Baltimore (TFN): I cannot say with total certainty that duct tape has ever saved my life. But I can say it has saved the day on more than one occasion, like the time I fell feet first into a frigid river, roaring with the power of Alaska’s springtime snowmelt.
In the woods, you have to dry off fast or risk any number of calamities. Living in temperate rainforest, an emergency fire was a challenge. But thanks to duct tape’s inherent desire to burn, I was re-warmed in no time.
But my mundane s... Read Full Story
John Stepek (Money Week UK):
Deal making is back!
That was the general reaction from the press when US food giant Kraft launched its first bid for British confectioner Cadbury less than two months ago. Pundits spewed out potential target prices like bingo numbers – £8, no £10, no £12! – and analysts scribbled out scenarios involving white knights and rival bidders from across the globe.
Reality has been a little more disappointing. Despite attempts to talk up the deal, no rival bidder... Read Full Story
Chris Mayer (Penny Sleuth):
“If you can tell me something else where the fundamentals are so attractive…I’d be happy to put my money there,” said Jim Rogers, the famed investor and self-made billionaire in a recent interview. “But I don’t know of any other place.”
What’s he talking about? Today, we take a look and invest right alongside his idea. And it should start to pay off with the arrival of the first swallows of spring in 2010. It’s also timely now — in this weak-kneed economy — becau... Read Full Story
Baltimore — (TFN): How efficient are the markets? It is like asking how smart is the human race We all know the answer, but few of us are willing to suck in our pride and admit there are a few dim bulbs among us.
Judging by the sudden rise in fame of Levi Johnson or Balloon Boy’s antics, the human brain is far feebler than we give credit.
And so are the markets.
If you have taken a basic finance class anytime between 1965 and the present, you have likely studied Eugene Fama and his effi... Read Full Story
Up 9.5% over 12 months, the Liv-ex 100 Fine Wine Index (below) has clawed back some of last year’s losses, when the industry’s main benchmark index fell 14.6% in 2008. So should you be piling into the fine wine market?
Probably not. First off, new Asian buyers and a “whole pile of Johnny-come-lately types” are fuelling current demand. A six-litre bottle of Château Pétrus 1982 recently sold for a record £60,000 at auction in Hong Kong, a city where wine imports rose by ... Read Full Story
Bill Bonner (Daily Reckoning) – In 1949, the Soviets and the Allies divided Germany into two parts. One part followed a traditional capitalistic path to reconstruction. The other part took the socialist road. Remarkably, they kept this test going for 40 years.
Of course it was misery for many of the test subjects. People were so eager to get out of the East German control group, they risked their lives jumping over the barbed wire. Then, when the wall was down, the population of East Germany ... Read Full Story
Byron King, Whiskey and Gunpowder
Let’s review the big picture for gold. What’s going on? And what are people saying?
For much of 2009, gold traded in the range of low-mid $900 per ounce. There was a dip over the summer, with a strong upswing starting in September. Gold is now trading well over $1,000 per ounce, in fact just under $1,100.
Turns out that the government of India was buying gold in mid-October. Over a two-week span, the central bank of India bought 200 tonnes (metric tons) of go... Read Full Story
Baltimore (TFN):
What is wealth? It is a question all of us need to ask ourselves every so often. If not, we lose track of where we are heading and where we’ve been.
As you’re reading this, I am nowhere near my computer. In fact, I’m not even in the office today. I spent the last three days increasing my “wealth.”
We all have different definitions of the word. Some of us give it a strictly monetary connotation. There is nothing wrong with that. In its most straight-forward definition, wealth... Read Full Story
Taipan Daily’s Justice Litle review the current trends of gold, the U.S. Dollar and small caps.
Finding suprising strength in the dollar in the short term, he finds greater strength in gold and gold stocks for the long term.
Justice Litle, Editorial Director, Taipan Publishing Group
Gold, small caps and the U.S. dollar have had a stable three-way relationship for the better part of the 2009 rally. Now the three could be parting ways.
Dr. Marc Faber is one of the few market wise men who... Read Full Story
Baltimore-(TFN):Time to panic? If you are part of the Obama administration the answer is yes. If you are an American investor, hold off on the freaking out for at least another month or so.
With the nation’s unemployment rate officially in double-digit territory and the under-employed rate ready to the 20% mark, the politicians that promised bliss in the days ahead are eating their words today.
And that means Wall Street is eating its recent gains.
For nearly a month, the Dow has hovered arou... Read Full Story
