Rain fell. Hard, heavy, winter rain. Sweeping the grime from her broad avenues. Washing it all away, but for the most stubborn filth; money-changers. Who littered the streets, beneath wide red umbrellas, that sprouted like mushrooms, selling black-market dollars for pesos. At exchange rates that rose inexorably, inversely to the strength of her grasp. And unable to wash those ubiquitous scarlet stains from her capita

Hope all goes well… Pushed open the Ministry’s heavy doors. The magnificent building a monument to Argentina’s prosperous past. Behind the shoddy front desk sat seven young women, chatting leisurely. To my right stood two guards, to my left another. I presented my passport, exchanged pleasantries, confirming their English was superior to my Spanglish. And with no other visitors in the grand lobby, the eleven of us na

“That is more of a philosophical question,” said the Minister, pausing, smiling. I nodded silently, waited for an answer. You see we’d been discussing a wide range of policies his office had implemented. I’d started by acknowledging that America also runs persistent budget deficits, generates chronic current account deficits, creates money with which our central bank buys government debt, promises entitlements it is

Hope all goes well… Enroute from Argy. Snuck in all sorts of meetings before they shut the joint down for World Cup. Back next Sunday with full weekend notes. In the meantime, dusted off a futbol anecdote from early last year (see below). Week-in-Review: Mon: China trade +7.0% (+6.6 exp), Japan Q1 GDP +6.7% qoq (Q2 exp -4.0%), Japan Apr C/A surplus Y187bln (3rd mthly surplus), S&P +0.1%; Tue: China May PPI -1.4%

Week-in-Review: Mon: China trade +7.0% (+6.6 exp), Japan Q1 GDP +6.7% qoq (Q2 exp -4.0%), Japan Apr C/A surplus Y187bln (3rd mthly surplus), S&P +0.1%; Tue: China May PPI -1.4% yoy (CPI +2.5%), CNY fixes 3mth high, Aussie biz confidence rises, Italy Apr IP +1.6% yoy, US Apr wholesale inventories +1.3% (+7.8% yoy), Cantor loses Republican primary, S&P flat; Wed: World Bank cuts 2014 global GDP to 2.8% vs 3.2%

“I was moved to tears by the sunset on Maui,” said my buddy. “Everything I felt was in the extreme, like a child.” He and two others set off to complete 5 Iron Mans in 5 days. He’d finish one, drive to the airport, sleep 20mins inflight to the next island, drive to the ocean, and jump in. For another 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile marathon. “Never knew it was possible to sleep so little – this is about u

Hope all goes well… “Hard to find cheap stocks for the wrong reasons,” admitted the global strategy head for some too-big-to-fail bank, far from home. “But there’s something wrong in a system where money needs to be free,” he said – I think. You see, yet another LaFerrari had just rumbled into valet at Nobu, Malibu. “Yet in the real economy, even at zero, no one’s really borrowing, lending, spending.” Another s

Mario mounted the mantel. Perched precipitously. And stared into the mirror. “Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go?” he asked his curious reflection. “That depends a good deal on where you want to go,” replied Cheshire cat, from within the Looking-Glass. “I don’t much care, so long as I get somewhere,” said Draghi, rather surprised. And Cheshire grinned slyly, luring the world’s first major central banke

Hope all goes well… “Here with the kiddies for the paddle-out, crying,” texted Mara. I paused, in Times Square, opened the photos. Thousands headed into the Pacific, with their surfboards. At sunset. Carrying flowers. To honor the slain UC Santa Barbara kids. The surfers formed a vast circle. Tossed flowers into the middle. And sang in sad celebration of the young lives. Lost. Overall: “The focus should be on minimum

“The focus should be on minimum government but maximum governance,” announced Narenda Modi, a fierce Hindu Nationalist, born the low-caste son of a tea stall owner. India’s 15th Prime Minister presides over the 1st parliamentary majority in 25yrs, paving the way for red-tape reform. Of course, India is the great hope for a planet starved of growth. For the next decade, 1mm Indians will join the workforce each and eve