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Wow man, it’s hard to know what to think. Don’t ya think? Syria’s pencil-necked dictator’s blasting women and children with chemicals. So say Israeli’s. Hagel says so too. And Assad sent the NY Times pictures of bearded Al Qaeda rebels, warning American’s to be careful what we wish for. Naturally, I just wish we’d all shave and make up. I also wish we weren’t so easily manipulated. But alas, we’re human. Anyhow, Merk

“Rodrigo Sanchez, Ashley Ramirez, Destiny Suarez…” announced our elementary school Principal. You see 35 Latino students graduated from ESL (English as 2nd language) classes. The proud 8yr olds climbed the stage. Their working-poor parents beamed golden smiles. Another step on their thousand-mile march to the American dream. My son Teddy took the stage too. A mathematics award. But in Boston, an 8yr old child lay sti

“Boiled pumpkin,” hollered the chubby Korean kid. All alone. From a far corner of the sandbox. “My nuclear strikes will annihilate America’s vast territories,” continued the brat, as his doting Chinese parents bowed their heads in shame. “South Korea’s a rat,” he screamed, ignorantly. You see, everyone knows Seoul’s no small rodent. Nope, that Asian Tiger’s become a slow sloth (GDP

“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

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

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

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

See the signs brother? Yeah me too. Everything’s connected. Pope Benedict is 85. Retiring early. Hasn’t happened since 1294, when his Holiness, Celestine the 5th, was Pope for 5mths and 8days – then hit the bid. His successor, Boniface the 8th, immediately placed humble Celestine in prison – where he promptly died. Went to heaven, and was canonized as a Saint – for that early exit. While Boniface clung to

Not a single soul in the room could read the statement with a straight face. But practice makes perfect. So they kept trying. And drinking spiked punch. Late into the Moscow night. Of course, Japanese can’t hold their liquor. And Tokyo’s feather-weight finance minister soon found himself legless. Oh, how the crowd laughed as they egged him on. “C’mon you little Aso, read it one more time,” they chortled. And try he w