Christine Lagarde will replace Mario Draghi come the end of his term. Of course, the IMF has not been entirely supportive of Draghi’s policies. But she is predominantly a lawyer and does not have the experience in how markets function (reliable internal sources). She has no idea of what she is walking into. The ECB […]

There are only a handful of people throughout history who I admire and wish I could have shaken their hand. Thomas Jefferson was one of them. The Fourth of July is all about the signing of the Declaration of Independence which Jefferson authored. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created […]

QUESTION: You said the “crash is in the debt markets”. Can you please explain how that will evolve? Liz M. ANSWER: Once upon a time before 1971, there used to be a difference between debt and cash. Government bonds were not acceptable for collateral. You could not borrow against them. You had to liquidate them. […]

Civil unrest is continuing to rise in Hong Kong after crowds of mask and helmet wearing demonstrators fled the area to escape hundreds of riot police firing tear gas. The entire issue has arisen from Lam’s government pushing legislation that would allow extraditions to China, a move that alarmed locals and multinational companies. The clashes […]

COMMENT: Marty, the winter of 2018 has been the coldest ever. We lost so many heads of cattle here in Montana, I have never seen it this bad in my lifetime. These people preaching global warming belog in prison. JH REPLY: The federal Livestock Indemnity Program paid out $11.1 million for the loss of 37,352 […]

QUESTION: Martin: You have occasionally made short-quick comments that have made me loose sleep ! One of your past comments quipped that we equity/bond investors should entertain the idea of having the actual certificates to our stock/bond investments (which are typically digital entries held at brokerage houses) mailed directly to us instead of having them […]

ASIA / AUSTRALIA: The G20 is set up to be interesting, as the US negotiators describe Chinese officials tone as negative. Tomorrow, the two heads of states are due to meet. President Trump was a bit more optimistic stating, “At a minimum, it will be productive,” referring to his meeting tomorrow with Chinese President Xi. […]

Austria was able to sell its second 100-year bond in history at just a yield of just over 1.00%. Some argue that capital has been forced to buy anything that has a yield which the ECB has been forcing negative interest rates. Why would anyone in their right mind buy a 100-year bond for 1%? […]

COMMENT: I was just reading your post, Universal Basic Income, and I feel the need to respond. I have always worked, always found whatever work I could. I have worked on market stalls and also on installation of Active Directory in a government institution. I managed to graduate with honours from uni. I am now […]

The Fed meeting this week has triggered a turn in the dollar as US rates dipped on the 10-year to their lowest since Trump took office. As a result, the greenback is the weakest among the majors for the week thus far as we should expect for a decline near-term. Although there has been an […]