Monthly Archives: May 2011

God Bless Mark Haines

Posted on May 25, 2011 by macromon

The news of Mark Haines hits us square in the gut.  We’ve been watching the guy almost everyday since the mid-1990’s.  The old Squawk with Haines, Kernen, and Faber was something else.  Remember how he would play up Kernen’s vanity,  … Continue reading →

Posted in General Interest, Video | Tagged | Leave a comment

The New Economic Stimulus: Default on Your Mortgage?

Posted on May 24, 2011 by macromon

Jim Cramer had an “Eureka Moment” on his  show last night: When 17 million people cease paying their mortgages… and that’s if everybody does… you have 17 million people losing the biggest monthly payments they have to make, totally at … Continue reading →

Posted in Apple, Bonds, Economics, Housing | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

All Major Global Equity Markets Close Below Their 50-day M.A.

Posted on May 23, 2011 by macromon

What a difference a trading day makes.   As of Friday’s close only seven of the fourteen major global indices that we track were below their 50-day moving averages.  As of today, they all are.  The S&P500,  Dow (just barely),  Nasdaq,  … Continue reading →

Posted in Equities, Global Stock Performance | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Did the Gold/Silver Ratio Signal Risk Off?

Posted on May 23, 2011 by macromon

Many have written about the gold/silver ratio as a leading indicator of risk and equity appetite (see here and here) so we won’t take your time explaining the relationship.   We do point out in our chart the speculative blow … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Charts, Equities, Global Stock Performance, Gold | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Chart of the Day: PIIGS Retirement Age and Vacation Days

Posted on May 22, 2011 by macromon

Lots of push back to Angela Merkel’s “lazy Southern Europe” speech.   Here are a few interesting charts refuting the German chancellor’s notions which we found posted on Der Spiegel’s website.    (click here if charts are not observable)

Posted in Euro, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Week in Review: The Power of Zero v. Macro Swans

Posted on May 22, 2011 by macromon

After a week where several major equity indices bounced off key moving averages only to close weak on fears of the  Euro/sovereign debt McSwan,  next week will be a another big test  for the markets.  Last week’s lows are very … Continue reading →

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The Weekend Read: Judgement Day

Posted on May 20, 2011 by macromon

Five months ago, a government change in Spain’s Catalonia region revealed a budget deficit more than twice as big as previously reported. Now, a growing chorus of economists, local politicians and business leaders say that new governments are likely to … Continue reading →

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Merkel Hammers Greece on Retirement Age and Vacation

Posted on May 19, 2011 by macromon

The European election cycle is kicking into high gear as the German chancellor had some tough words for Greece,  Spain, and Portugal.  Spiegel ONLINE reports, “It is also important that people in countries like Greece, Spain and Portugal are not … Continue reading →

Posted in Euro, PIIGS, Politics, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The New (La)Garde at the IMF?

Posted on May 19, 2011 by macromon

That’s our bet.    Also check out the WashPost piece, Why Christine Lagarde should run the IMF.    (click here if video is not observable)

Posted in General Interest, PIIGS, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk, Video | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day: SecTreas Gets It

Posted on May 19, 2011 by macromon

There is no way of knowing how long financial markets will give the American political system to get ahead of this [fiscal/sovereign debt] problem.  But it makes no sense for us to wait until they force action upon us.   … Continue reading →

Posted in Quote of the Day, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , | Leave a comment