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Showing posts from April, 2011

Keep talking, Ben: US Dollar update

Listening to the Flamin' Groovies as the dollar burns. $USDX Thu Apr 28 14:06:14 via web David Shvartsman FinanceTrends This is what's going down. Here's the weekly chart on the dollar index: Wouldn't be surprised to see a new low on the index shortly, followed by a consolidation period and a months-long rally in the USDX. That seems to be the pattern, anyway, over the last several years. We'll be watching.

New music on Trader Rock

New stuff on Trader Rock , the full-time rock n' roll jukebox: I've posted some new music and documentaries for your listening and viewing pleasure. New jukebox selections from David Bowie, Kate Bush, OMD, Joy Division, The Move, The Smiths, Suede and more are featured in our latest posts. You can also take advantage of continuous play rock with the Trader Rock YouTube playlists ; all our hits are compiled in sequential order for non-stop rock n' roll fun. Perfect for those who want to rock out at night, or while you work (researching, trading, etc.) at your desk!  Enjoy, and check out our links section for more great music blogs & online radio resources.

Wealthtrack interview with James Grant

Grant's Interest Rate Observer founder, Jim Grant sits down with Consuelo Mack for an interview on WealthTrack . Topics include: the rising cost of living and commodities, the US dollar's decline, and the Federal Reserve's targets for "desired inflation". See what Grant has to say about all this, and more, in this discussion. By the way, I don't think anyone who caught Grant's interview or Michael Burry's recent talk on America's financial condition was surprised by S&P's recent warning on America's AAA debt rating. Only the timing of the outlook revision might have come as a surprise, and even that may have been telegraphed to market participants earlier. Related articles and posts : 1. Jim Grant and John Hathaway chat with Charlie Rose . 2. Jim Grant's latest interview with King World News . 3. Lew Rockwell and Jim Grant discuss Austrian economics, gold standard .

Michael Burry talks "Big Short", America's future at Vanderbilt

Michael Burry , the Scion Capital founder and subprime speculator profiled in Michael Lewis', The Big Short , talks to Vanderbilt students about his now-famous subprime CDS short trade and the perils of America's financial future in this video lecture . Last week on Twitter, I retweeted DDI's notes on Michael Burry's talk , which gave rise to hopes that video of this talk might soon be available. Indeed, that video is now here and it has been making the rounds over the last few days. Be sure to check DDI's post for comments from the Q&A (Burry's thoughts on farmland and capitalist innovation in Silicon Valley) that might have been edited out (?) of this video. Burry's talk adheres to a script early on, but as he warms up near the second half of this presentation on the causes of the housing collapse and the financial crisis, the vibe is a bit more loose and the information presented is excellent throughout. Watching this clip, I get the feeling that we

Interview with futures trader, Peter Brandt

Mercenary Trader has been posting segments of an in-depth interview with Peter Brandt, trader and author of the recently published, Diary of a Professional Commodity Trader . As I recently started reading Brandt's new book (which I'll try to review in the near future), and have been following him on StockTwits, I'm interested to hear more of his thoughts on trading and risk management. You can check out the first few sections of MT's interview with Peter Brandt here at Peter's site, and check in with either blog for the forthcoming final part.

Update on the S&P 500 $SPX

This SPX daily chart should serve as an update to our February post, which highlighted a new weekly high in the S&P 500 . Since that time, we've seen some chop in the stock market as the SPX worked below, and back above, the magic line around 1,311. We saw an 85+ point rally off the March low near 1,250 on the S&P and have since sold off from the rally highs in early April. Here's an updated view of the weekly S&P 500 chart: As we enter the 1st quarter earnings season, I'd like to highlight two posts from Joe Fahmy and Olivier Tischendorf on the current state of the market. As you'll note from their updates, neither trader is in a mood to put on new positions here. Rather, they remain in a patient "wait and see" mode as they gauge the strength of this market. Check out their thoughts in the links above.

What will historians say about us?

Great quote from Umair Haque : I have a hunch. The puzzled historians of the 23rd century will say: "Why did they let sociopaths, crooks, and narcissists run their world?" Thu Apr 07 16:48:22 via TweetDeck umair haque umairh

Hedgeye on government shutdown

Must read note from Keith McCullough at Hedgeye on the government shutdown : "Finally, we’re here. This week we’re finally going to see US Professional Politicians face the door that’s closing on their conflicted and compromised careers of debt-financed-deficit-spending. This isn’t the time to give into their fear-mongering. This is going to open he door for a generational opportunity in America. This is great news. On Friday, the stop-gap bill to keep the US Government open for business expires. With $14,272,778,776,442 in US Debt + another $55,800,000,000,000 in unfunded Medicare and Medicaid liabilities, I say shut these politicians down. The biggest risk to America today isn’t what’s happening in the Middle East or Japan – it’s the 112th Congress..." Keith just linked to this Monday research note on Twitter and I had to post it here. Hope you'll take a moment to read it and pass it along.

Michael Steinhardt talks Buffett, America with CNBC

Legendary hedge fund manager, Michael Steinhardt has a few things on his mind and he shares them readily in this interview with CNBC . A few highlights from Steinhardt's chat with the CNBC crew:  Hedge fund management is not the elite business it once was. Managers today content with low double digit returns, versus emphasis on true performance and 25%-40% annual returns in Steinhardt's days.    Asked if he could repeat his performance today, Michael demurs, "I don't know". He notes that magnitude of funds involved in hedge funds is much larger today. Emphasis has shifted to making money off a large asset base, as opposed to performing for your investors.   You don't have to do what everyone else is doing. You do need to understand the way in which your perspective is different than the world's (your edge). Steinhardt is concerned about savers (old folks and retirees) getting shafted by near zero interest rates and inflation. This is a terri

Finviz 1 month futures performance chart

Keeping it short and sweet. Here's a chart snapped earlier today, showing the 1 month relative performance view for futures tracked by Finviz .  Natural gas, silver, and live cattle lead the gainers column. Cocoa, Nikkei, and orange juice futures put in the worst performance over the past month.  Looking over the full chart, it seems that livestock and energy (crude oil, nat. gas) had a pretty good month, while softs (orange juice, sugar, coffee), metals, and grains tended to be laggards in March.  Who knows what April will bring? One thing's certain, we'll be watching.