January 20, 2012 - Quote of the Day
?You can?t keep on firing people. We?ve gotten so mean and so lean that you naturally get to the point where there are fewer people to let go,? said Steve Ricchiuto, chief economist at Mizuho Securities.
Entries by DougD
2012 Strategy Luncheon Schedule
Many of you have asked for this year?s strategy luncheon calendar so you can make advance travel arrangements, so here it is. This is understandable, since the Orlando luncheon saw visitors from Brazil and Australia, the Los Angeles one had subscribers from Alaska thawing out, and at the London event the distinctive accent of Johannesburg
Fade the Second Half of January
Let me tell you about the real January effect. Many pension and retirement funds only reshuffle weightings between different asset classes once a year, mostly in January. That has created a temporary surge of stock buying and bond selling that exhausts itself by the middle of the month. After that, the market sells off. During
January 19, 2012 - Quote of the Day
?The journey is the reward,? said the late Apple founder, Steve Jobs.
Carnage in the Grain Pits
I have been warning readers away from the agriculture space for the past few months, and on Thursday you found out why. More than 90% of the street was positioned for a bullish report, expecting that the last summer?s blistering drought and ongoing dryness in South American would lead to inevitable shortages. Instead, the US
Demographics as Destiny
If demographics is destiny, then America?s future looks bleak. I have long been a fan of demographic investing which creates opportunities for traders to execute on what I call ?intergenerational arbitrage?.? When the numbers of the middle aged are falling, risk markets plunge. Front run this data by two years, and you have a great
January 18, 2012 - Quote of the Day
I think this year you?re going to have six years? worth of movement in the commodities markets,? said Mark Fisher of hedge fund MBF Clearing Corp.
Another Nail in the Euro Coffin
The only surprise in the downgrade of nine European sovereign borrowers was that it took so long. It is a classic case of locking the barn door after the horses have bolted. The only unknown is how many more downgrades remain. The marketplace is already valuing this paper at CCC levels, with ten year yields
Natural Gas Goes Down in Flames
I received a scratchy and barely audible call from my buddy out in the Barnet natural gas fields just outside of Fort Worth, Texas the other day. With the price for CH4 decisively breaking through $3/MBTU yesterday, traders were now resigned to seeing a new ten year low in the near future, possibly as low
January 17, 2012 - Quote of the Day
?My heart sank when I heard the corn number. I literally felt sick to my stomach. I just knew that most of the market was looking for a big rally in corn and had positioned themselves that way,? said Scott Shellady, a trader at ICAP US Derivatives.