Dilbert on Merger Mania
Scott Adams is wise.
Fear The Boom and Bust
E-boy battle: Hayek v. Keynes
The first of a series by Econstories.tv. Looking forward to more stuff like this.
December’s Plunge In Existing Home Sales
Home sales often dip in December, but 2009′s finish was especially nasty. The first-time homebuyer credit was scheduled to expire at the end of November (almost nobody believed that was gonna happen). That explains some of the drop — as demand was pulled forward — but 16% is ugly no matter how you spin it.
Here’s the NAR’s spin-job for any who are interested. I honestly feel for them, tasked with finding the silver lining in this dismal RE market.
Chart via Rolfe Winkler.
Who is Jim Rogers?
Love this video snapshot of Jim Rogers. Starts with a quick biography, then rolls to a best-of recent commentary.
Interviewer: It’s 1973, you’re 30 years old and you start co-managing Quantum fund with George Soros. Over the next 10 years it goes up 4,200%. You both become legends on Wall St. So why do you think you managed to get it so right, so often?
Towards the end he mentions the bubble in Treasuries. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Anyone know if he’s actually short t-bonds yet?
I owned TBT (ultrashort 20-yr T-bond fund) briefly last year. Haven’t decided on whether it’s time to get back in yet. I strongly suspect the Fed will announce QE 2.0 this Spring, after their current programs expire and sh*t hits the fan (mortgage rates and foreclosures spike). But who knows? With our newly populist-pandering President, it should make for an interesting year, to say the least.
