Jack the Pipper

If you are like most of us average humans you likely expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to continue to hike rates as far as the eye can see. But, interestingly there is another view out there, as shocking as it may be; here it is, from News.com.au.

Are the themes and dreams starting to change? Can we hear the grinding wheels in the engine room of conversion flow?

There has been an interesting on again/off again correlation between gold and the euro. Lately, gold and the euro have been positively correlated, i.e. both moving higher against the US dollar.

China has been busy cracking down on anyone they suspect might contemplate re-enactment of the protests now playing out in the Middle East. The Thought Crime Division is working overtime, surely adding more points to the GDP.

Well, one day doesn’t usually qualify as a trend, but given the way Mr. Greenie has been hammered and all the nasty things others are saying about him, some deserved, some not, I am going to qualify a one-day move up as a rally.

Sometimes it feels good to blame the media for its ineptitude, irrelevance, or ill-informed views. But the problem may be with us and the sheer volume of useless “news” we’re willing to absorb.

I have a good friend named John who has a very poignant expression when things look bleak and markets rally, as soon as he gets short. He will say to me, ―Hey don’t worry. It’s all good,‖ sardonically making light of those making money on the long side when he (and I) think the market is staring into the abyss.

Linguists within our midst will recognize the word “no” in several languages. I of course headed straight to the internet for clarification.

You know the man – he is unrelenting in his quest to harness the power of the commodities “bull” and clearly passionate in his market predictions, not to mention ruggedly good-looking and charming.

Last week I summarized an excellent piece by Stephen King, not the scary one, the one that toils away as chief economist for HSBC; but then again, economists can be very scary in their own right.