The performance in the stock market year-to-date has been unusually strong, especially so given the weak economic conditions of the country and the world. Financial assets have risen while economic conditions have been stagnant. How long can this divergence continue? Financial Markets There is no way to provide a reasonable answer to that question. Stocks […]
The Federal Reserve is the enabler of Federal government’s profligacy. It plays this role by monetizing the debt, i.e., purchasing Treasury bonds that otherwise could not be sold, or at least not sold for the artificially low interest rates that currently prevail. Since the financial crisis, the Fed’s balance sheet has risen from $800 Billion […]
Economists have frequently used the Big Mac Index to compare prices in different countries as a marker regarding exchange rates. It is nearly the perfect product as it is available nearly everywhere and quality and portion-controlled tightly by McDonalds Corporation. It can also be used domestically as this quote from munKNEE demonstrates: The Big Mac Index […]
Tim Price offers some important observations in this article: Credit expansion, wrote the great Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises, is not a nostrum to make people happy. “The boom it engenders must inevitably lead to a debacle and unhappiness.” That seems a pretty accurate summary of the current situation for the western economies: a debacle, and […]
It is no secret that politicians prefer inflation over tax increases. Zerohedge explains why: If the authorities raise taxes explicitly and openly, voters know exactly why they have less spending power. They also know how much less spending power they have. But if the authorities instead raise money by simply printing it, they raise the revenue […]
Inflation, in a fiat currency world, is inevitable. It is not an economic inevitability but a political one. Politicians like to spend money and buy votes. They don’t like to raise taxes. A central bank makes it possible for them to have the best of all worlds, at least for a time. The US Fed, […]
These four links from yesterday’s Drudge Report say it all: JOBLESS… INFLATION… POVERTY… RECESSION… Five years into this mess and we are no closer to climbing out. Collapse of financial institutions was averted (temporarily?) by massive infusions of government and taxpayer funds but the economy has not budged. More and more people are beginning to […]
This video gives a wonderful overview of what is going on in the economy and in markets. Ty Andros and Gordon T. Long discuss our economic problem. A Must Watch! It is one of the best explanations of what lies ahead that I have heard. Regardless of who wins the election, this problem is insurmountable even […]
Finally, some people are coming out and questioning the actions of the Federal Reserve. Here is a comment from David Einhorn (my emboldening): Sometimes you have to look at what is the base assumption. because sometimes you have a groupthink around the base assumption and everybody agrees to the same thing and acts reflexively and […]
Any collection of the top anything is open to question. So it is with this post from Munknee.com. There are items that I would have excluded and others that I would have included. I might also quibble with the order, if it reflects order of importance. However, after these usual qualifications, the list below is […]
Suggested stops for the December rankings are provided below. These are mechanical calculations based on ETF volatility. As usual, the first column represents the price at the end of November and the second two columns represent possible stop levels. One is tighter than the other and whether you choose either or set your own is […]
The December rankings and performance of previous rankings are provided below. Suggested stop levels for each of the rankings will be provided in a separate post. December Selections
This update is based on market-close data as of November 22. Performance is based on beginning of that month’s rankings, assuming they were purchased and held for a full month. Stop placement or early selling would produce different results. So, too would different entry or exit prices. There is no way to account for early […]
The ranking of the 11 ETF Asset Classes routinely followed on this site is shown below. These rankings reflect the latest order produced by the algorithm used to rank individual ETFs. There have been some movements in these rankings reflecting recent market action.
The updated performance through November 13 is presented below. Additionally, the new rankings as of this same date are provided. Performance is based on the rankings as of November 1. The assumption is that you bought and held equal dollar amounts within a category and that you still hold these ETFs. If you entered at […]
Monty Pelerin's World discusses economic, political and financial issues from a free market perspective. All Posts
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