“No one who is currently working in the investment advisory or asset management business will ever say the things I am about to say,” writes Josh Brown in the opening lines of Backstage Wall Street, his exposé of the Wall Street brokerage machine. Brown may be pushing it when he says “There is no such person...Read More
Another week goes by without a resolution to the fiscal cliff crisis, but to adapt a line from Dr. Strangelove, investors have learned to stop worrying and love the cliff. Statements from the White House and the House of Representatives have stopped moving the market, and investors have gotten back to their usual routine of fretting...Read More
I like the occasional cigar after a hard week at the office, though I can hardly call myself a connoisseur. And I’ve always been impressed by experienced smokers who can smoke their cigars down to a perfect ash without it crumbling off and landing in their laps. I’ve seen ash still perfectly intact at 2-3 inches....Read More
All subcultures have their rites of passage. Marine recruits have basic training. Fraternity boys have hazing. And macro traders have the Japan short. It seems that you’re not part of the club until you’ve lost money shorting Japan bonds or, more recently, the yen. You’ll do it for all the right reasons, of course. We all...Read More
Last week I chatted with David Hays about the political crisis in Egypt and what it means for the United States and Israel, the infamous fiscal cliff, the nuts and bolts about how Fed stimulus works, Harry Dent and the Mad Hedge Fund Trader, the death of J.R. Ewing and more: If you cannot view the...Read More
