On a map, it appears that the United States is made up of 50 states. The fiscal reality is that we have 20 Portugal?s, 15 Italy?s, 10 Ireland?s, 3 Greece?s, and 2 Spain?s. In the aftermath of the Great Recession, state GDP?s saw the sharpest drop since 1981. States shoveled money out of the economy
Until the 19th century, children used to provide income and security for their parents as they worked on the family farm. That dynamic continued when industrialization brought families into the cities and kids into the factories. Since then, children have been a great short. A hundred years of state mandated education and child labor laws
I have done many things in my life: hedge fund manager, pilot, cowboy, journalist, stockbroker, mountain climber, translator, guide, etc, etc. etc. Now add technical consultant to Hollywood to the list. According to the New York Times, Simon Baker, star of the TV show ?The Mentalist?, is using the Diary of a Mad Hedge Fund
Global Market Comments June 26, 2013 Fiat Lux Featured Trade: (JULY 8 LONDON STRATEGY LUNCHEON), (MEET MAD DAY TRADER JIM PARKER AT THE JULY 2 NEW YORK LUNCH), (WHERE THE ECONOMIST "BIG MAC" INDEX FINDS CURRENCY VALUE), (FXF), (FXE), (FXA), (CYB) (ANOTHER MIRACLE FROM TESLA), (TSLA), (SCTY) CurrencyShares Swiss Franc Trust (FXF) CurrencyShares Euro Trust
Come join me for lunch for the Mad Hedge Fund Trader?s Global Strategy Update, which I will be conducting in London on Monday, July 8, 2013. A three-course lunch will be followed by a PowerPoint presentation and an extended question and answer period. I?ll be giving you my up to date view on stocks, bonds,
Jim Parker, who runs our Mad Day Trader Service, will be making a last minute appearance at my New York strategy luncheon on July 2. There you can ask him any questions you want about his new short term trade mentoring program, which goes on sale on Monday. You can buy his service as a
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. Although initially launched as a joke three decades ago, I have followed it religiously and found it an amazingly accurate predictor of future economic
Tesla has announced a new battery swapping service that will enable drivers to get a full charge for their all-electric Model S-1 sedans in 90 seconds. The service will be available at strategically located charging stations around the country, and will cost $60, about the cost of an equivalent full tank of gas. The swap
Come join me for lunch for the Mad Hedge Fund Trader?s Global Strategy Seminar, which I will be conducting in New York, NY on Tuesday, July 2, 2013. An excellent three-course lunch will be provided. A PowerPoint presentation will be followed by an extended question and answer period. I?ll be giving you my up to
In these frenetic, violent, take no prisoners markets I managed to grab a few precious minutes with Mad Day Trader, Jim Parker.? Jim uses a dozen proprietary short-term technical and momentum indicators to give some much-needed guidance in these trying times. It?s all about the bond market, says Jim. Sell every rally until proven otherwise.
Global Market Comments June 24, 2013 Fiat Lux Featured Trade: (JUNE 26 GLOBAL STRATEGY WEBINAR), (JULY 12 AMSTERDAM STRATEGY LUNCHEON), (THE BEST FINANCIAL BOOK EVER), (A DAY WITH TOM FRIEDMAN OF THE NEW YORK TIMES)
Come join John Thomas for lunch at the Mad Hedge Fund Trader?s Global Strategy Update, which I will be conducting in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, on Friday, July 12, 2013. A three-course lunch will be followed by a PowerPoint presentation and an extended question and answer period. I?ll be giving you my up to date view
I have just finished reading the best financial book ever, and I have read most of them. It is The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World by Harvard professor Niall Ferguson. It gives you a great explanation of how the broad sweep of history delivered us to the doorstep of today?s crisis.
I took a day off to attend the New York Times Global Forum at San Francisco?s Sony Metreon Center. Their goal was to put together 400 of the most forward thinking and influential minds in the Bay Area, stand back, and see what happened. It was organized by my old friend, fellow traveler, and veteran
Global Market Comments June 21, 2013 Fiat Lux Featured Trade: (UPDATED 2013 STRATEGY LUNCHEON SCHEDULE), (THE PROBLEM WITH GM), (GM) (WHY I LOVE/HATE THE OIL COMPANIES), (XOM), (USO), (THE WORST TRADE IN HISTORY), (AAPL) General Motors Company (GM) Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) United States Oil (USO) Apple Inc. (AAPL)
Come join me for lunch for the Mad Hedge Fund Trader?s Global Strategy Updates, which I will be conducting throughout Europe during the summer of 2013. A three-course lunch will be followed by a PowerPoint presentation and an extended question and answer period. I?ll be giving you my up to date view on stocks, bonds,
Like a heroin addict who just can?t wean himself off of the good stuff, General Motors is going back into subprime lending to finance new auto sales. Although the much-diminished company has made great strides at reforming its errant ways, they still do not understand their fundamental problem. My dad was a lifetime GM customer,
The first thing I do when I get up every morning is to curse the oil companies as the blood sucking scourges of modern civilization. I then fall down on my knees and thank God that we have oil companies. This is why petroleum engineers are getting $100,000 straight out of college, while English and
Say you owned 10% of Apple (AAPL) and you sold it for $800 in 1976. What would that stake be worth today? Try $22 billion. That is the harsh reality that Ron Wayne, 76, faces every morning when he wakes up, one of the three original founders of the consumer electronics giant. Ron first met
Global Market Comments June 20, 2013 Fiat Lux Featured Trade: (JULY 25 PORTOFINO, ITALY STRATEGY LUNCHEON), (MORE OF THE SAME FROM UNCLE BEN), (SPY), (FXY), (YCS), (GLD), (TLT), (TBT), (THE NEW COLD WAR) SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (FXY) ProShares UltraShort Yen (YCS) SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treas