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Hope all goes well… “All further migration from mainly Muslim countries should be stopped,” was the statement published by Chatham House, a prominent London-based independent think tank, before Trump announced his Muslim ban. 10,000 Europeans responded to the poll as follows: EU Total (55% agree with the statement, 20% disagree, the balance neither agreed nor disagreed), Belgium (64% agree, 15% disagree), Greece 58%

Hope all goes well… “You know how I’m really nice?” asked Charlie (7) at the dinner table. And we all smiled, never knowing what comes next with this kid. After all, I called him Osama bin Charlie for the first time when he was three and it stuck for good reason. “Seriously, you have no idea? Go ahead, take a guess,” he taunted, a little irritated. We all shrugged. “Well, when I get out on that lacrosse field, I’m no

Hope all goes well… “Buy elections,” bellowed Biggie Too. “Sell inaugurations,” continued the chief global strategist for one of those too-big-to-fail affairs. “That was one pretty market meme, everyone was singing the same tune.” The Dow flashed 20,000. “But pretty ain’t money,” whispered Too, winking. “On my latest US tour, they kept asking, ‘Yo Biggie, when this damn thing gonna go pop?’” He pursed his lips. “When

Hope all goes well… Spent the weekend in NYC, and stumbled upon the biggest political march in its history. “Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Donald Trump has got to go!” rippled through the crowd, dotted in pink pussy hats. “No Trump, No KKK, No Racist USA,” they cried. A soundwave of outrage. “Tell me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!” echoed on and on. And swallowed by the scene – unlike anything I’ve e

Hope all goes well… “Total fiasco, utter circus!” cried the CIO. “KGB videos, golden showers, kompromat, and his temper tantrum over that CNN reporter,” he continued, breathless. “Single worst press conference for a world leader in history. The $2bln Dubai deal. That random pile of manila folders. The dopey lawyer. Gimmicks, conspiracies, rambling bluster. We didn’t learn a single thing about policy. For the sake of

Week-in-Review (expressed in YoY terms): Mon: New Year’s Day (observed), S&P closed; Tue: German CPI surges +1.0 to +1.7% (3yr high), German 6% unemployment steady at 30yr low, Ford scraps plans to build $1.6bln Mexican factory citing Trump, Congress withdraws bill to eviscerate Ethics Committee after Trump tweet, Trump tweet threatens GM with import duties on Mexican-made cars, US credit card write-offs hit reco

Hope all goes well… “Never short markets that are rising for reasons unknown,” said Yoda, high in the Rockies. “And don’t buy markets that are falling without explanation,” he continued, looking out across open landscape, snowfields shrouding the jagged terrain in mystery. “There is no more powerful force than the unknown.” Our seven-year equity rally has lacked a story to ignite imaginations, passions. Caution has p

Hope all goes well… Snuck up to The White Mountains. To get a little altitude, read a couple books, and ski some New Hampshire Blue with Mara and the kiddies. “I can’t ski this, I can’t slide this, you must be freakin’ joking here, I’m gonna die!” screamed Teddy, 20 yards above me on the trail, frozen atop a solid blue waterfall, perfectly placed in the middle of an intermediate trail. “You think he’ll really die?” w

Hope all goes well… Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. To you and your families. Resurrected this opening from my note on Christmas day 2013… “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. Warmin

Hope all goes well… “No one has real risk on,” said the CIO, dizzy. “We’ve all been through the laundromat.” Equity long/short managers owned all the wrong stocks. And held the wrong shorts. “We got tumbled.” But they’re not selling their darlings like Facebook, Google, and Amazon. In fact, they love those stocks even more at these prices. “The reflation names we were short we now want to buy.” Financials, infrastruc