The Desidooru SaloonThe Desidooru SaloonThe Desidooru Saloon is a blog from us editors over at The Daily Reckoning. Not being technically savy, it has taken us a while to get into this crazy blogosphere. But, we figure this is a good way to have a more open and organic dialogue that reader Articles
iPhone Index looks awful
2008-06-10 15:46:00 One of the hazards of blogging is something I experienced practicing daily journalism: The need to "feed the beast" pretty well assures that the level of quality will not be a rock-solid consistent affair. With that in mind, allow me to correct my casual and ill-considered remark yesterday that the iPhone Index is, against all ... More About: Iphone , Awful
Beyond the Monday headlines
2008-06-09 15:55:00 Never mind the morning's headlines. Yes, the nationwide average gas price has topped $4.00 and the most powerful man in America who no one's ever heard of is floating some sort of global financial regulatory scheme in which the Fed calls most of the shots. (Evidently Mr. Geithner missed the memo that America ... More About: Monday , Headlines
Touching naivete
2008-06-06 15:36:00 The naivete of Washington's chosen puppets in Baghdad is touching, just touching. "Iraq i officials say that, last year, they wanted to diversify their holdings out of the dollar, as it depreciated, into other assets, such as the euro, more likely to hold their value," reports Patrick Cockburn of London's Independent. "This was vetoed by the ...
?Silent spring? already setting in
2008-06-04 16:03:00 I have to admit when Byron King made his "silent spring" prediction last month — a severe curtailment in air travel as early as next spring because of fuel prices, including an estimate that 70% of U.S. airports are at risk of losing commercial passenger service — I was a bit skeptical. This morning, ... More About: Spring , Silent
Just what is Soros getting at?
2008-06-03 16:16:00 Good lord, haven't we already had enough preening and posturing by clueless lawmakers over the alleged "manipulation" of the oil markets? But we're not done yet. The Senate Commerce Committee hears today from none other than George Soros , who, according to the Financial Times, will "tell US lawmakers that 'a bubble in the ...
The ugly Americans
2008-06-02 15:37:00 In the mad rush to blame speculators for high oil prices, our solons in Washington have inadvertently revealed a U.S.-centric, 20th century mindset. I'm sure Sens. Carl Levin and Dianne Feinstein think they're enlightened types, far beyond any sort of "ugly American" mentality. But that's exactly what they betray with their notion of closing the "London ... More About: Americans , Ugly , Headline News , The Ugly
Blame the speculators, continued
2008-05-30 17:28:00 The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has launched a witch hunt to slake the blood-thirst of Congresscritters and their constituents looking for someone to blame for high oil prices. A Wall Street Journal story describes the CFTC "expanding surveillance of energy markets" to counter "potential oil-market manipulation." The Journal notes that it's unusual for the CFTC ... More About: Headline News , Blame , Speculators
Oil exports down
2008-05-29 16:41:00 Could someone notify our clueless congresscritters? Fresh data from the U.S. Department of Energy show the amount of petroleum products shipped by the world's top oil exporters fell 2.5% last year, despite a 57% increase in prices, a trend that appears to be holding true this year as well. Maybe if they'd known this before hauling ... More About: Exports
Exit tax passes Congress
2008-05-28 16:04:00 The U.S. government is about to close off the last refuge for Americans who seek to escape the clutches of the IRS. Every year, a few hundred Americans take the fateful step of surrendering their U.S. citizenship to avoid paying U.S. taxes. Many of them already live abroad, and are subject to U.S. law which ... More About: Congress
Cooking the books: An update
2008-05-27 16:14:00 Slowly but surely, awareness is growing that government economic figures are being cooked. Constant readers will recall the ball got rolling with a Kevin Phillips piece in the May Harper's, and has since been addressed in the New York Times, CNNMoney, and the Christian Science Monitor, with varying degrees of honesty and accuracy. Now comes the San ... More About: Cooking , Books , Update , Headline News
An ominous map
2008-05-22 15:25:00 Look at a nationwide map of foreclosures, and you just might be looking at a hollowed-out future of exurban America. I alluded to this phenomenon a couple of days ago in musing over Sen. Obama's ill-considered remarks that implied giving the developing world effective veto power over American driving and dietary habits. The fact is ... More About: Headline News
The ?X? factor
2008-05-21 14:57:00 With oil reaching $130 today, Goldman Sachs forecasting $141 oil, and T. Boone Pickens calling $150, it's time to examine the one "X" factor that could quickly spike oil to $200. On May 9, retired CIA operative Philip Giraldi posted an item on the American Conservative magazine's blog: "There is considerable speculation and ... More About: X Factor , Headline News , Factor , X-Factor
Buried within the blather?
2008-05-19 17:21:00 I can't think of the last time an American politician has said something so utterly unconstructive — in large part because buried within the blather is a grain of truth. If you read Drudge or troll right-wing websites (or do I repeat myself?) you've seen it by now: Barack Obama speaking at a rally in ... More About: Headline News
Keeping tabs on inflation ? and perceptions
2008-05-19 16:43:00 Are people starting to catch on that government economic statistics are widely manipulated? After my post last week broaching this possibility, I just wanted to briefly keep score. As Bill Bonner noted in Friday's DR, USA Today was prompted to run a headline, "Inflation may be worse than the consumer price index shows." Alas, ... More About: Tabs , Headline News , Perceptions
Sell in May? Hold on?
2008-05-16 16:23:00 Is this the year gold breaks from its seasonal pattern and enjoys a summertime rally? Ed Bugos of Gold & Options Trader checks in from Vancouver: Gold could be ready to end the summer doldrums even before summer begins. The most relevant area of resistance in the way of this outlook is the 30-point range between $890 and ... More About: Sell , Headline News , Hold
CNN calls BS on BLS
2008-05-15 15:43:00 This is getting interesting. The proposition that the government is fudging the major economic figures is starting to go mainstream. The process began with the publication of an article called, "Numbers Racket: The Economy is Worse than We Know" in the May issue of Harper's, by Kevin Phillips — the former GOP strategist who took ... More About: Calls , Headline News
Fed vs. bubbles?
2008-05-14 16:29:00 There is no problem created by the Federal Reserve that the Fed can't make worse. As evidenced by the news today… The US Federal Reserve is reconsidering the way it deals with asset price bubbles in the wake of the housing and credit bust, in a move that could see the central bank using regulation – or ... More About: Headline News , Bubbles
Taking stock
2008-05-13 16:23:00 With oil prices pulling back this week, perhaps not unsurprisingly, from the psychological barrier of $125 a barrel, it's a good time to take stock of where we are and where we're going. Prices might well come down further today because according to the Financial Times, "Oil markets are adequately supplied, the International Energy ... More About: Stock , Headline News , Taking
NYT defends CPI
2008-05-08 23:45:00 Do you think the consumer price index understates the real cost of living? Well then, the New York Times says you buy into "conspiracy theories." I'm sure it just breaks your heart that the Gray Lady thinks so ill of you. But it is what it is: The newspaper that tried to convince you Saddam Hussein ... More About: Headline News
Discounters? delight, wind power takes off, and why Trichet should watch hi
2008-05-08 17:19:00 Miscellaneous reflections on a Thursday… Another great month for retailers — well, those named Wal-Mart and Costco anyway. April same-store sales beat analysts' expectations as folks seek out everyday low prices and/or stock up on larger quantities while making fewer shopping trips. Target, Gap, Victoria's Secret doing poorly in contrast. Surely James Howard Kunstler ... More About: Watch , Power , Wind , Wind power , Headline News
Ethanol upside
2008-05-07 16:09:00 OK, I've finally found the bright side to corn-based ethanol: The rising price of corn might drive a stake into the heart of a major cause of obesity in the United States. Dow Jones reports, "Rapid increases in high-fructose corn syrup prices will encourage a return to sugar usage in U.S. soft drinks and foods ... More About: Ethanol , Headline News , Upside
Rogue operation, where are you?
2008-05-05 19:36:00 Reading this Bloomberg story about the increasing demands being made on the Fed, I couldn't help but think of the theme song to the vintage TV series "Car 54, Where are You?" There's a hold up in the Bronx, Brooklyn's broken out in fights. There's a traffic jam in Harlem That's backed up to Jackson Heights. There's ... More About: Headline News , Operation , Rogue
Second thoughts on (corn-based) ethanol
2008-05-05 16:04:00 Lost in the meaningless bickering among the presidential candidates over suspending the federal gasoline tax is some genuine news: Rising food prices are prompting second thoughts about corn-based ethanol — even from the candidate representing the home state of Archer Daniels Midland: Democrat Barack Obama said Sunday the federal government might need to rethink its support for ... More About: Ethanol , Corn , Thoughts , Headline News
The Craigslist Misery Measurement
2008-05-02 16:30:00 I've found another informal but telling economic indicator to go along with the iPhone Index and the Roubini Ratio. And this one's grim stuff indeed. The Craigslist Misery Measurement emerged in an Associated Press story about people unloading prized possessions online: "At Craigslist, which has become a kind of online flea market for ... More About: Headline News
Hmmm?
2008-05-02 15:57:00 Macro trend story in the Financial Times: Speculation that the euro’s seven-year bull run was coming to an end intensified on Thursday as the single currency fell to five-week lows against the dollar and the pound. Many economists are reaching the view that eurozone growth has slowed to the point where the European Central Bank will have to cut interest ... More About: Headline News
Curious timing for a fateful act?
2008-05-01 15:46:00 On the fifth anniversary of the declaration of "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq, Iran has taken the same fateful financial step that by some accounts sealed the fate of Saddam Hussein. Iran, OPEC's second-largest producer, has stopped conducting oil transactions in U.S. dollars, a top Oil Ministry official said Wednesday, in a concerted attempt to reduce reliance on ... More About: Curious , Headline News , Timing
Housekeeping notes
2008-04-30 18:27:00 1. In case you missed it in yesterday's DR, Jim Rogers will be the keynote speaker at the Agora Financial Investment Symposium this July in Vancouver. The theme of this year's conference is "View from the Peak: Seeking Profits in a Time of Risk and Scarcity." Only a couple hundred spots remain. To see who ... More About: Notes , Housekeeping , Headline News
Morning miscellany
2008-04-30 16:11:00 Whether it's the flow of the news, or your friendly blogger's momentarily shortened attention span, we offer up a smorgasboard of brief items for your consideration today. Fed asserts new powers. "Banks, hedge funds and other financial institutions could find their investment strategies curtailed by the Federal Reserve to reduce the risk to the economy from asset bubbles, ... More About: Miscellany , Morning , Headline News
$200 oil going mainstream
2008-04-29 16:13:00 It's enough to set off one's contrarian radar. I mean, predictions of $200-a-barrel oil have been everywhere over the last week. CIBC analyst Jeff Rubin, with an eerily accurate track record of previous predictions, kicked it off last week with a forecast of $225 by 2012 (with $7 gasoline to match). "Whether we are ... More About: Headline News
Whither finance?
More articles from this author:2008-04-28 16:21:00 It took a sub-prime/credit/derivatives debacle to make it happen, but it's finally starting to dawn on some people that you can't build a whole economy on the practice of moving money around. "The role of finance in the economy is going to come down significantly in the coming years," Carlos Asilis, chief investment officer at New ... More About: Finance , Headline News 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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