I had a dentist appointment today, and then some things to do this evening. A bit short on time, so let's see what's good on the web for market commentary.
Get requests submitted for Friday Night Entertainment as well, or I will play all Ozzy tunes.
Best of the Web Thursday
What's worth a look from yesterday to today.
From The Armo Trader, you HAVE to see this chart. It's perfect:
Market Action Over The Past 2 Months
The Reformed Broker took a ton of notes during a lunch with guru Jeffrey Gundlach that you may want to review:
Notes from the DoubleLine Lunch with Jeffrey Gundlach
Robert Sinn tells you some truth, that "This market is here to fool you and take your money", and more here:
How NOT to Trade This Market
The Fly notes that whenever the S&P has been down 5 months in a row, rallies tend to happen. But what about the Chinese slowdown????:
Insane S&P Losing Streak
Leigh Drogen talks about Facebook's new updates, and if you use Facebook you MUST read this article. Facebook may use your searching/viewing habits to compile your public profile for you, without asking:
Facebook’s Open Graph and the Curation of Your Image
While not as historical or cool as the old time ZL-1's, The first 2012 ZL-1 Camaro was auctioned off for $250,000:
First 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 goes for $250,000 at auction
Added:
Shameless plug, but tonight I posted that Apple Inc is worth more than four American Civil Wars (and don't miss it's worth more than 2 Apollo Space Programs!):
Things Apple is Worth More Than
Have a good night.
Showing posts with label best of the Web. Show all posts
Showing posts with label best of the Web. Show all posts
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Best of the Web
Between a long day at work and having to run out and do errands before the vacation week, I am out of time for a well reasoned post this evening. I cam across several truly outstanding articles today that I thought I would pass along if you are so inclined.
Housing Related Articles
What you have to understand about every government action since last summer is that they are operating under this assumption:
Home prices, and thus every instrument tied to them, are depressed only temporarily. If "liquidity" can be supplied in enough size and over a long enough period those prices and instruments will recapture their full value and there will be no crisis.
That's it and that's all. Now of course this assumption is wrong, but what can you do?
If anyone in the government had a spare 20 minutes, I would ask them to take a history lesson with Doctor Housing Bubble who captures in a recent post just how riddled with fraud and pure insanity some housing markets became.
History lesson here.
I would also add my own history lesson. After the 1989 real estate bust, it took about a DECADE for the home prices in my city to recover their dollar value. Adjusted for inflation, it took well over 14 years. Think about that and then think about how long the "liquidity" may have to flow.
If you are still not convinced, one of my favorite writers on all things political, financial, and life in general is Charles Hugh Smith. Mr. Smith explains in easy terms so even the Treasury could understand why housing is simply not coming back any time soon.
Full explanation here.
Spend a Day with the Automatic Earth
I have to say that the site The Automatic Earth is my favorite read for the day. The intros by writer Ilargi are often the most well thought out works of writing I have ever seen, until the next one comes out! The collected news stories are often the most pertinent anywhere.
The Automatic Earth has recently gone to two a day posts and I could not be more appreciative. Spend this day looking over the posts and see if you agree with me.
This morning's missive.
This evening's take.
Gold Related Item
Minyanville's Kevin Depew's daily piece "Five Things to Know" is always a great read. Kevin was even so kind as to include some content I had found a while back.
In today's post Kevin goes after the metal gold in the number 5 item with the same old complaint that it is useless unless the world ends, and then it is not as good as a gun (or other various items).
His summation line is thus:
I understand this line of thought. As good Americans, most of us scoff at gold. After it was all taken from the public in any real tangible sense in 1933, most never thought about it. After Nixon junked the gold standard, Americans fell in love with paper money as their purchasing power was destroyed. We were indoctrinated that "stuff" and paper money was "real value" and that gold was a shiny metal good for rings and printer cable connectors.
Now you may ask yourself who would want you to believe those things.
Mr. Depew is right; in a real life "end of the world' situation I would rather have an army of 3000 armed men, well supplied, in a great defensible location with clean water etc..(you get the idea) than all the gold in Fort Knox. Gold would indeed be "useless", until some order was restored that is.
There are many levels of "end of the world" events however. The complete collapse of the US is not necessary for gold to have real value. I do not have the time to go over all the very real scenarios where life would not change to an obscene degree where having gold would be very lucrative.
Either you "get" gold or you don't. The best example I have ever seen (I cannot find where I read it, so no reference) is this:
Have a good night.
Housing Related Articles
What you have to understand about every government action since last summer is that they are operating under this assumption:
Home prices, and thus every instrument tied to them, are depressed only temporarily. If "liquidity" can be supplied in enough size and over a long enough period those prices and instruments will recapture their full value and there will be no crisis.
That's it and that's all. Now of course this assumption is wrong, but what can you do?
If anyone in the government had a spare 20 minutes, I would ask them to take a history lesson with Doctor Housing Bubble who captures in a recent post just how riddled with fraud and pure insanity some housing markets became.
History lesson here.
I would also add my own history lesson. After the 1989 real estate bust, it took about a DECADE for the home prices in my city to recover their dollar value. Adjusted for inflation, it took well over 14 years. Think about that and then think about how long the "liquidity" may have to flow.
If you are still not convinced, one of my favorite writers on all things political, financial, and life in general is Charles Hugh Smith. Mr. Smith explains in easy terms so even the Treasury could understand why housing is simply not coming back any time soon.
Full explanation here.
Spend a Day with the Automatic Earth
I have to say that the site The Automatic Earth is my favorite read for the day. The intros by writer Ilargi are often the most well thought out works of writing I have ever seen, until the next one comes out! The collected news stories are often the most pertinent anywhere.
The Automatic Earth has recently gone to two a day posts and I could not be more appreciative. Spend this day looking over the posts and see if you agree with me.
This morning's missive.
This evening's take.
Gold Related Item
Minyanville's Kevin Depew's daily piece "Five Things to Know" is always a great read. Kevin was even so kind as to include some content I had found a while back.
In today's post Kevin goes after the metal gold in the number 5 item with the same old complaint that it is useless unless the world ends, and then it is not as good as a gun (or other various items).
His summation line is thus:
Just about every scenario I can think of where gold is useful -- for purposes other than admiring it -- also requires a life raft. Just about every scenario I can think of where gold has great worth means that anything else I own has little, if any, value - but hey, at least I have a pillowcase full of gold.
I understand this line of thought. As good Americans, most of us scoff at gold. After it was all taken from the public in any real tangible sense in 1933, most never thought about it. After Nixon junked the gold standard, Americans fell in love with paper money as their purchasing power was destroyed. We were indoctrinated that "stuff" and paper money was "real value" and that gold was a shiny metal good for rings and printer cable connectors.
Now you may ask yourself who would want you to believe those things.
Mr. Depew is right; in a real life "end of the world' situation I would rather have an army of 3000 armed men, well supplied, in a great defensible location with clean water etc..(you get the idea) than all the gold in Fort Knox. Gold would indeed be "useless", until some order was restored that is.
There are many levels of "end of the world" events however. The complete collapse of the US is not necessary for gold to have real value. I do not have the time to go over all the very real scenarios where life would not change to an obscene degree where having gold would be very lucrative.
Either you "get" gold or you don't. The best example I have ever seen (I cannot find where I read it, so no reference) is this:
In 1900 an ounce of gold bought you a very nice suit. In 2009 an ounce of gold buys you a VERY nice suit. The $20 dollars in 1900 for the suit cannot even buy 4 value meals at McDonald's in 2009. Still think gold is stupid and worthless?Reread that last example as many times as needed for the truth of it to sink in.
Have a good night.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Friday Night Ramblings
Three day weekend! The Daytona 500 on Sunday! Valentines Day is tomorrow ladies and gentlemen. In our house I do all the cooking anyway, but the wife has requested breakfast tomorrow morning for her Valentine present. I never eat breakfast, but I will do my part and grant her request. Make sure you do a little something for the significant other, besides if you buy something you are stimulating the economy!
Odyssey Marine Exploration Update
A while back I shared my position in the stock OMEX. I bought in at $3 and the stock trades now at $4. The latest television series show chronicling the exploits of the company called "Treasure Quest" on the Discovery Channel aired last night. I must say that while the technology and innovation displayed has been pretty amazing, the next segment of shows should try and flesh out some real treasure finds.
The company has shown the ability to find all kinds of ships and recover items with consistency. As of last night's show we have yet to see some real finds that can pay dividends. The footage is already a year old, and the company has been amazing with keeping things quiet. Here is one shareholder hoping for a little more excitement in the coming months!
Full Disclosure: I have a position in OMEX stock.
Poetic Justice
There is something positively hilarious about the drama surrounding the passage of the "Stimulus Bill". Late to circulate the final bill, and weighing in at over 1000 pages long, it seems no member of Congress will really have a chance to read even half of the bill. How on earth is that funny you ask? Well I'll tell you.
The reason the credit debacle happened is due in no small part because clueless mortgage borrowers, seduced with dreams of becoming rich, signed for mortgages they neither read nor understood. It seems perfect that the very bill that tries to fix the mess is receiving the same treatment from our elected officials. "Just sign here please". The US Congress is the perfect "mark" for a used car dealer, or a mortgage originator. Funny and sad at the same time.
Best of the Web
I try and make my reading rounds as I compile ideas to present on the blog. Sometimes I run across writings that are so powerful that I find I think about them most of the day. This happens a few times a week on average and I try and make you, the readers, aware of those pieces. Today I was amazed by the great insight and sharp writing of two separate articles in the same day! It is like a two for one day!
The first gem is from the great site "The Automatic Earth". The host who's pen name is Ilargi has the best take on the "toxic asset" question that has Treasury Timmy G all confused. Opening paragraph from this article:
In one paragraph the writer encapsulates my position exactly. Simple, clear, and intellectually solid one wonders why normal joes that write blogs "get it" while the upper echelon of academia is so confused.
The second wonderful read covers two major complaints of mine: Big government and Keynesian clown theory. I hate them both. It should be clear to anyone with a brain why both are terrible, yet both are favored by many still.
Paul Mladjenovic, writing in the Gold Eagle editorial section, skewers both big government and Keynesian theory in one piece! I strongly recommend reading the entire article, but here are the two excerpts I like.
On big government:
I wish I had written that!
On Keynesian Theory:
I REALLY wish I had written that! Awesome.
Friday Night Entertainment
After a super busy week at work, and a government pork spending hurricane during the week that made me want to puke, I need a little entertainment.
Can We Be Friends?
New friend does not taste like bacon!:
more animals
Great Combat Scene
One of my guilty pleasures is the film "Troy". All star cast, great story, and great action. This clip is from the epic battle between Hector of Troy (Eric Bana) and Achilles of Greece (Brad Pitt). Spears, shields, swords; what else could be more exciting!:
Friday Night Rock Blogging
Again, no requests so I guess nobody checks this section out, or you trust my taste! Either way, away we go!
What do you get when you combine raspy, powerful vocals, piano, great background music, and plenty of rhythm changes? You might wind up with Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart":
In general I hate most new music. Only a few songs here or there, or a great band like Audioslave will catch my interest. This one song from Hoobastank has a thunderous baseline and pretty good vocals. The drums are excellent as well. Enough, check out "The Reason":
Before long I will have loaded every song from the Randy Rhoades Tribute Album on this blog. With good reason of course! Here is "Believer" which features some of the best lead guitar work you are ever likley to hear:
From the old school MTV days of cheap videos, take a stroll back in time with Flaco's "Rock Me Amadeus":
Have a good night.
Odyssey Marine Exploration Update
A while back I shared my position in the stock OMEX. I bought in at $3 and the stock trades now at $4. The latest television series show chronicling the exploits of the company called "Treasure Quest" on the Discovery Channel aired last night. I must say that while the technology and innovation displayed has been pretty amazing, the next segment of shows should try and flesh out some real treasure finds.
The company has shown the ability to find all kinds of ships and recover items with consistency. As of last night's show we have yet to see some real finds that can pay dividends. The footage is already a year old, and the company has been amazing with keeping things quiet. Here is one shareholder hoping for a little more excitement in the coming months!
Full Disclosure: I have a position in OMEX stock.
Poetic Justice
There is something positively hilarious about the drama surrounding the passage of the "Stimulus Bill". Late to circulate the final bill, and weighing in at over 1000 pages long, it seems no member of Congress will really have a chance to read even half of the bill. How on earth is that funny you ask? Well I'll tell you.
The reason the credit debacle happened is due in no small part because clueless mortgage borrowers, seduced with dreams of becoming rich, signed for mortgages they neither read nor understood. It seems perfect that the very bill that tries to fix the mess is receiving the same treatment from our elected officials. "Just sign here please". The US Congress is the perfect "mark" for a used car dealer, or a mortgage originator. Funny and sad at the same time.
Best of the Web
I try and make my reading rounds as I compile ideas to present on the blog. Sometimes I run across writings that are so powerful that I find I think about them most of the day. This happens a few times a week on average and I try and make you, the readers, aware of those pieces. Today I was amazed by the great insight and sharp writing of two separate articles in the same day! It is like a two for one day!
The first gem is from the great site "The Automatic Earth". The host who's pen name is Ilargi has the best take on the "toxic asset" question that has Treasury Timmy G all confused. Opening paragraph from this article:
Ilargi: Prior to a sudden surge on Wall Street just after 3 PM EST today, US financials were losing a lot of money. Undoubtedly, many "experts" will say the financials are hurting because of uncertainty about the Geithner plan. Me, I would turn it around, and say they drop like stones because of certainty, the sort that says there's no way the largest banks in the US and the UK can be saved. There's no shortage of smart voices declaring that it's so very hard to put a pricetag on toxic assets. In reality, it's very easy. All you need to do is put them on sale and see what offers you get. And there's no excuse or reason for a government to enter the bidding process with money that belongs to its taxpayers. If the people themselves want to buy the paper with their own money, fine. But no-one else should have the right to spend it for them
In one paragraph the writer encapsulates my position exactly. Simple, clear, and intellectually solid one wonders why normal joes that write blogs "get it" while the upper echelon of academia is so confused.
The second wonderful read covers two major complaints of mine: Big government and Keynesian clown theory. I hate them both. It should be clear to anyone with a brain why both are terrible, yet both are favored by many still.
Paul Mladjenovic, writing in the Gold Eagle editorial section, skewers both big government and Keynesian theory in one piece! I strongly recommend reading the entire article, but here are the two excerpts I like.
On big government:
The $1 trillion dollar stimulus plan will not stimulate growth in the economy. It will only stimulate the growth of government bureaucracy. Please understand that government doesn't invest in the economy; it SIPHONS resources from the economy. Think of the private economy as a "runner" and the government as the "backpack". Can you really make the runner perform better by loading more and more weight into the backpack? Of course not; you just make it worse for the runner.
I wish I had written that!
On Keynesian Theory:
History clearly tells us that Keynesian economics does not work. At best, it can be a short-term bandage but it is not a long-term solution. Even Keynes admitted that his ideas have flaws that are problematic over the longer term. When someone pointed out the flaws and how they would become realized over the long run , he famously retorted "in the long run we are all dead". Well…he is dead and we are now in "the long run".
I REALLY wish I had written that! Awesome.
Friday Night Entertainment
After a super busy week at work, and a government pork spending hurricane during the week that made me want to puke, I need a little entertainment.
Can We Be Friends?
New friend does not taste like bacon!:
more animals
Great Combat Scene
One of my guilty pleasures is the film "Troy". All star cast, great story, and great action. This clip is from the epic battle between Hector of Troy (Eric Bana) and Achilles of Greece (Brad Pitt). Spears, shields, swords; what else could be more exciting!:
Friday Night Rock Blogging
Again, no requests so I guess nobody checks this section out, or you trust my taste! Either way, away we go!
What do you get when you combine raspy, powerful vocals, piano, great background music, and plenty of rhythm changes? You might wind up with Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart":
In general I hate most new music. Only a few songs here or there, or a great band like Audioslave will catch my interest. This one song from Hoobastank has a thunderous baseline and pretty good vocals. The drums are excellent as well. Enough, check out "The Reason":
Before long I will have loaded every song from the Randy Rhoades Tribute Album on this blog. With good reason of course! Here is "Believer" which features some of the best lead guitar work you are ever likley to hear:
From the old school MTV days of cheap videos, take a stroll back in time with Flaco's "Rock Me Amadeus":
Have a good night.
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