Since there is a great deal of political commentary in this letter, I would like to remind my readers that the purpose of the Risk & Opportunity newsletter is to consider systemic and structural issues, including social and political as well as economic issues from the perspective of their impact on markets and investments. It […]
The purpose of this letter is to review the big picture in terms of risk and take an initial look at some developing areas in terms of long term opportunity. Risk Overview In the short and intermediate term it appears that markets have settled down and that we may have some stability for a period […]
Policy makers in the West, particularly in the U.S., no longer think of their constituents as “citizens.” Rather they are “consumers.” This point was imbedded in my consciousness in the days immediately after 9/11 when President Bush’s advice to the people of New York was to “get out there and shop.” Of course the intent […]
The first phase of the bear market is over and pundits are scrambling for indications that the recession is over and recovery is underway. But the pundits, for the most part, are ignoring the obvious – there are still major distortions in most sectors of our economy that have not been corrected. Also, global trade […]
As anyone who has been paying attention can tell you, current opportunities in traditional investments are less than inspiring. While conditions in the near term are likely to improve somewhat over what we have seen for the last two years, that still leaves a lot to be desired. For an excellent review of the current […]