When it comes to retirement planning, there’s no shortage of conventional wisdom, even if there is a shortage of actual savings. But often what passes for wisdom amounts to little more than wishful …

“Global” is part of our company name, and we take it seriously. This week two members of our investment team are in Hong Kong for a CLSA conference, another is just back from …

Speaking to a crowd of mostly labor allies, President Obama unveiled a new federal infrastructure plan and a new line of attack against Republicans at a Labor Day rally Monday in Wisconsin, signaling …

I have long since given up the belief that our government officials and financial regulators will demand real transparency and full disclosure in the pursuit of unquestioned integrity across our economic landscape. …

Since I started publishing Financial Armageddon in late-2006, I’ve often railed against the incompetence and tomfoolery of highly-paid Wall Street “strategists” (note the double quotes). Many of these so-called experts are clueless data-regurgitators …

In a move to celebrate its distinction as America’s “Glass City,” the Toledo Museum of Art recently erected a $30 million Glass Pavilion made of 360 glass panels weighing over 1,300 pounds each.
The …

I’ve highlighted news and other reports indicating that conditions on Main Street are far worse than your average Wall Streeter believes they are. Interestingly enough, even those who are ostensibly benefiting from the bullish-Kool-Aid-induced euphoria …

This  piece from the Financial Times is about a month old; just have not had time to get around to writing the entry it deserves.  It is a pretty comprehensive piece, and I always find …

This week we look at some particularly strong second quarter GDP numbers out from emerging markets Brazil and India, as well as one lucky developed market, Australia. Then we review the PMI results from the …

I’ve done a number of interviews on gold recently and the number one question I get most from reporters is—can gold prices go higher?
My answer is yes.

Short-term, “record gold prices” are a bit of …

Nonfarm payrolls retreated by a net 54,000 last month (seasonally adjusted) and the unemployment rate ticked up to 9.6% from 9.5% in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this morning. The payroll …

Wall Street surged on Wednesday to close a day in which investment markets were up from open to close.  The Dow Jones gained more than 2.54 percent (254.75 points) to capture one of …

Jobless claims fell slightly last week, dropping by 6,000. That’s good news. The trouble is that we’re still at an elevated 472,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis. One data point doesn’t say much, …

ADP private sector employment is always reported the Wednesday before the Friday where U.S. government employment data is released.   Since it varies from what the government reports relatively substantially it is …

I have informed more people than I care to count that I do not believe we are going to have an economic double dip. Am I turning positive on the economy? Do I …

There’s been plenty of bleak news coming out of the equity markets and the U.S. economy as a whole. Are there opportunities hidden within that bad news? Are we now in one of …

On Tuesday, I was on CCTV News’ Dialogue program, talking about the implications of China surpassing Japan to become the world’s 2nd largest economy.  Martin Jacques, author of When China Rules the World, was …

The very problematic Q2 GDP revision downward from 2.4% to 1.6% is receiving an identical reaction to weekly claims yesterday.  The estimates / expectation had been so lowballed that anything north of …

I’ve often made fun of the so-called smart money. Among other things, many of those who hold themselves out to be experts on financial matters failed to see the financial crisis coming and …

Hopefully, our morning course only served to further whet your appetite for more financial wisdom from this economic giant. Having already dined on market structures, the world of Wall Street, and assorted …

Today’s update on new filings for unemployment benefits brings a reprieve from last week’s disturbing surge in new claims. For the moment, we can breathe a sigh of relief. But while the trend …

In an effort to blunt China’s growing influence in the region, American officials are looking to develop stronger ties with Asian-Pacific nations. Unfortunately, they are attempting to do so through increased …

US durable goods orders rose 0.3% m/m in July from a revised -0.1% m/m in June, on consensus expectations of +3.0%.  Durable goods ex-transportation fell -3.8% m/m in July from a revised +0.2% …

Although many factors helped bring about the worst financial crisis this century, perhaps the most underappreciated was the widespread reliance on bad assumptions.
Many people took it for granted that what had happened many …

Both the president and vice president in recent days have effusively praised General Motors for its resurgence, a sign of American resiliency and evidence of the effectiveness of the stimulus package. But …

Back in February and March on this blog I spelled out and provided supporting evidence why we would see very bad housing numbers by the time the July data came out… and here …