By Zak Mir One of the more unfortunate aspects of the financial crisis was the way that it turned many markets upside down – as pointed out in Jim Mellon’s recent blog, it was time to “rip up the rulebook.” The question was and is, which rules and which rulebook? And do we even need…
Evil discusses the Canadian dollar, Quindell and the FCA… It is time to get short of the Canadian dollar or “loonie” against the USD. The offer price of the loonie is currently 1.25 or so to acquire one USD. I do not know why this is the trade. But I have had good advice and…
The Markets The UK retail sector beat sales forecasts in January, according to figures from the Confederation of British Industry’s latest distributive trades survey, which found that 50% of shops reported increased activity during the month. The organisation suggested that falling oil prices and low inflation meant consumers’ money was going further and it believes…
In stark contrast to December, this time the bots returned a “not found” error after seeking for the “considerable time” keywords in yesterday’s FOMC statement. The Fed disappointed all those expecting to rip risk-free profits in nanoseconds, as the considerable changes in the statement confused the bots and investors. On one hand, investors were still…
By Zak Mir Mixing pop music with politics is not necessarily a good thing to do, with just about the best example in the genre being Tony Blair’s “Thing can only get better” campaign song for New Labour in 1997. However, in the wake of the Syriza “victory” in Greece over the weekend one is…
As I am happily renting in central London, all of the controversy, the joy and the pain of house prices escape me currently. Given how expensive living anywhere worth living is, I doubt I will be a property owner here again. For some reason this actually provides a sense of relief rather than disappointment. Instead,…
The Markets The Greek financial markets were volatile today after the winners of the recent election reiterated their defiance towards international creditors. Five year bond yields rose to 13.5% and shares in the Greek banking sector lost on average 22% of their value. New Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that he was determined to restructure…
According to research from Gartner, a quarter of a billion connected vehicles will be on the roads by 2020, as the ‘internet of things’ takes hold. This will enable new in-vehicle services and automated driving capabilities. “The increased consumption and creation of digital content within the vehicle will drive the need for more sophisticated infotainment…
Continuing on the bearish tack, readers will also want to take note of the comments of Bill Gross, the founder of PIMCO and perhaps the world’s best-known bond investor. In his Monthly Investment Outlook dated 6th January, Gross warns readers to “Beware the Ides of March, or the Ides of any month in 2015 for…
In a dramatic turn of tack, veteran hedge fund manager Crispin Odey has warned that equity markets will get “devastated” in what promises to be a recession that will be “remembered in a hundred years”. In his Odey Asset Management investor letter dated 31st December, Odey writes that the shorting opportunity “looks as great as…
