weekend notes

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 pu

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 – un

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 poli

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

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, pas

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

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

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.” Fi

Hope all goes well… “Monkey see, monkey do,” said the CIO to himself, picking something small from his buddy’s scalp. “I’ve never pretended to be anything other than what I am,” he mumbled. “That’s the only way to survive in this jungle,” he thought, grabbing a vine with his left foot. “What’s overbought today becomes more so tomorrow.” He paused, not sure what that even means, but enjoying the so