Had an unreal Christmas & New Years, hope you did too. Couldn’t help but keep a lazy eye on mkts. NY’s blizzard sealed the few surviving bears deep in their caves, not sure they even got news that China hiked rates, then again, with GDP close to 10% and negative real rates, what’s 25bps? The US economy looked perky, Chicago PMI hit 20yr highs and unemployment claims plunged. Merkel stated, “We must strengthen the

Hope all goes well. Most things went up in a year-end shortage trade. Stocks, corn & oil hit 2yr highs, copper hit an all-time high. CDS jumped everywhere, though naturally, the real squeeze was in swine flu protection (Greek CDS surged 93bps to 10.63% – so much for that bailout). But there were ample supplies of Dollars, Euro’s and Pounds (they fell versus everything); worries over printing presses, mounta

Most things went up in a year-end shortage trade. Stocks, corn & oil hit 2yr highs, copper hit an all-time high. CDS jumped everywhere, though naturally, the real squeeze was in swine flu protection (Greek CDS surged 93bps to 10.63% – so much for that bailout). But there were ample supplies of Dollars, Euro’s and Pounds (they fell versus everything); worries over printing presses, mountains of debt and ugly

Hope all goes well. Taking a break during Christmas/New Year to recharge. Hope you do the same. Been a helluva year. I wish you great success, happiness, and health in 2011. Eric Overall: US acted decisively, EU dithered, deficits rose and canaries sang away. Obama signed tax legislation increasing deficits by $858bln, “In some ways this was easier than the tougher choices we’re going to have to make next yr.” No dou

US acted decisively, EU dithered, deficits rose and canaries sang away. Obama signed tax legislation increasing deficits by $858bln, “In some ways this was easier than the tougher choices we’re going to have to make next yr.” No doubt he’s right. The EU agreed to a post-2013 “crisis tool” and made a statement that may mean something when translated to German or French, but means nothing in English: “Member States may

Thomas Edison wrote, “Opportunity is missed by most folks cause it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work.” I got some friends who went to fancy schools, took fancy jobs at fancy firms, then returned to run the family business. They do things that ain’t glamorous but they’ve done real well – I love guys like that. Nick makes junk mail for credit card banks. Employs 1,200 people, manufactured 1bln pieces this

Just days after Obama’s debt-reduction commission unveiled our new age of austerity, Bernanke announced on “60 Minutes” he’s prepared to print more money if the latest $600bln doesn’t do the trick. Then Barry made a DC compromise (aka every politician/lobbyist gets what they want), cutting taxes and raising deficits. Ben/Barry are tag-teaming the US’s lumbering giant of an economy, force-feeding it Red Bull using eve

Hope all goes well. Found myself shivering on the flight home from NYC, not sure if it was the 28 degree weather or the growing complacency that I encountered in 20 investor/trader/strategist meetings. Earlier this yr, most folks questioned whether policy makers had the will and/or tools to make mkts go up. No longer. Overall: Just days after Obama’s debt-reduction commission unveiled our new age of austerity, Bernan

The boys, all dressed up like Ebenezer Scrooge, started Christmas season by cruelly punishing the impoverished Irish and their poor Southern cousins. Oh how they screamed “Bah Humbug!” selling bonds despite an enormous E85bln Irish bailout. But we know how the story goes, the Ghost of Christmas Past arrived on Wed and showed those neurotic bears how soulless they’d become. The ghost whisked ‘em to China where PMI sur

Spent Thanksgiving with family & friends on a farm, real crowded and real American. My buddy Mike gladly slept on the floor, and it made me love him more cause most guys in his spot take themselves so seriously. You see Mike’s one of Stanford’s youngest tenured professors, the Saudi King gave him a $25mm research grant, VC’s seek his blessing, start-ups want his guidance, and govt’s fly him all over the world to