“Nothing but accomplishing my duty,” answered Hiroo Onoda, standing tall. And his countrymen celebrated their hero. Awed. Inspired. He was asked what he’d been thinking. You see, he’d hidden in the Philippines jungle for 30yrs after WWII, refusing to submit. Anyhow, this week, at 91yrs, he finally surrendered. Reminding the world what our Japanese friends are capable of, for better or worse, once they commit. Their N

Hope all goes well… “Why don’t we declare victory?” asked the esteemed fella from the Fed. “We’re not convinced we’re done with the job we’ve been given by Congress,” he continued, answering his own question. And look, being a pragmatic Libra, I have a soft spot for balance, the Fed’s dual mandate. “Without inflation, there’s a conservative bent to the Fed, we’ll withdraw stimulus slowly.” I checked my watch. And ind

Now we know. It’s going to be that kinda year. ’Cause as goes week-one, so goes the next 51. And, well, the first week was, like, not exactly a week. It was two lonely, weird days. Followed by a full week. Which depending on your count, was either three days or five. Metabolism slows as you approach absolute zero. And January’s been colder than a Wicked Witch’s A-cup. So maybe the first week hasn’t even ended. All be

Hope all goes well… “It’s like the girl you fell in love with when you were fifteen,” said Yoda, the S&P 500’s biggest local, high in the Rockies. “She comes to school every day to torture you,” he continued. “She runs away on the upside and you chase her, fearing she’ll never return.” Then, on a whim, she changes direction. Breaking lower. “And you’re petrified that it’s over, finally, forever.” Yoda paused, rel

“Now I know what really goes on behind the scenes!” exclaimed the investor, excitedly. I smiled. Proudly. You see, there’s nothing more gratifying than giving credit where it’s due. And I just had. We’d been discussing weekend notes. How it started almost by accident. How it evolved, grew. And as it did, how it demanded more and more. Which pushed me to search harder and harder. To discover interesting questions, occ

Hope all goes well… “Dad, please, I’d like to let mine go together,” asked Jackson, my 12yr old, in a tone that transported me back to the days when he rode atop my shoulders. It was New Year’s Eve. And our family stood at the edge of Georgia’s vast savannah, lighting paper wish-lanterns, to release into the gentle offshore breeze. So together we held his lantern, burning within, glowing warmly, lighting his sparklin

Week-in-Review: Mon: China vote-buying investigation snags hundreds, Japan’s business lobby approves 1st wage rise in 6yrs, court approves France’s 75% millionaire tax, Spain Nov retail sales rebound, Dec Italian economic & business confidence improve, US pending home sales +0.2% m/m (-4.0% yoy), Dallas Fed firms, S&P unch; Tue: China lifts year-long IPO ban (approves 5 IPO’s), Latvia 18th nation to adopt the

Hope all goes well… Santa slipped down the chimney. Left big boot prints in the ash, that spilled across our hearth. And the jolly fella stuffed stockings. Built a train set too.  Sprinkled magic everywhere. Moments before the kiddies emerged, sporting their finest bedhead, Santa lit candles. Warming our chilly pre-dawn living room. And hours later, as Mara and I basked in the Christmas morning afterglow, Osama bin C

Week-in-Review: Mon: China 7day repo soars to 8.84%, Japan closed for Emperor’s Day, Thai opposition boycotts elections, Turkish anti-corruption protests spread, Letta promises reform pact (taxes, bureaucracy, electoral), IMF to raise US 2014 outlook (current 2.5% GDP), US personal income +2.3% yoy (spending +3.5%), PCE price index +0.9% yoy (core +1.1%), real consumer spending +2.6% yoy, consumer sentiment unch, Mik

Hope all goes well… “Instead of sitting around and whining that we have so much money that we can’t possibly outperform,” he said, perched on the pinnacle of the pyramid. “We look at the world and ask ourselves, with so much money, what are the things that we can do that play to our unique strengths,” he continued, thoughtfully, over breakfast. “And will allow us to outperform because we have so much money.” Overall: