ShareIf you have been wondering whether a statistical recovery is at hand, today’s ISM manufacturing report should be the clincher.  The report was definitely bullish with the ISM index rising to 55.7 and sub-components supporting the understanding that the manufacturing sector is expanding. This is quite a contrast to last month’s weak data and demonstrates [...]

ShareThis is a guest post from our newest contributor, Charles D. Bull.
Greetings Writedowners,
Ed has gone to bed already. This is Charles D. Bull speaking.
You know, my wife told me yesterday that the local shopping area already has the Christmas tree up and is all geared up to drum up holiday season sales.  Shoppers were [...]

ShareEvery time I hear the word ‘bureaucrat’ used to make a point for or against government’s role in the economy, I cringe. I see this label as unfair and dehumanizing.
I grew up in Washington , D.C. where my parents and their friends rose through the ranks of government, often to the very managerial positions which [...]

ShareThis contribution from Daniel Berger is a letter to Michael Smerconish in response to a commentary Smerconish wrote on 10 May 2009 in the Philadelphia Inquirer “Head Strong: Did Hollywood inspire the meltdown men?” A shorter version of Berger’s piece appeared at New Deal 2.0 in July.
Given my recent two posts on greed (“More on [...]

That was the title of an e-mail I received from my bank today. Here is what the e-mail looked like:

ShareBack in February, I asked you if we were experiencing a recession or depression.  A plurality said it was a depression with a small ’d.’ I agreed and went on to explain why. Since then, things have changed and we seem to be on the verge of what I call a technical recovery (or a [...]

ShareIn a BBC Two interview, former Fed chief Alan Greenspan waxed fatalistic, saying that another financial crisis is inevitable due to animal spirits.  In his view, booms and busts are endogenous to the capitalist system, crises being the outcome of long periods of prosperity. I agree with this assessment. But, it is surprising to hear [...]

ShareYou have heard me use the phrase “liquidity is seeking return” to describe the increase in the price of riskier assets due to monetary stimulus. The Bloomberg News video clip below points to an increase in lending for buyers of riskier loans like high yield and mortgage bonds.

The blurb below from the associated article at [...]

ShareAs I mentioned earlier this week, I am actually on a two-week holiday in Simcoe County, Ontario, just 90 minutes north of Toronto.  We went to the Elmvale Jungle Zoo, an amazing place that has a huge variety of animals. It is really a remarkable zoo which I recommend highly.
Just near the end of our [...]

ShareWe’re not really hard wired for making money in the markets. We use a lot of gut instincts, heuristics and plain illogic in making decisions.  The result is sub-optimal investment performance. This is the nothing new as the field of behavioral economics has really moved to the forefront of academia with Daniel Kanheman receiving the [...]