The stock market rallied throughout most of yesterday’s trading session, then stumbled into the close. This pattern has become unnervingly familiar of late.
November 6th, 2009 | Eric J. Fry | 1 comment | ContinuedArchive for Eric J. Fry
Eric J. Fry has been a specialist in international equities since the early 1980s. He was a professional portfolio manager for more than 10 years, specializing in international investment strategies and short- selling. Mr. Fry launched the sometimes-abrasive, mostly entertaining and always insightful Rude Awakening.
Crude Oil Becoming Much Harder to Find
And, yeah, I guess we need SOME crude oil, cause our Priuses cannot ALWAYS run on electricity. So I guess its fine to use crude oil if we have to, as long as we can obtain the oil in an ecologically friendly way…
November 5th, 2009 | Eric J. Fry | 4 comments | Continued
The Growing Pile of Cash On Corporate Balance Sheets
“Cash is the financial equivalent of a big, soft pillow,” Chris continues. “It helps you sleep better at night. After the credit crisis turned small balance sheet leaks into lethal holes…
November 4th, 2009 | Eric J. Fry | 0 comments | Continued
Investors Rushed to Bid Up the Shares of WFC
Yesterday morning, Wells Fargo posted a cosmetically pleasing profit of $3.2 billion, or double the tally from the same quarter last year.
October 23rd, 2009 | Eric J. Fry | 0 comments | Continued
Pension Plans are Selling Stocks
The principal is actually very simple: pension plans behave like long- term momentum investors. So they tend to buy into rising markets…until after those markets have peaked and begun a major decline.
October 16th, 2009 | Eric J. Fry | 2 comments | ContinuedCredit Default Swap Market Says Avoid Merrill Lynch & Pulte and Buy Brazil
After several years of robust economic growth, the Brazilian economy has all- but-erased its reputation as an economic basket-case. Gone are the memories of chronic corruption and crippling devaluations. The once-pathetic Brazilian currency is now a paragon of strength and respectability – so much so that Brazilians prefer their “reis” to U.S. dollars.
Meanwhile, in the [...]
Commercial Paper: Structured investment vehicles struggling due to mortgage backed securities
A-B-C-P may be the four most influential letters in today’s financial environment. The fate of those four letters over the next few weeks will determine the fate of the US stock market and the US dollar. The wellbeing of the entire US economy might also hang in the balance. At least that’s our guess…and that’s [...]
October 29th, 2007 | Eric J. Fry | 1 comment | ContinuedU.S. Fed Bailout Corroding Capitalism and the U.S. Dollar
Welcome to Fed’s “Bail-Out Nation.”
America, the Land of the Free, is quickly becoming the “Land of the Freebie,” especially for members of the millionaire corporate elite who make multi-billion dollar mistakes… with someone else’s money. This unfortunate state of affairs is jeopardizing the dollar’s value, as well as its hard-won reserve-currency status.
Once upon a time, [...]
Commercial Paper Market Could Lose US$500B by Thanksgiving
Bad economic booms tend to produce bad results…like runaway indebtedness and a plummeting currency. Do you happen to know of any large Western economy with these characteristics?
Sometimes, the difference between a good boom and a bad boom is very subtle and subjective. A “bad boom,” for example, might simply be a good boom that you [...]
Yen Carry Trade Meltdown Could Cause Yen to Soar
Is the stock market scaring you? Buy yen.
If the connection between falling stocks markets and a rising yen confuses you, don’t be dismayed. You have a lot of company. But the connection is not as confusing or sophisticated as it might seem. The “yen carry trade,” as it is known, only seems complicated. But it’s [...]

