The bear is out there, my friends. But the market has been in a bullish mood for four weeks, and it will probably continue, despite today’s pullback. Will we have a 1-day pullback or a 1-week pullback? I don’t know.
However, the fact that investors are not as worried about stocks is really weighing on gold. Gold is a storehouse of value — where investors put their money when they’re scared. Now, they’re not scared, and gold …
Gold is going lower, as I predicted in my Friday column. How low? Stay tuned.
IN OTHER NEWS
I have an update on my MoneyandMarkets.com column, “Financial Terrorism and You. ” Lawrence Summers, Chairman of the President’s National Economic Council and one of the principal architects of the Wall Street bailout plan, raked in $2.7 million in speaking fees from companies now getting government bailouts. Conflict of interest, anybody?
If you read my MaM story, you’ll remember that Summers is a former Treasury Secretary. The lesson for current Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is that if you play nice with the banks, they’ll reward you with millions of speaking fees.
According to press reports, “Financial institutions including JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch paid Summers for speaking appearances in 2008. Fees ranged from $45,000 for a Nov. 12 Merrill Lynch appearance, to $135,000 for an April 16 visit to Goldman Sachs.”
What did this guy have to say that’s actually worth $135,000 for one appearance? Sounds like legalized graft to me.
Two other stories caught my eye …
California farms, vineyards in peril from warming, U.S. energy secretary warns
California’s farms and vineyards could vanish by the end of the century, and its major cities could be in jeopardy, if Americans do not act to slow the advance of global warming, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said Tuesday.
In a worst case, Chu said, up to 90% of the Sierra snowpack could disappear, all but eliminating a natural storage system for water vital to agriculture.
“I don’t think the American public has gripped in its gut what could happen,” he said. “We’re looking at a scenario where there’s no more agriculture in California.” And, he added, “I don’t actually see how they can keep their cities going” either.
To urban hunter, next meal is scampering by
The neighborhood outside is a wreck of ruined houses and weedy lots.
“Today people got no skill and things is getting worse,” he laments. “What people gonna do? They gonna eat each other up is what they gonna do.”
Detroit was once home to nearly 2 million people but has shrunk to a population of perhaps less than 900,000. It is estimated that a city the size of San Francisco could fit neatly within its empty lots. As nature abhors a vacuum, wildlife has moved in.
A beaver was spotted recently in the Detroit River. Wild fox skulk the 15th hole at the Palmer Park golf course. There is bald eagle, hawk and falcon that roam the city skies. Wild Turkeys roam the grasses. A coyote was snared two years ago roaming the Federal Court House downtown.
Related Posts
No related posts.
{ 3 trackbacks }
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Mr. Brodrick,
Your writing is so clear, and analysis so meaningful. For one who will never understand the “dismal science” it is a god-send. Thanks. I recently had these probably totally bizzare thoughts:
I am currently reading The Path Between the Seas…the story of the Panama Canal by David McCullough. During the “French period” of the Grand Dig, the engineers experienced massive and recurrent mud and debris slides back into the canal (or Cut) as they were feebly trying to progress. The deeper The Cut, the more slides there were and the more the slopes had to be widened and “shallowed out” to prevent further collapses. A simple engineering nightmare of Sisyphus insanity. Seeking an angle of repose that in its relentless “mono-sided” approach ensured absolute failure. The ultimate “chasing of the tail.” A continual slumping and caving in of the Canal dig, to the point where French engineers estimated that the width of the Canal would have to be ¾ of a mile to establish stability and needed standing. Dear Mr. Brodrick, my mind works in very strange ways (smile), but as I was reading these paragraphs, I was immediately thinking:
Is this not possibly the very simile for our current financial digging, stimulating, bailing and subsequent redigging? Are we fatally searching out a financial angle of repose in a manner that will only cause incessant sloughing of the foundational sides and bulwarks? How wide does the hole have to become before some brave mite shouts out, “we are creating a freekin cavern! Does about 15 trillion in National Debt subsequently qualify for unquestioned cavern and demise? Are we just continuing to dig, knowing things will just continue to cave, and simply hoping that the process will settle itself out, and the sides will eventually hold?
The French finally had to abandon their mess and go home. They had attempted a “sea level” canal which induced their Sisyphus totality. The Americans went to locks, which in essence backed each other up like a forever diligent “shortstop” and proved the key to success. What might be a valid plan for initiating “locks” into the financial chasm of the current world? Would this be very elucidating work for the G-20 to achieve? Would it first be very courageous and releasing for America and Europe to own up to the fact that they have been almost criminally pursuing a “sea level” financial canal for some inane time?
Of course, the yellow fever, in our own contemporary plot has been our illustrious polity and business leadership. Might we yet spray them like some languid and tepid mud hole? Gees, this is a bit mean-spirited. Thanks for listening. Curt
Not many people know what is being shared here. Thanks for sharing it with us.
I loved “The Path Between the Seas.” And you draw a great analogy to the financial straits we find ourselves in now.
best,
Sean
Great series of articles, Sean! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and insights with those of us trying to peer through the fog and truly understand what’s going on.
I like the way you did your analysis on Gold, but i completely disagree on the fact that gold is going down. Gold if you track along side s&p500 has been behaving inversely during this rally. S&P500 has more or less topped out, which means gold will resume its upside journey.
Moreover Gold held onto it’s valuable moving averages all through last week. This is another great indication that it is bound to go up from here. If i were to bet, i would say the risk/reward ratio for gold to go up is much stronger. Put it this way, market rallied 25%+. Gold dropped pretty hard during this time. Market is about to turn down south. Gold being in oversold zone, is bound to benefit from it.
What do you think?
Cheers
Jason
Thanks back at you, FxScalpermen
Your right there are great opportunities but paying for one isn’t the best
I’m so glad I found this site…Keep up the good work
very good post, I’m also looking for acai supplements. I found a lots of websites online.
There are also some review sites about acai berry tablet, are they true or not?
Anyway, I’ll try acai soon.
Great site…keep up the good work.
I read a lot of blogs on a daily basis and for the most part, people lack substance but, I just wanted to make a quick comment to say I’m glad I found your blog. Thanks, 
A definite great read.. <a href=”http://wiki.hudson-ci.org/display/~bill-bartmann”
-Bill-Bartmann
what a great site and informative posts, I will add a backlink and bookmark your site. Keep up the good work!
I‘m sure many of you are like me and one of the first things you do in the morning is head here and check out the new post. Along with seeing the new posts, I’m also always checking out the blog roll rss feed and watching them grow, or shrink sometimes. In one of my past …but all in all excellent site. Keep it up!