My former employer, The Economist, once the ever tolerant editor of my flabby, disjointed, and juvenile prose (Thanks Peter and Marjorie), has released its “Big Mac” index of international currency valuations (click here for the link). Although initially launched as a joke three decades ago, I have followed it religiously and found it an amazingly [...]

Global Market Comments November 9, 2012 Fiat Lux Featured Trades: (THE TRUE COST OF OIL), (AN EVENING WITH HILLARY CLINTON), (ONLY BUY COMPANIES YOU HATE) (AAPL), (BP), (C), (MO), (PFE), (GS) Apple, Inc. BP Amoco PLC Citigroup, Inc. Altria Group Inc. Pfizer, Inc. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

I received some questions last week on my recent solar pieces as to whether I minded paying more money for “green” power. My answer is “hell no,” and I’ll tell you why. My annual electric bill comes to $1,500 a year. Since the California power authorities have set a goal of 33% alternative energy sources [...]

When Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton passed through San Francisco last week I jumped at the chance to get an up-to-date overview on American foreign policy. The former first lady was making a brief San Francisco stop off on her way to meet leaders on an extended Asian tour. She showed up wearing one [...]

Dilbert cartoonist, Scott Adams, argues that you should invest in companies you hate because only the most unprincipled and rapacious firms make the greatest profits. Moral bankruptcy is a great leading indicator of success, and the best ones can get you to balance your wallet on the end of your nose and bark like a [...]

Global Market Comments November 8, 2012 Fiat Lux Featured Trades: (ENJOY THE DOLLAR RALLY WHILE IT LASTS), (THE PRICE TAG FOR CLEAN COAL), (THE WORLD’S LARGEST SOLAR PLANT)

Unfortunately, I know Blythe, California too well. This natural blast furnace is in a God-forsaken corner of the state where I hunted jack rabbits as a kid, the Indians survived on Gila monsters for protein, and it regularly reaches 130 degrees in the shade. It is also where Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper crossed the [...]

I wanted to get the lowdown on clean coal to see how clean it really is, so I visited some friends at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The modern-day descendant of the Atomic Energy Commission (where I had a student job in the seventies), the leading researcher on laser-induced nuclear fission, and the administrator of our [...]

Global Market Comments November 7, 2012 Fiat Lux Featured Trades: (JANUARY 4, 2013 CHICAGO STRATEGY LUNCH), (ELECTIONS IN DAYS GONE PAST), (SPY), (IWM), (AAPL), (FXY), (FXE), (GLD), (JPM), (BAC), (ATTEND MY OPTIONS SCHOOL) S&P 500 SPDRs Russell 2000 iShares Apple, Inc. Currency Shares Japanese Yen Trust Currency Shares Euro Trust SPDR Gold Trust Shares J.P. [...]

I am headed for the airport shortly and wanted to dash off a quick note. On Wednesday, I am hosting my Houston strategy luncheon, and Thursday I am conducting my options school in Tampa, Florida (see below). On Friday, I am the keynote speaker at the HS Dent Network conference. So it will be a [...]