We caught up with an old friend from the United States last night. He was last in Australia in 2001. He couldn’t believe how expensive things in Australia had become. Even taking the massive swing in exchange rates into account, on a one-for-one basis the price difference is huge.
February 10th, 2012 | Greg Canavan | 9 comments | ContinuedArchive for Greg Canavan
Greg Canavan is the editor of Sound Money, Sound Investments, a financial report devoted to unearthing great value investments amid today's "money illusion" of fiat currency. For a free trial of Greg's service, go to Sound Money, Sound Investments.
Health, Wealth and Stealth Inflation in the Great Food Swindle
Today’s Daily Reckoning will deal with health and wealth – in equal measure (with a dose of inflation thrown in). Having good health, especially as you get older, is a form of enrichment so there’s symmetry between it and your wealth. And if you’ve been to a doctor / specialist / hospital recently, you’ll know maintaining your health is not cheap.
February 3rd, 2012 | Greg Canavan | 3 comments | Continued
Why the Latest Global Manufacturing Data Is Not Good, Just Less Worse
Global markets finished up strongly overnight on the release of ‘strong’ global manufacturing data. Why do we think this is a bear market rally? We’ll get to that in a moment. First, let’s take a quick look at the bear’s recent work.
February 2nd, 2012 | Greg Canavan | 2 comments | Continued
Currency Wars
The currency wars are heating up. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve boss Ben Bernanke promised speculators he would keep interest rates low until 2014.
January 27th, 2012 | Greg Canavan | 1 comment | Continued
Sit Tight With The Bull Market: An Investing Lesson From The Great Bear of Wall Street
The book, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefèvre immortalised Jesse Livermore’s exploits. I have never read it so I can’t be sure the following quote is even from that book. But wherever it comes from, it might be the most wise advice you’ll ever read about how to handle a bull market.
January 26th, 2012 | Greg Canavan | 3 comments | Continued
Why Low Interest Rates are Bad for the Economy
A year ago, the RBA and the horde of market economists who hang on its every word expected interest rates to be higher by now. Even as late as September 2011 the RBA was sitting on its hands, unsure which way to move.
January 20th, 2012 | Greg Canavan | 4 comments | Continued
Introducing Mr Mario Draghi… Europe’s Incredible Economic Saviour
Mario Draghi, new ECB boss who completed his monetary apprenticeship at Goldman Sachs, has conjured up a sneaky way to print money while giving the impression he’s doing nothing of the sort.
January 19th, 2012 | Greg Canavan | 1 comment | Continued
The Next Bubble in China’s Economy
We’ve battled this argument before, so we apologise if we repeat ourselves. But it needs to be said because the mainstream media continues to talk gibberish about China’s economy. This is the argument: a falling inflation rate in China allows the authorities to ease monetary policy to avert a hard landing.
January 13th, 2012 | Greg Canavan | 4 comments | Continued
Caught In A Greek Debt Trap
Over the past few months, the banks that originally held the Greek debt have sold much of it to specialised hedge funds. The whole agreement about taking a ‘voluntary’ 50 per cent write down on the value of the debt is now in question. The hedge funds don’t want a bar of it.
January 12th, 2012 | Greg Canavan | 2 comments | Continued
Why a Wish for Credit Demand Won’t Make It So
You can’t solve a problem if you don’t understand the cause. The 40-year boom in credit, which came to a shuddering halt in 2007/08, caused the current global economic malaise. It is the elephant in the room that few want to discuss.
January 6th, 2012 | Greg Canavan | 4 comments | Continued
The China Effect on the Australian Economy
Note to the market: The Eurozone crisis hasn’t gone anywhere. The US and Iran are facing off in the Straits of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil supply route. And China’s economic slowdown has only just got underway.
January 5th, 2012 | Greg Canavan | 2 comments | Continued
And So This Is Christmas…
So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
When Banks Borrow Themselves Into Oblivion
In years gone by it was a real embarrassment for a bank to go cap in hand to its central bank to borrow funds. It was a sign of weakness. Clearly that’s not the case anymore, not in Europe anyway.
December 22nd, 2011 | Greg Canavan | 11 comments | Continued
The Brave New World of Debt Deleveraging
The 40-year expansion of credit – the debt supercycle – is over. Its passing means you must re-think how economics and markets ‘work’. Of course economics and the market will still work in the same way they always have. They simply reflect billions of individual decisions made on a daily basis.
December 22nd, 2011 | Greg Canavan | 2 comments | Continued
Shadow Banking and The Golden Pyramid
Yesterday in our article about gold’s price going down we discussed gold and the shadow banking system. Today we’ll explain how it all fits together and what it means for the markets and your investments.
December 16th, 2011 | Greg Canavan | 2 comments | Continued
