On December 5th 2011, S&P warned the Europeans to get their divided house in order. Almost nothing constructive or helpful to solve Europe’s debt problem has happened since then. On Friday the 13th January 2012, Standard and Poor’s cut the credit ratings of nine European countries. S&P’s biggest scalp was France.
January 16th, 2012 | Dan Denning | 0 comments | ContinuedArchive for Dan Denning
Dan Denning is the author of 2005's best-selling The Bull Hunter (John Wiley & Sons). He began his financial publishing career in 1997 and has covered financial markets form Baltimore, Paris, London and, beginning in 2005 Melbourne. He’s the editor of The Daily Reckoning Australia and the Publisher of Port Phillip Publishing.
The False Feedback Loop for Australian Stocks
Well maybe the great revival has begun after all! Australian stocks were up 1.1% yesterday and they’re off and running again today. What gives?
January 11th, 2012 | Dan Denning | 0 comments | Continued
China’s Export Growth is Growing Old
China’s central planners are acting as if they can push on the accelerator (more bank lending) to promote more export growth. They are also trying to encourage more domestic consumption, while watching inflation carefully. It seems like a tricky balancing act.
January 10th, 2012 | Dan Denning | 0 comments | Continued
Europe’s Flawed Financial Transactions Tax (FTT)
Europe’s Financial Transactions Tax (FTT) may disincentivise financial transactions by adding to their marginal cost. But as long as the supply of credit and cheap money to the banking system remains abundant, the banks have an open invitation to speculate.
January 10th, 2012 | Dan Denning | 3 comments | Continued
US Military Power and The “After America” Blowback for Australia
The United States government has decided it can no longer afford to fight two land wars at the same time. Australians interested in what the next twenty years of gradually weaker US military power will look like ought to have a read.
January 9th, 2012 | Dan Denning | 8 comments | Continued
Australia Forgets the Little People
How about that? Contrary to our gloomy disposition yesterday, the stock market has taken off like a rocket this morning. The material sector is up 2.9% today alone. It was the worst performing sector in Australia on the ASX in 2011, down 25% thanks to lower commodity prices.
January 4th, 2012 | Dan Denning | 7 comments | Continued
The Bear Dines Out
Needless to say, watching (and feeling) your money being eaten alive by a multi-year bear market is not pleasant. In fact it’s the kind of experience that might prompt you to make a change by, say, selling your shares and giving up on the market once and for all.
January 3rd, 2012 | Dan Denning | 2 comments | Continued
The Daily Reckoning’s Best of 2011
Happy New Year!
Normal Reckonings resume Tuesday, January 3rd. To tide you over, we’re continuing a tradition we started last year. We reflect on some of the more colourful predictions of 2011. What follows is a selection of musings from Dan Denning, Bill Bonner and the DR team.
January 1st, 2012 | Dan Denning | 0 comments | Continued
Should Banks and Government Merge to Become One?
There was a problem we promised to solve on Monday. To refresh your memory, the problem is that both banks and governments need money. Governments borrow from banks. But because government finances are so terminally bad in Europe, government bonds are destabilising the capital structure of the banking system.
December 21st, 2011 | Dan Denning | 3 comments | Continued
Will 2012 Be The Return of Gold Stocks?
The fact that gold producers are paying a dividend on gold stocks is worth exploring. First, it means gold producers have cash flow. Now whether or not the best use of free cash flow is to return it to shareholders instead of pouring it into new exploration is for the punters to decide. But the fact is, gold is set to finish higher for the 11th straight year.
December 21st, 2011 | Dan Denning | 5 comments | Continued
Is There Hope for a Santa Rally?
From Slipstream Trader Murray Dawes:
“The US markets had a huge rally overnight on the back of some fudged housing figures. Whether this is the beginning of the Santa rally remains to be seen.”
Is China on the Prowl for Australia’s Natural Resources?
Australia has plenty of: resources. Of course you knew that already. But what you may not have known is that Australia’s government is devising plans on how to protect Australia’s natural resources from a hostile takeover. Presumably from countries like… China. And we’re not talking about share market action.
December 20th, 2011 | Dan Denning | 2 comments | Continued
How the Banking Crisis Affects the Real Economy
What Australia has – commodity wealth – is strategically important. But what it doesn’t have – capital – is economically urgent.
The banking crisis will mean small Aussie businesses may start to feel the crunch of Europe’s credit crisis in 2012.
December 19th, 2011 | Dan Denning | 5 comments | Continued
Why Invest in Energy Resources?
The Raw Materials of Civilisation…
Before we get stuck into the glaring omission in the government’s assessment of Australia’s energy resources – energy could be the single-best investment sector of 2012 – a reminder: today is Wednesday. You know what that means!
December 14th, 2011 | Dan Denning | 4 comments | Continued
The Liquid Assets You Can No Longer Bank On
There are no more risk-free liquid assets in the market. Maybe there never were. But it’s one of those sacred cows that has never been gored before. It is now (gored, in painfully slow fashion). The dirty little secret of the bankrupt Welfare State is out: government bonds are just another liability.
December 13th, 2011 | Dan Denning | 4 comments | Continued
