Gridlock : Echoes of 2008

The US political stand-off will weigh on sentiment. The S&P 500 index fell over 3.5% in two trading sessions in response to Obama’s election victory. Primarily, this is due to concern that the stand-off between Democrats and Republicans threatens to send the US into another recession if a compromise cannot be reached over a l...

All to play for!

Come back on St. Legers Day

St. Legers Day fell on 15th September this year and is the day on when those of a superstitious nature may supposedly return with confidence.  Anyone who’s been “away” since 1st May could hardly fail to notice the FTSE 100 chart climbing merrily upwards and accelerating through 5,900.  To be fair, this is on...

Don’t panic!

It’s far from over but the time to panic was some time ago. If, like us, you enjoy reading the investment opinions of market participants ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous then you’ll know 2012 is already a vintage year.  Readers of the financial media are offered up a daily smorgasbord of views about how to g...

Three little PIGS

This little piggy went to Merkel, this little piggy stayed in Rome

This little piggy had a huge beef, this little piggy just loaned
And this little piggy was a naughty little piggy

And went “oui oui oui” all the way home…

(Found written on the back of a newspaper by a member of the TAM ...

Mind the gap!

“You know, this deal makes things worse not better. A hundred billion is put up for the Spanish banking system, and 20% per cent of that money has to come from Italy. And under the deal the Italians have to lend to the Spanish banks at 3% per cent but to get that money they have to borrow on the markets at 7% per cent. It’s...

Politicians staring into the abyss

“Man looks in the abyss, there's nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss.” Lou Mannheim (Bud Fox’s boss) played by Hal Holbrook in the film Wall Street (1987). In weekend elections, France has elected a new president, François Holland...

We are all in a crisis!

The Myth of Sisyphus

Pushing the Rock of Consensus up the Hill - the Myth of Sisyphus

“Man's futile search for meaning, unity, and clarity in the face of an unintelligible world devoid of God and eternal truths or values.”

One might be forgiven for thinking that there’s nothing to get too excited about ...

Are the Permabears Starting to Defrost?

Are the Permabears Starting to Defrost?
The last three years have been beset with issues of gravitas.  A banking System that neared collapse in 2008 and the ensuing economic decline pushed the financial world to the brink.  It is unsurprising that against this background many believed that this was Armageddon for the i...

MMT

Théorie souvent ignorée. Le Bureau International du Travail (BIT) vient de publier un rapport qui donne à réfléchir sur la crise croissante dans les marchés mondiaux du travail. Nous avons commencé l'année avec 1,1 milliard de personnes - soit une personne sur trois dans la po...

Minsky

Hypothèses de l’instabilité financière.Nous parlons souvent de Keynes mais s’il y a un économiste qui est devenu populaire après la crise financière actuelle, c’est bien Minsky. Paul Krugman, editorialiste du New York Times et Nobel d’économie a recommandé ...

All That Glistens Is Not Gold