players

As a kid I’d gaze up at airplanes and wish I could be in one looking down; wondered how small I musta looked. Careful what you wish for, eh? Nowadays I always grab the window and peer down. Greater NY, seething with endless miles of streets, towers and traffic, boasts 19.1mm dreamers. The LA sprawl quietly creeps up the hills, pressing its luck, as 12.9mm bake in its smog. They’re the top 2 US cities; population 32mm

Off to the Windy City, warm intros always appreciated. Overall: The BOJ hinted at aggressive ease but then merely tinkered and this along with the Fed’s recent modest moves left traders wondering if these guys are almost out of Red Bull. S&P’s finished their worst August in 9yrs -4.7%. The calendar flipped, US ISM surged, and the boys got caught with their beachballs deep underwater. Stocks rocketed as less-bad n

The BOJ hinted at aggressive ease but then merely tinkered and this along with the Fed’s recent modest moves left traders wondering if these guys are almost out of Red Bull. S&P’s finished their worst August in 9yrs -4.7%. The calendar flipped, US ISM surged, and the boys got caught with their beachballs deep underwater. Stocks rocketed as less-bad news crawled out of shadows – world equities gained $1.2trln on t

Data flow was just horrible. Home sales plunge by a record, taking the US back to ’93 levels. Ireland’s downgrade spooked investors, CDS for peripheral EU rose by 5-10% (Portugal CDS 330bps, Ireland 325, Italy 227, Greece 921, and Spain 244). Morgan Stanley said a Gov’t default is likely but didn’t name names (desperate clients pay high fees – why upset ‘em). Asian numbers showed ongoing deceleration. Japan jawboned

Mara texted me, “u leave me, I’ll kill ya”. Kinda late, I’d just landed at JFK. She says that every time a friend gets divorced. I got that text once last yr and 3x this mth. All young families, very sad indeed. The recent 3 involve job loss in real estate & retail. Year 3 of the Global Financial Crisis is taking it’s toll. Savings are exhausted, depression’s setting in. For those employed, life is fine. For the

Hope all goes well. Met with lots of good folks in the Lone Star and Empire States. I had a better wk than our portfolio did. Declines in risk assets and USD strength hurt. We’ve been hoping for some weakness to buy and it often hurts on the way in. Overall: Data flow was just horrible. Home sales plunge by a record, taking the US back to ’93 levels. Ireland’s downgrade spooked investors, CDS for peripheral EU rose b

Data flow reinforced bearish arguments that as global stimulus fades, developed economies will double dip. A shocking deceleration in Japanese GDP combined with poor Empire State, Philly Fed and unemployment claims data in the US sent strategists scrambling to send their gloomy missives. Global yields continued to collapse, 30yr US inflation breakevens hit 1.9%, Dollar rallied and yet Gold managed to gain 1%. Key cen

Hope all goes well. Off to NY this wk, summer just wouldn’t be summer without a sweaty ride on a 4 Train and a boozy bonfire in South Hampton. Overall: Data flow reinforced bearish arguments that as global stimulus fades, developed economies will double dip. A shocking deceleration in Japanese GDP combined with poor Empire State, Philly Fed and unemployment claims data in the US sent strategists scrambling to send th

Mortgage broker called me with a deal. Said he’d lend me money at 4.35% for 30yrs. “The government is driving rates lower and now’s the time to refinance”, he said. Told him I had a 25yr mortgage, which gave him pause cause most of us who bought in ’05 are squatting these days. Anyhow, let him finish his pitch which amounted to calling me a donkey unless I took his deal. Not my kinda sale, but didn’t want to be a Jac