There it is, European-QE, extended version, Part Two! Mario Draghi delighted investors yesterday with an extension of the current ECB asset purchase programme. Well…delighted them with the announcement, but as soon as he started speaking… It sometimes pays to keep your mouth shut. When the global economy is no longer able to provide enough magma…
The Saudis are breathing a sigh of relief, as their oil exports are now valued 45% higher than they were earlier in the year. That is a sentiment no doubt shared by commodities exporters, as iron ore, copper, gold, and many other raw materials experienced two-digit appreciations over the last four weeks. But with the…
Switzerland is a great example of how it doesn’t matter all that much whether a country is a member of the EU or not, even when it deeply depends on trading with it. It is also shows that under such a scenario, it doesn’t really matter whether or not the country chooses to keep its…
While some are anxiously waiting for an expansion of the current European QE programme, others are praying for that not to happen. At this point, an expansion of QE and a further interest rate cut may act as dynamite for European banks and do little for investors. Banks stand to lose profitability if the European…
Do you want to know the true probability of Brexit happening? Then forget about political polls and look at predictive markets instead. The odds offered at betting exchanges and bookmakers provide more accurate forecasts of future outcomes than polls can ever command. While the Brexit vote is now a tough call at newspaper and other…
Last Friday David Cameron reached a deal with EU policymakers concerning special treatment for Britain and its EU membership. After a hard battle that ended with only modest achievements, we are now entering the final stages of the Brexit debate, which will culminate in June with a referendum to ask the Brits whether they want…
As seen in the February edition of Master Investor Magazine. Past mistakes guide future pain The rampant decline in commodity prices that started two years ago seems to have finally put an end to the epic boom most commodities experienced during the early part of this century. Almost no commodity has escaped the furious price…
The European Union is considering the possibility of banning €500 banknotes in a move to fight corruption, fraud, and even terrorism. The high value of these banknotes makes them “too useful a vehicle of corruption and other illegal activity”, anti-fraud authorities claim. We should force people to execute transactions using electronic money and through plastic…
The correlation between oil prices and equity prices has always been shrouded in mysticism, with no one being able to come up with a clear cut explanation for the relationship between the two. Many studies point to a strong relationship between the returns on oil and equities; many others point to the absence of any…
Risk and volatility are increasing rapidly, as investors reassess whether more easing is really a good thing or just the confirmation of a global central banking failure. US markets are way overvalued due to the trillions the FED injected into the market over so many years. At a time industrial production and employment data are…
