As if there wasn’t enough evidence of how ridiculous the regulatory environment has gotten, the below WSJ article describes how the Federal Reserve won’t share their formulas for the stress tests.  This process is so complicated and there is so much information that it is virtually impossible for any one formula to be right, but...Read More

While 2012 has been quite a good year for investors long the market, it has really been the market climbing a “wall or worry,” as opposed to real enthusiasm of the economy or the business environment.  The worst thing one can do is now pile in because they feel they need to catch up, having...Read More

Today was a bad day for oil as prices dropped 4.1%. This isn’t much of a surprise considering the slowing Chinese economy, that likely has seen a substantial over-build in fixed assets. If it weren’t for multiple currencies printing money at very high rates, I’d be much less bullish on oil, and I believe on...Read More

Robert Rodriguez is a pragmatic portfolio manager willing to take a deep look at the future implications of decisions such as QE3.  While it is clear that there aren’t a lot of good options out there, the ramifications over the long-term can be quite severe.  The biggest issue that I see is that the Federal...Read More

This was an excellent interview with Richard Perry of Perry Capital where he comments on how recapitalizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could contribute to an economic recovery.  He rightly points out how there has been no effort to recoup taxpayer money on these entities while the Treasury’s other investments have actually worked out quite...Read More

We have talked about the vulnerability of the Australian economy due to its exposure to heavy mining materials before, as we expect Chinese demand to slow down.  There are significant issues with the Australian economy due to over-inflated housing prices, and an extremely strong currency which crimps exports.  The decade long mining boom has propelled...Read More

Further evidence that the economy is weakening can be seen as Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK/A) rental furniture unit saw a slowing of demand from business clients in the second quarter.  Businesses are reluctant to invest in growth because of a lack of confidence in the overall economy.  While the Federal Reserve has been extremely loose, the...Read More

I think this is a very intelligent article written by Dick Bove of Rochdale Securities.  In the article he argues that the best way to stimulate the economy would be to take off the handcuffs that Dodd-Frank has put on the banks.  Because various types of consumer loans have higher capital requirements and risk weightings,...Read More

Provisions for loan losses in Spain continue to rise deepening the financial problems in the European economy.  Unlike in the United States many of these banks haven’t raised the necessary capital but instead merged with other larger banks.  The EU needs to have mechanisms in place to recapitalize the banks and stimulate growth. If banks...Read More

In a very average economic climate the European banks put out excellent numbers this week.  I was particularly impressed by Barclays and Santander’s respective performances.  It seems like Barclays investment banking operations are starting to perform better, and Santander’s Latin American operations are still thriving.  Santander could be a compelling investment at these levels.  As...Read More