Greetings from CalTrain, where I’m bumping along on the Baby Bullet to visit one of my children’s schools for an end-of-year activity. I have zilch new to say about the “market” right now. Indeed, the one chart I have which neatly expresses my time allocation during recent trading days sums it up:
Currently there is probably no other great divide in opinions than the current state of oil and all it entails. (well maybe gold but that’s for another column)
I believe there’s not only two sides to this story but there is also a very legitimate concern for the two-sided sword that can be wielded – by both sides. And again, in my opinion, both have very valid reasons for optimism as well as concern. I don’t believe they are mutually exclusive.
Today we have what many would call an oil boon in not only the U.S. but Canada as well. Together the current debate falls along two fronts. First: Is there really as much there as they believe there is? And second: If so can it be extracted at a price bearable to both producers as well as consumers?
There seems a real split right down the middle and both sides make very good arguments. Who’s right and who’s wrong is yet to be seen. However, what does not need to be borne out any longer is the fact that the OPEC cartel believes there’s a real cause for concern. And that is a very positive byproduct to come forth from this whole debate. (more…)
The Idiot Savant thought he should pitch in while our marvelous magnanimous multitasking maestro was mindlessly meandering the old world, tirelessly touring terrific timeless towns, torridly tasting tempting tavern table treats. Moreover, since TK’s currently globe trotting across Europe rubbing elbows with professional thieves, I thought it apropos to concentrate my questionable craft on a cunning confidential continental institution situated in Switzerland. Namely; the Bank for International Settlements, otherwise known as the BIS. The above luminous photo is of their luxurious Headquarters.
Ten times a year, once a month except in August and October, a small group of well dressed men arrives in Basel, Switzerland. Carrying elegant overnight bags and stylish brief cases, they discreetly check into the Euler Hotel, across from the railroad station. They come to this quiet city from places as disparate as Tokyo, Paris, Brasilia, London, and Washington, D.C., for the regular meeting of the most exclusive, secretive, and powerful supranational club in the world.
Nothing will stir up an argument faster than a discussion on taxes. Doesn’t matter local, state, or federal. One thing is certain: there seems to no longer be a middle ground for those arguing for more, or less. Now it’s all – or nothing.
Not since the days of red-coated overseers has this argument seem to have been met with such furor. One of the troubling reasons is that the people claiming rights to dispense edicts on what they believe one is entitled to keep, believe they have the moral and intellectual argument for it.
We hear routinely that businesses aren’t paying enough, or that other catch phrase, “not paying their fair share.” Well to quote the late Billy Preston, “Nothing from nothing leaves nothing.” And what a lot of these people are finding out pretty quickly – nothing is exactly what they are going to be left with if their current pursuits are followed further. (more…)
