed more inflation than was expected.
Meanwhile, jobless claims were up. And the Dow rose 86 points…
What do investors see that we don’t? A mirage…the shimmering of hot money…money that comes from the feds. And they can’t believe it’s not real.
But [...]
The Dow rose about 40 points yesterday. Gold fell a few bucks. The dollar spent the day treading water. Nothing much to report there…
But what’s this? It appears that a $787 billion stimulus package ain’t what it used to be, at least according to the Congressional Budget Office. The government’s spending watchdog (yes, such a [...]
Let’s focus on the good news. Well, our first item is good news if you were fool enough to follow our “Trade of the Decade.”
We suggested that buying Japanese stocks could be the best investment you can make in the next 10 years. We immediately heard from dozens of friends and enemies. The friends were [...]
Well, the Greek story was big this week. ‘The Big Fat Greek Meltdown,’ as Justice Litle calls it. It pushed stocks and bonds down early in the week. By the end of the week it was pushing them up.
What happened in the meantime? Well, the euro-feds made it appear that they were going to do [...]
Trichet to Greece: Drop Dead!
Obama to California: Uh…
Yesterday, stocks lost 103 points on the Dow. This looked like a confirmation to us. The stock market appears to have begun its next and final phase…
AP seemed to think so too:
“Stock investors see threats from all directions,” said the headline.
We didn’t bother to read the article. We [...]
There was a storm raging on Wall Street too. And by the end of the day, traders, investors and speculators probably wished they had stocked more alcohol for the weekend.
The Dow was up 10 points. After being down 100 points. Gold fell $10.
“Clearly we have entered the worry, fear camp,” said one pro.
Unfortunately, today’s action [...]
Dear, dear reader…we’re sorry to write so much. We would have written less…but we just didn’t have time.
As expected…the Bubble Era was followed by the Bust Era. We’re in it now.
And as expected…the feds swung into action, busily making things worse. The last budget from the Obama Administration beats even our cynical expectations. We anticipated [...]
What a marvelous recovery! But there are so many unresolved mysteries! GDP growth over 5%…but, mysteriously, no jobs…and no rally in the housing market.
And now, to compound the mystery, Mr. Obama has come forward with a $3.8 trillion budget.
The markets like it. Stocks rose 118 points on the Dow yesterday. Gold went up $21. Investors [...]
America’s president proposes a tax credit to businesses that take on new employees. We never met a tax cut we didn’t like. This one is no exception. It lowers the cost of labor, making it easier to hire and pay people. So far, so good.
But is Mr. Obama proposing to cut government spending also? Not [...]
Well, it’s a new world, after all…
Maybe we were wrong. Maybe the mainstream economists are right.
You know, up to now all they’ve been good at was explaining why the forecasts they made in the past didn’t work out. But maybe they’re right, after all. Maybe up IS down. Maybe better IS worse. Maybe you can [...]
On the TV show, overweight contestants take vigorous measures to lose excess weight, by cutting back on calories and increasing healthy exercise… all in pursuit of a cash prize. If only the feds were able to undertake a similarly austere strategy.
The federal budget isn’t really the showbiz-type of “Biggest Loser,” it’s more the traditional [...]
Good news and bad news. But which is which? The situation is so confused, we can’t tell.
The good news is that housing prices are going down. That’s what The Wall Street Journal says. “Home prices declined in November.” Good. People will be able to find more affordable housing.
Wait. That’s not good news, is it? Doesn’t [...]
What a recovery! If the economy keeps recovering like this we’ll soon all be busted…
House sales are falling…unemployment is rising…and people are getting poorer!
The Dow rallied a piddly 23 points yesterday. Oil is selling for less than $75 this morning. Stocks are in trouble. As we said yesterday, this could be the beginning of the [...]
