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Hope all goes well. Great to flip the calendar. Too often, guys pile into their favorite trades in the first 2wks of Jan only to puke ‘em out by the 31st, so kept mostly to the sidelines, pricing structures and laying in wait. Keepin’ powder dry. Overall: Politicians, central bankers, strategists and portfolio mgrs announced New Year’s resolutions. Obama resolved to end his love affair with the left and snuggle

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

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

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

Hope all goes well. Looks like bears are suddenly nervous about getting coal in their stockings. We got some early gifts, hit $500mm aum this mth. So I’m off to NY, thanking investors and interviewing recruits. Overall: 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 d

Had a couple quiet days up in Northern CA with Mara, the kiddies and some good friends and family. Sadly, the rest of the planet didn’t hit their pause buttons too. Tensions in Korea added to the panic in peripheral Europe and traders continued to liquidate risk assets and flock to the US Dollar. Weekly Close: S&P 500 -.9% and VIX +4.2 to 22.2. Nikkei +.2%, Shanghai -.6%, Euro Stoxx -1.1%, and Bovespa -3.8%. USD

Hope all goes well. Taking off this weekend and next from w/e notes to spend time with Mara and the kiddies and recharge batteries over Thanksgiving. I read my kids Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales and found myself reading equally frightening stories at work this wk. A few new missives about Chinese rate hikes ending the world made the rounds (of course they’re written by white guys imprisoned in NY/London towers), so I ca

Hope all goes well. Busy wk, lots of visitors and jumpy mkts. Been fortunate to have low risk, gives us ammo to re-load as mkts puke. You never buy the low, or sell the high so getting in tends to hurt a bit. Overall: German Fin Min Schaeuble spoke plainly, “America’s growth model is stuck in a deep crisis, has lived beyond its means for too long, its financial sector is disproportionately inflated and its industrial

Hope all goes well. What a fascinating week. Spent it here in CA watching mkts obsess over elections, printing presses and employment reports. Overall: Global power continues to shift. Dilma Rousseff, former Marxist guerilla and now Brazil’s first female President, spoke with Obama and discussed US unemployment. She called to end “Currency Wars”, pledged fiscal conservatism – S&P/Fitch will consider an upgr