Long-term trends grow from short term trends. We attampt to determine the short term trends and where they are pointing.
In today’s article Chris Ciovacco looks at the current battle between Bulls and Bears in the market and what we should watch closely and what we should do about it. Is this just a correction or has the market made a new high? ~Tim McMahon, editor The market currently has a mixed profile; the bears have control […]
Economic & Fed Confusion Reign In Markets Read More »
In today’s article Grant Williams takes a look at mythical Bizarro world (Htrae) where everything is backwards and compares it to the supposedly logical and normal functioning earth. Unfortunately, some things that belong in Bizarro  world have somehow made their way to Earth. ~ Tim McMahon, editor By Grant Williams  In the early 1960s, a new
Things That Make You Go Hmmm: What On Htrae Is Going On? Read More »
The first, and possibly most surprising, thing about life in Cafayate has been how social it is. The Argentines are very warm and welcoming people, and we have made a surprising number of local friends. In addition, there are generally like-minded and almost entirely agreeable owners at La Estancia de Cafayate, complemented by a steady stream of visitors.
Interacting with only one of those groups would be more than enough social life for me, by temperament something of a recluse (my wife always laughs when I say that, but it’s true). When taking all three groups into consideration, however, the amount of socializing gets positively over the top.
Life in Argentina Read More »
The time to buy is when everyone else is selling. That holds true not only for stocks but also for commodities like Gold and Real Estate. Another truism is to buy when you least feel like buying. Right now an extremely out of favor asset is real estate in Portugal. They almost can’t give it away. Which is why we are taking a look at it today. In her article, Vivian Lewis gives us some great reasons to consider Portugal.Â
Is This the Time to Buy Real Estate in Portugal? Read More »
The Third Basel Accord (i.e. Basel III) is a voluntary global regulatory standard on banks requiring adequate capital and providing stress testing and market liquidity guidelines. Members of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision agreed on the accord in 2010–11 and scheduled it to be phased in from 2013 through 2019. Basel III was developed in response to the deficiencies in financial regulation revealed by the late-2000s financial crisis. Basel III was supposed to strengthen bank capital requirements by increasing bank liquidity and bank leverage based on the specific types of assets and liabilities held by the bank rather than being based on general assumptions that all banks are the same.
What is Basel III and Will it Help Avert Another Banking Crisis? Read More »
Since the S&P 500 made an intraday low of 1,536 on April 18, the widely-followed stock index has tacked on 130 points and the markets have migrated back to full-bore risk-on mode.
Will Wednesday’s Fed Minutes Spark Sell-Off? Read More »
If Cyprus is the bellwether, then Canada is the red flag, showing that Cyprus is not an isolated situation. The damage wreaked by monumental debt is systemic, and it has taken place throughout the First World and beyond.
This latter statement will very likely be the most difficult to accept as reality. If so, here is something to consider: Canada has approved its bail-in on a national level just one week after a final decision was made in Cyprus. As we all know, the wheels of governments worldwide move slowly. The reader might ask himself whether he believes that the Canadian government has, in short order, approved its own bail-in, in reaction to the events in Cyprus. If this possibility is simply too far-fetched, he must accept that the plan for Cyprus has been known to the Canadian government for some time and that a similar bail-in for Canada has been in the works for a while. It was simply agreed that Cyprus would go first – to act as the litmus test.
If Cyprus Is the Bellwether, Canada Is the Red Flag Read More »
One of the hottest new trends today is developing pricing effectiveness solutions. Good pricing effectiveness comes from determining a person’s willingness to pay. Companies specialize in “revenue management” by tracking a customer’s willingness-to-pay and helping a company to optimize its revenue stream based on that willingness. For instance, in the case of that airline passenger, one person absolutely needed to get somewhere at the last minute and therefore he was willing to pay almost anything for a seat on that plane. And the other person was looking for a bargain and only flew because the flight was cheap. Just like the vender in the stall in the 3rd world, if you could determine the person’s desire level, theoretically you could charge the first person a much higher rate while simultaneously charging the second person much less. Unfortunately for companies (but fortunately for consumers) companies are not mind-readers so they can’t squeeze the absolute last dollar out of you… Or can they?
Trends: Revenue Management Read More »
All governments engage in larceny and fraud, using their authority to transfer wealth and power from the outsiders to the insiders. But the clever government does so by deception… while the clumsy one does so with no pretense or excuses. In the US, for example, the feds deny savers any financial return from their economies under the pretense of “economic stimulus.” Wage-earners get nothing, while bankers, speculators and zombie grifters are rewarded with ultra-low-cost financing, capital gains, bailouts, and giveaways.
The Greatest Wealth Transfer in History Read More »
The stock market is a big place, you can’t buy everything, how do you determine whether you should even consider a particular investment recommendation?
Stock Market: When Do I Buy a “Buy”? Read More »
