“Wouldn’t you say the Japan experience resembles what’s happening all over the world?” asked the Scandinavian. Global interest rate and growth forecasts have been too high for seven years. “Are we consistently unlucky, or doing something systematically wrong?” continued the CIO. “And during this time, stimulus continually increased; we cut rates lower than forecast, printed money faster, and expanded global debts.” M

“When there’s a situation of high indebtedness, when inflation is very low, the burden of servicing the debt increases and that’s very detrimental to the economy,” warned Vitor Constancio, ECB vice-president, sitting beside Mario. “Policy accommodations must be re-examined in December,” followed Draghi, removing what little uncertainty remained that the Italian will lower interest rates below -0.20%, increase the pac

Hope all goes well… “August was a trap,” said Roadrunner, looking left and right. “Almost a mirage,” continued the market’s biggest equity volatility trader. “But something tells me it was like Bear Stearns in the summer of 2007.” Having sold vol heavily into the August panic, he’s just now reversing his book. “Buying some vol here, small though, we haven’t seen the capitulation.” VIX calls still trade at large premi

Hope all goes well… “So you must tell me, are all of them real?” asked the Dane. “Yoda, Roadrunner, Bulldog, all the others, every one of them, they’re real,” I answered, flattered he might think so many lively characters could swirl within one imagination. “Then I guess, the true question becomes what is real?” he said, playing. I smiled, “Indeed, that’s the most interesting question of all.” Overall: “In key areas

“I tell the bad boys to leave my little sister alone,” read the caption. The photograph, two young girls, orphaned street-dwellers, somewhere in Syria. I wandered through Fotografiska, a Stockholm gallery, embarking on my Nordic whirlwind. “Twenty-five thousand, and more come each day,” said the sympathetic statistician in Copenhagen, “In three years, just thirteen percent will find work; we pay for the rest of their

“In key areas of the country, the situation is still very fragile, and in some areas there is risk of deterioration,” said Obama, announcing his plan to extend our presence. The Taliban celebrated the one-year anniversary of Afghanistan’s presidential inauguration by taking Kunduz. Despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered, cave men retook the city they lost in 2001, released prisoners, slaughtered collaborators, then

Hope all goes well… “Healthcare tanks, some names fall 40%,” said the CIO, breathless. “Materials and energy rip higher,” he continued. “You’re short emerging markets, long developed markets, your whole book is upside down.” Everything that could go wrong is. “It has to wash its way through the market, which pushes others to cover.” People question themselves, their Fed view, China, commodities, the dollar. “Some gro

“Experience is helpful, and often an impediment,” he said, just back from Silicon Valley, electrified. “We have very few good businesses in our industry. But those guys out there, they have good businesses.” Uber, Google, Facebook, Palantir; turning grey matter into green paper. He started his firm decades ago, when the entrenched hedge funds looked at investing from the top down. He looked at it from the bottom up.

“Russian missiles land in Iran en route to Syria, says unidentified American,” hollered the headline. Which is as frameable as it is huggable. You see, in a world filled with enigmas, we find comfort in cruise missiles. Because we generally know why they’re launched. We certainly know what they do. And depending on where they land, we almost always know what to sell. Or buy. Oil rallied 8.7%, leading a broad surge in

Out came the fluffer; an enthusiastic economist, frantically arousing the crowded room, bursting with limp Nikkei bulls. “One arrow can be broken,” he cried, snapping a single imaginary shaft with his hands. “Two arrows can be broken,” he teased, breaking them over his knee. “But three arrows?” taunted the economist, unable to break the bundle of arrows, no matter how hard he struggled. We sat, unstirred. You see, th