Long time readers of this letter know too well that I have been hugely negative on the sector since late 2005, when I unloaded all of my holdings (click here for ?The Hard Truth About Residential Real Estate?).? However, I believe that ?forever? may be on the extreme side. Personally, I believe there will be
No one can explain the most complex economic and monetary issues in a simpler, more homespun fashion than former governor of the Federal Reserve, Bob McTeer. He is known for carrying around two yardsticks, one slightly longer than the other, to demonstrate to your average guy the monthly changes in employment. Bob argues that the
When you look at the profusion of new ETF?s being launched today, you find that they almost always correspond with market tops. The higher the market, the greater the demand for the underlying, and the more leverage traders bay for it. The resulting returns for investors are disastrous. But occasionally a blind squirrel finds an
Global Market Comments May 9, 2013 Fiat Lux Featured Trade: (THE RECEPTION THAT THE STARS FELL UPON), (NLR), (CCJ), (CORN), (WEAT), (SOYB), (DBA), (EUROPEAN STYLE HOMELAND SECURITY) Market Vectors Uranium+Nuclear Enrgy ETF (NLR) Cameco Corporation (CCJ) Teucrium Corn (CORN) Teucrium Wheat (WEAT) Teucrium Soybean (SOYB) PowerShares DB Agriculture (DBA)
My friend was having a hard time finding someone to attend a reception who was knowledgeable about financial markets, White House intrigue, international politics, and nuclear weapons. I asked who was coming. She said Reagan?s Treasury Secretary, George Shultz, Clinton?s Defense Secretary, William Perry, and Senate Armed Services Chairman, Sam Nunn. I said I?d be
The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent events in Libya, and have therefore raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940, when tea
Global Market Comments May 8, 2013 Fiat Lux Featured Trade: (JULY 16 BERLIN STRATEGY LUNCHEON), (WHY BEN BERNANKE HATES ME)
Come join John Thomas for lunch at the Mad Hedge Fund Trader?s Global Strategy Update, which I will be conducting in Berlin, Germany, at 12:00 noon on Tuesday, July 16, 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
I don?t just think he hates me. He truly despises me. In fact, he does everything he can to put me out of business. Take last Wednesday, for example, when the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee gave me and my views a complete thrashing. Additional quantitative easing was the last thing in the world I
Global Market Comments May 7, 2013 Fiat Lux Featured Trade: (I?M OFF TO THE SALT CONFERENCE), (JULY 12 AMSTERDAM STRATEGY LUNCHEON), (BE CAREFUL! YOUR PC IS WATCHING), (TESTIMONIAL)
I will spend the rest of the week attending the 5th annual SALT conference at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. This is the preeminent get together of the major players in the hedge fund industry. There, I will hook up with readers, consulting clients, old pals, and former staff, many of whom now run
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
Hey! You there, staring at this monitor. This is your PC talking to you. No, not you over there standing in the background. I?m talking to the guy sitting in front of me poking at my keys. Ouch! That one hurt! So you thought no one was watching, did you? Let me straighten you out.
Global Market Comments May 6, 2013 Fiat Lux Featured Trade: (MAY 8 LAS VEGAS STRATEGY LUNCHEON), (BEN?S NEW LEG FOR THE BULL MARKET), (SPY), (IWM), (AAPL), (GLD), (SLV), (CU), (TLT), (YCS), (FXY) (PLEASE USE MY FREE DATA BASE SEARCH) SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) iShares Russell 2000 Index (IWM) Apple Inc. (AAPL) SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)
Come join me for lunch at the Mad Hedge Fund Trader?s Global Strategy Update, which I will be conducting in Las Vegas, Nevada on Wednesday, May 8, 2013. An excellent meal will be followed by a wide-ranging discussion and an extended question and answer period. I?ll be giving you my up to date view on
I just returned from my round of monthly wine club pick-ups in California?s lush and fertile Napa Valley. I invested a half hour soaking up the breathtaking views at the hilltop Silverado winery. Duckhorn offered a lavish lunch event, which I ducked out on. The Wagner family is prospering as always, recently opening a tasting
The original purpose of this letter was to build a database of ideas to draw on in the management of my hedge fund. When a certain trade comes into play, I merely type in the symbol, name, currency, or commodity into the search box, and the entire fundamental argument in favor of that position pops
Global Market Comments May 3, 2013 Fiat Lux Featured Trade: (SO I LIED), (TURKEY IS ON THE MENU), (TUR), (TKC) (THE NEW CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH), (GLD) iShares MSCI Turkey Invest Mkt Index (TUR) Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS (TKC) SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)
I sit here with my fingertips battered, bruised, and bleeding. My lower back aches, and my shoulders are as tight as a drum. After promising to take it easy for a while because the risk/reward in the market so badly sucks, I knocked out six Trade Alerts in one day. That is on top of
On my way back from Lake Tahoe last weekend I saw that every bend of the American river was dotted with hopeful miners, looking to make a windfall fortune. Weekend hobbyists were there panning away from the banks, while the hardcore pros stood in hip waders balancing portable pumps on truck inner tubes, pouring sand