Archive for September 2011
French Banking Crisis – Steps Needed to Stabilize the System
George Soros recently made an excellent point in an interview with Spiegel that the origin of the euro crisis was when Angela Merkel stated bailout support would be granted from each EU member state individually, and not by the European Union. He goes on to highlight that this approach shattered a vision of an EU that…
Read MoreGoogle Acquires Zagat & Early Signs of a Strong Q3
Google announced on its Google Blog, that they have finalized a deal to acquire restaurant reviewing company Zagat. The company was founded in 1979, and grew over time as more cities and restaurants have been added to the network. Zagat has also been adding venues such as hotels, bars, shopping centers and others in recent…
Read MoreObama’s American Jobs Act Speech – Implications for Markets
The S&P 500 futures were about unchanged heading into his speech and at last glance they were down 3 points – but this may be due to the 9/11 anniversary terror threat announcement more so than anything said in the speech. I come away moderately encouraged by Obama’s speech tonight. He stated at the outset…
Read MoreCharles Evans Dual Mandate Responsibilities Speech – Goes Too Far
Yesterday, Charles Evans who is the ninth president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and a voting member on the FOMC, gave a speech at the European Economics and Financial Center in London. This speech goes too far with starting to push the Fed towards more stimulus as the returns from additional stimulus diminish.…
Read MoreInvesting In Europe – Now the Risk/Reward Is Attractive
Yesterday, I reviewed the reasons why the Eurozone as a monetary union is a flawed construct and why the implications for a breakup are disastrous. I believe this is so much the case, that the odds of a Eurozone unwind are actually quite low. The breakup option is really the self-immolation option as all parties…
Read MoreEurozone Breakup – Implications for Financial Markets are Disastrous
Over Labor Day weekend we saw an unfortunate breakdown in Europe’s approach, strategy, and near-term ability to avoid a financial crisis. In the Mecklenburg Western Pomerian state (along the coast of the Baltic Sea), Germans voted against the Christian Democratic Union which is a repudiation of Angela Merkel’s support and commitment to the Eurozone. I’ll…
Read MoreChanel, Gaspard Ulliel, Scorsese, and The Rolling Stones: The Awesome Power of Global Brands
One theme I have been highlighting is the value that exists in the developed European corporate sector which of course gets ignored as fears of a crisis escalate. Chanel having the ability to get Martin Scorsese to direct an advertisement with French actor, Gaspard Ulliel, with vintage Rolling Stones (“She Said Yeah – December’s Children…
Read MoreWhy Can’t We Create Jobs?
I’ve been holding a constructive view on the economy and markets for a number of reasons. The economy isn’t as soft as has been presented and market valuations are extremely low for a non-recessionary environment (if that is indeed the environment we are in). Today’s Employment Report was downright ugly. Being constructive, I could search…
Read MoreRetail Chain Sales Very Strong – No Recession
It was particularly impressive that sales in August were not only strong for retailers that sell lots of food and consumer products (which benefited from the buying panic pre-Irene) but that they were broadly strong. While the food and broadline retailers should have benefited from some buying “pull-forward” before the storm, other retailers such as…
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