“The line separating investment and speculation, which is never bright and clear, becomes blurred still further when most market participants have recently enjoyed triumphs. Nothing sedates rationality like large doses of effortless money. After a heady experience of that kind,
A woman goes into the post office to buy stamps for her Christmas cards. “What denomination?” the clerk asked. “Oh, good heavens! Have we come to this?” the woman asks. “Well, give me 50 Catholics and 50 Baptists.” Explaining the
What disease did cured ham actually have? This month I have a lot of random observations. I usually have a topic or two or a theme, but like the rest of the world, I am trying to make sense of
Wow! Did no one else notice… or care that Fitch Ratings downgraded the U.S.A.’s long-term foreign currency default rating from AAA to AA+? Their reason? Erosion of governance. Rising general government deficits. Debt to GDP. The economy slipping into recession.
I don’t know if anyone else saw the irony in it, but I had to chuckle when I read that Zoom is calling its workers back to the office for the first time since the pandemic. First, let me assure
The economic slowdown is now underway and inflation rates, though moderating, are still too high. The monetary policy trilemma (is that even a word?) of price stability vs financial market stability vs economic support is now a reality. The Fed
We are in the late stage of a long-term debt cycle. Debt has become so high it is difficult to give lender-creditors a high enough interest rate relative to inflation to make them want to hold this debt as an
How is it that we put a man on the moon before we figured out if it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage? In an almost equally cool move as wheels on luggage, last year Apple
“The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.” The lower the interest rate, the easier it is to justify marginal projects toward the end of a business cycle when only cheap
“The point to remember is that what the government gives, it must first take away.” ~ John Coleman Well spring is in the air (nope sorry, that’s more rain) and baseball is returning to the ballparks. Tax Day (April 18th)