SPECIAL MODEL PORTFOLIO ISSUE 3) The Method to My Madness. The portfolio that I have assembled here capitalizes of the major long term trends that will dominate the global economy for the next decade. Long term followers of this letter will know the names well, as these were the ones we rode up from
Featured Trades: (THOSE DAMN EUROPEANS!), (AAPL) 1) Those Damn Europeans! I am tearing up my Eurail Pass, returning my espresso machine to Costco, and sending my gelato maker to the recycling center. Next year's summer vacation is going to be at Coney Island, not the Italian Rivera. Those damn Europeans are spoiling everything! The US
Featured Trades: (HOW TO PLAY JACKSON HOLE), (DBA), (FXE), (USO), (CU), (PALL), (UUP), (GLD), (SFS), (FXJ), (FXA), (FXC) 2) How to Play Jackson Hole. I remember when the meeting of economists at Jackson Hole was one of those boring, under the radar, non-stories that only those with an interest in the arcana of macroeconomic
Featured Trades: (WHY THIS IS NOT 2008), (SPX), (SPY) 3) Why This is Not 2008. Much of the investment community is now bracing for a repeat of the 2008 crash, when the S&P 500 plunged by a gut punching 52%. For proof, look no further than last week's dramatic selling, when traders could not unload
Featured Trades: (GERMAN GDP IS ANOTHER NAIL IN THE COFFIN FOR THE GLOBAL ECONOMY), (FXE), (EUO) 2) German GDP is Another Nail in the Coffin for the Global Economy. Major hedge fund strategists were stunned by German's Q2 GDP, which came in at a feeble seasonally adjusted 0.1%. This is a mere shadow of the
Featured Trades: (THE HARDEST JOB IN THE WORLD), (FXI), (TLT) 3) The Hardest Job in the World. US Vice President, Joe Biden, currently has the toughest job in the world. He has gone to China, hat in hand, to convince the country's leaders to buy even more US Treasury bonds than they already have. This
Featured Trades: (LESSON OF THE CRASH OF 2011), (SPX), (OIL), (COPPER), (GLD), (PALL) 2) Lessons From the Crash of 2011. The Dow only moved double digits today, down 78 points, finally delivering the sort of quiet, somnolescent, low volume day one would normally expect during the dog days of August. Last week was one of
Featured Trades: (THE US IS TURNING INTO JAPAN) 1) Brace Yourself. The US is Turning into Japan. (SPX) As a silver tsunami of 80 million baby boomers retires, they will be followed by only 65 million from generation 'X'. The intractable problems that unhappy Japan is facing will soon arrive at our shores. Boomers, therefore,
Featured Trades: (A VISIT TO THE INSANE ASYLUM) 2) A Visit to the Insane Asylum. Watching the ten year Treasury bond tickle a 2.00% yield yesterday, I thought it would be propitious to revisit the insanity that is going on in this market. Historically, ten year bond yields matched the nominal GDP growth rate. So
Featured Trades: (THE EURO IS READY TO TURN) 1) The Euro is Ready to Turn. I believe that we may be about to witness a sea change in the value of the Euro versus the US dollar. Since January, the Euro has been beating the daylights out of Uncle Buck, as European interest rates have
