As we stated in our recently released newsletter, one of the areas of focus for us is the availability of credit (along with employment and valuations). There have been many articles over the past week commenting on the lack of available credit to small businesses. It is worth noting that most of the job creation in this country comes from small business, not large multinational corporations. One item that continues to garner more attention is that banks are hoarding cash. …

Read More...

One of the foremost analysts on the relationship between the US and China is Zachary Karabell and he has a telling new book on the symbiotic relationship that has developed recently. In short he outlines how there has been a development of a G2 where the US and China are now intertwined and dependent on each other creating a single unit that accounts for a quarter of the world’s population and a third of its GDP. …

Read More...

That is the question (of the moment at least). The headlines over the past few months have been dominated by the weakness in the US dollar. One needs to look to our friends up north where the loonie (the Canadian dollar) is closing in on parity and across the pond where the euro hit $1.50. All the while the DXY (the US dollar index measured against a basket of foreign currencies) is down just 7.18% this year. So this is not necessarily the rout we have been hearing about; however, the actions of our policy makers and our growing deficits …

Read More...

This is one of our favorite saying in the office, especially when it comes to trimming winning positions. Below I have compiled a list of 10 trends that hopefully won’t grow to the sky. Stay tuned! {TJM}

Trend Cannot Continue I
In September, the total number of people employed stood at 131 million, slightly below the level from 2000. The CBO predicts Federal receipts this year will be $2.1 trillion, only 4% higher than the total levied nine years ago. Outlays of $3.5 trillion; however, will be almost double the $1.8 trillion spent at the start of a decade. (Source: The Financial …

Read More...

If you listen to CNBC for any short period of time you will hear one of the “gurus” speak to how there is a wall of cash on the sidelines waiting to get into the market that will eventually drive the market higher. When there is a dearth of positive economic or corporate news and the stock market rallies this is often the reason behind the divergence. But is this actually the case? …

Read More...