For example, Charles I of England. There is no doubt that cash has been good to hold over the past year, US dollars and yen especially as everyone squared their accounts.
But Morgan Stanley doesn’t believe in deflation, and neither do I.
Although headline prices likely will decline sharply in coming months, underlying inflation over [...]
So, in the space of a single week and weekend we have (links via naked capitalism):
the Fed nationalising the largest mortgage institutions in all but name,
Lehman going bankrupt after Barclays joins the list of ex-deals,
Merrills “anchoring” Countrywide at Bank of America,
AIG, the worlds’ largest insurer “pulling together a survival plan “, and
the Fed “taking a [...]
The FT reports that the emerging market theme is getting a bit stale among foreigners; outflows from emerging markets bond and equity funds reached $29.5bn over the past three months, the highest level since at least 1995. This was the Asia investment trigger I was personally looking for since August 2007, but jumped the gun [...]
Some simple logic on the US economy from Some Assembly Required:
The current slowdown in the US will last until the American consumer is able to start buying again. That means taking on more debt, for American wages, adjusted for inflation, haven’t risen in 30 years. But debt requires the extension of credit, and [...]
Handling the Mae-Macs is starting to remind me of that 1990 movie “Flatliners“. Catchline:
Lending institutions bring themselves near death; their experiment begins to go awry…
McCulley, in a verbose paper likely targetted at Jackson Hole, says the banks are in a Mexican standoff with central banks on who will take the pain.
Financial [...]
I like this cartoon for perspective on the past year, though I would perhaps swap a few of the roles around. To me, it’s the regulators that lacked the courage to prick this bubble, and the investors that lacked a brain. I don’t expect the lenders to have a heart.
The Wizard of Oz [...]
The housing-rescue legislation passed by the House and Senate offers emergency funding to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac along with establishing a $300 billion fund to help struggling homeowners… and now bond investors are again snapping the portfolio up because of the combination of high yields with a government guarantee,
“We like it,” said [...]
China has decided to both conserve their government cash and let price signals work on oil consumers… From China shocks with 18 percent fuel price rise | Reuters.com:
China raised retail gasoline and diesel prices… by up to 18 percent, a move that threatens to stoke domestic angst over decade-high inflation less than two months before [...]
Billionaire oil investor T. Boone Pickens has apparently had a road to Damascus moment and joined the peak oil crowd. From World crude production has peaked: Pickens | Reuters.com:
“I do believe you have peaked out at 85 million barrels a day globally,” Pickens, who heads BP Capital hedge fund with more than $4 billion under [...]
The US still holds on to the top spots for VC investment, but the spread is widening as other areas technology production gain. From A survey of U.S. venture capital firms - Reuters:
Nearly three out of every five of U.S. venture capitalists, or 57 percent, are now investing outside the country, compared with 46 percent [...]