“We will do whatever it takes,” announced Bank of Japan’s new governor on Tuesday. Which was a line Draghi first sang last July in English, with a heavy Italian accent and a hint of Weimar German. Naturally, markets didn’t take Kuroda seriously, ’cause everyone knows the Japanese sing some mean karaoke but haven’t a clue what the lyrics mean. So the Nikkei swooned, the Yen soared. And Abe called a secret emergency me

“Cyprus changed the game, it was Europe’s Northern Rock moment, it was pivotal, we now really know how committed they are to one another,” explained the CIO of the best performing macro fund in recent years. Then that Dutch guy with the unpronounceable name said Cyprus was a template. “It’s like telling your mother-in-law she’s fat — no matter how hard you try, you can never take those words back,” he continued

Hope all goes well. “Cyprus changed the game, it was Europe’s Northern Rock moment, it was pivotal, we now really know how committed they are to one another,” explained the CIO of the best performing macro fund in recent years. Then that Dutch guy with the unpronounceable name said Cyprus was a template. “It’s like telling your mother-in-law she’s fat — no matter how hard you try, you can never take those words

Hope all goes well. Spring Break in Santa Barbara. Loaded our kiddies into the Prius; Jackson packed Lacrosse sticks, Olivia her violin, Teddy his hamster Harriott. Osama bin Charlie smuggled his coveted collection of Darth Vader Lego guys. And Mara and I flashed a glance at one another, suppressing a joy beyond expression. As the jam-packed circus car pulled out the driveway. With Grandma at the steering wheel. Taki

Ok, let’s keep it simple. Transitive. Politicians love power; and power requires money; therefore politicians love money. Which makes Cyprus so fascinating. Because their politicians ran out. Of money that is. Which is silly when you think about it. ’Cause it’s just paper. Unless of course, you don’t have a printing press. And no European politician does. Because Germans are haunted by their past; Germany’s past is d

“The reason the UK isn’t polar is the Gulf Stream,” he said, on a dreary, drizzling London evening. In mid-March. While any other city at 51.5 degrees latitude was freezing. Frozen. “Imagine if anything were to disrupt that flow.” And a tribe of shivering, kilted Scotsmen, with ice-cold stones, flashed through my mind. “Well, it feels like something’s changing,” said the CIO, one of Britain’s coolest cats, a saber-to

You get the Pope App? Me too. Yeah, I just love conclaves. Making odds. Placing bets. Then letting divine intervention guide the hand of fate. Of course, it always feels better to bet when you got more upside than down. So naturally I bet there’s a God, and we’re created in His image. I always bet people never change. And that human behavior repeats in endless cycles. Take Brazilian’s. Inflation’s rising again. Growt

Hope all goes well. “How’s the weather there?” asked my buddy. So I explained spring arrived in Santa Barbara. You see, I planted an acorn and it just sprouted. “Good news mate, well, here in London my PM’s are all sun-bathing,” he continued. “The Yen move put sunshine in an otherwise grey sky.” But being both British and one of the City’s top CIO’s he’s not quite conditioned to bask in the rays. “The more relaxed th

A simple poem sits, framed on my desk. Called the Road Not Taken. It’s a Robert Frost masterpiece. Dad gave it to me back in 1996. A year later I ditched Credit Suisse’s shiny Canary Wharf tower. For a shack in the French Alps. To climb mountains. And knowing how way leads on to way, doubted if I should ever go back. Naturally, I didn’t. Which is not to say that was a great call. Or the most lucrative one. In fact, I

Week-in-Review: Mon: China property cooling measures (Shanghai -3.7% — worst in 2yrs), Spain unemploy 23.8% (23.5% prev), EU invest sentiment drops, PPI +0.6% (core +0.2%), UK construction PMI 46.8 (Oct ’09 low), Fitch “Positive” on California, S&P +0.4%; Tue: China services PMI 52.1 (2mth low), China NPC targets (GDP 7.5%, CPI 3.5%, deficit 2%, foreign trade 8%, money supply 13%) – Shanghai +2.3%, India se