WEEKEND EDITION - World Cup


Enough Said...


vs. 

get your...

or in Amen Ra's case... (new logo for SC today)

or in I-Man's case (after he quits his job)


46 comments:

BinT said...

"Nebraska is the Big Ten's first addition since 1990, when Penn State joined, and it comes just six months after the league announced that it was looking at expansion.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said he presumed there would be a Big Ten championship football game beginning in 2011. He also said the conference would "pause" from further expansion over the next 12 to 18 months. He declined to comment on whether Notre Dame or any other school was on the league's radar.

Nebraska's departure is a potentially crippling blow to the Big 12 and the biggest move yet in an offseason overhaul that will leave college sports looking much different by this time next year."

.....Colorado in the Pac-10, with Texas soon to follow. Simply amazing.

Anonymous said...

@Ahab and Wunsacon,

Good debate there. Read all.

mcHAPPY said...

@ahab

re: "mcH-

who's praising Canada?"

That article from WSJ BinT posted was patting Canada on the back. Any international MSM article written on G20 or G8 meetings discussing financial matters is all about the collective international hard-on for Canadian conservatism and restraint within the banking system and lack of risk taking. Finally, the arrogance many Canadians are currently exhibiting based on the above. I'm constantly hearing things like, "Oh but it can't/won't happen here." "We are so much better off than the US." etc. etc. The Canadian media, overall, continues to stroke the collective ego of the nation. There is a rude awakening coming.

Here is my reality before I really took the lead on my financial health i.e. I ditched the financial advisor:

4 years ago, my then g/f and now wife and I had an income of about $75-80K between us (much more now). On that income we received over $1 million in loans/mortgages: $150K for investment loan at the peak of market in 2007 (I do not need to tell you how that worked out), $230K primary residence mortgage (20% downpayment), $684K for 3 rental properties all purchased 0% down/amortized 40 years. I believe we are the exception to the rule in terms of how we have managed the debt, but overall, does this appear to be conservative lending practices? I don't. I still can't believe we were able to obtain over 1 million on 75K a year.

@Nic - on previous thread as well... you are correcct on all.

McFearless said...

alright I'm pretty pumped for this game, I took England in our Fantasy set up, which btw, virtually nobody signed up for....


Wunsacon,
from bottom thread, thanks for posting those comments from Jesse on his expected "shenanigans" next week with equities, that guy is always good for a laugh. Those damn gnomes from Zurich!!!

Nic said...

Wunsacon, that was Jesse's article on Gold.
I know he is hot on the cup and handle pattern but when I look at that chart I see a pennant/flag breakout (the handle) that failed to make new highs ... which equals a double top in my world.
I am not a gold bug so perhaps a little biased.

Nic said...

McFearless I am trying not to sing Rule Britannia ... but it's in my head.

McFearless said...

McHappy,

EWI showed the running triangle last night in the update, not sure if you saw that.

McFearless said...

lol Nic, I don't really follow soccer but I know we are big underdogs, trying to decide if I should watch the full game, it's too nice here today to be inside all day.

Nic said...

It's raining here and no wind to kitesurf so I am probably watching.

This is interesting:
Google search for articles on deflation generates 3.5 million hits, versus a whopping 354 million hits 4 inflation

mcHAPPY said...

Ben,

Saw it and thought of you - nice work.

What do you think of their current counts?

I'm still trying to decide if minor 3 has ended or has yet to begin.

I-Man said...

Slacker Jack?

I dont even get to slack for a full week before I start the new gig!

:)

But slack, I will... and enjoy it too!


I and I DVR crapped out this morning and only recorded the first 28 min of the ARG/NGA game, but at least I got to see that sick header... what a rocket.

Messi is a beast.

Nigeria looked shabby in the backfield.

But the real fireworks are in about an hour... might have to crack a morning IPA just for kicks!

I-Man has a feeling that today is the day that Jozy has his coming out party on the world stage.

I-Man said...

I'd like to see Edson up front with Jozy today...

karen said...

Oh my how I wish I never skipped over to TBP to read the comments under that oil post !! I'm blaming all of you for that : )

Guess what.. saw the least expensive gasoline in yesterday when i went to fill my tank at a station not known for cheap fuel.. Regular was $2.999. I havent seen a "2" as the beginning integer in years..

Andy T said...

Very excited about this game. Will be hanging out with some Brits in a few minutes to start the drinking and name calling.

I've bet decent money on England this game as an emotional hedge.

The US will have to play out of their heads today....

Anonymous said...

McHappy @ your 10:40.

You taking all that debt, that's like "devil made me do it".

You said recently, you'll make $100,000 , selling your rentel property. So not bad.

It's people like my parents who, in 1980s, paid around 21% interest on our home mortgage and now, they are seniors, are getting paid 1% on their CDs.

Govt. is bailing people like you at the expense of savers. What more you want?

No wonder most of my family didn't take too much debt in this whole world-wide debt spree.

Peace.

From Canada(India).

Nic said...

In other happy news ...

National Geographic say "Ominous" Pre-Katrina Conditions Seen in Atlantics

bob said...

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-june-10-2010/world-cup-2010--into-africa---two-teams--one-cup

More trash talk from the brits.

McFearless said...

Karen,

re: TBP/oil, I read all that late last night, and then I finally took TBP of my blog roll.

Anonymous said...

@karen

Must have been "Terrible Herbst"... :-)

CV

mcHAPPY said...

@anon Canada(from India)

I'm not sure you noticed the tone of my post. I realize the error of my ways - very much so. I have learned very much over the last 1-2 years. THe problem is most people in Canada think the good times - especially in real estate - can never end. I have rid the investment loan, working off the houses one at a time, and will have my personal mortgage paid off in 2 years - regardless of what happens to interest rates or markets. Essentially I am working my rear off to rid myself of all my debt. It took many months of reading, researching, and, most importantly, learning how things really work. Trust me, my thinking is very much in opposition of the herd mentality I currently find myself surrounded by - except here which is why I enjoy this site so much.

"Govt. is bailing people like you at the expense of savers. What more you want?"

I don't recall ever receiving a bailout. If the reference is to CMHC, that is paid for by home buyers, and benefits banks in the event of foreclosure. All of my properties have been extremely profitable and have appreciated incredibly. This is why most people think I am nuts for selling but IMO this is yet another indication it is time to sell.

"No wonder most of my family didn't take too much debt in this whole world-wide debt spree."

Back in the '90's it probably would have been a good time to lever up. Not so much these days which is why I am deleveraging. The key is to stop dancing before the music stops - as a not so wise many once said. Having worked off nearly $400K in debt in 2 years is pretty good, IMO and continuing to do more as we speak.

Debt is not a bad thing at certain times. I can guarantee you in 4-6 years when deflation has run its course, I will be using all my capital/cash and leveraging up again with only the best blue-chip dividend stocks in companies that have no to little debt, lots of cash, and provide necessities.

The bulls make great arguments for reasons to own stocks and take on debt - the problem is their timing.

Nic said...

Well ......... it was a good game :/

Andy T said...

Very good game. The U.S. defense was very solid. It "felt" like a draw. The US team has clearly demonstrated they can play with the bigger boys. They really need a win over Slovenia.

I still can't believe how much money the England coach makes....unreal.

Anonymous said...

hang in there Nic- had it not been for the woeful save that rolled into the goal-

you would have won(-:!!!!

although I thought team USA looked pretty good in the 2nd half-

not much of a soccer fan- but I guess there is a little ancient history between these two teams playing before- so it caught my interest

Nic said...

I hate games that end in a draw. We should have over time and then penalty shootouts like they do in the final.
One good thing is there weren't many dives (except that Dempsey wally)

arbitrage789 said...

McFearless @ 2:14

Your 2:14 post was enough to finally get me to read Ritholtz's post.

I can certainly see the merit of altering our tax structure, but whether that happens or not, we still need to obtain oil from somewhere.

In any case, I'm not one to demonize the executives at BP.

Anonymous said...

McHappy, agree with you on timing and learning.

we, too, got stuck in our thinking. 2003-2006 was good time for leverage in Canada. But we were burned in early 80s.

So we missed lot of upside in the market. Oh well. That's why I come to this blog. To learn.

Peace.

I CAN

arbitrage789 said...

Contrary indicator alert.

Front page article in the NY Times about investing in gold:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/business/13gold.html?hp

Nic said...

What's England and Golf got in common?
There's a hole in every green ...

mcHAPPY said...

@Andy

The England soccer coach probably deals with more scrutiny than Tony Hayward.

I've been looking at your charts this evening from May 31st.

7 and 11 look very much in play.

2 and 10 would really be applying the cold steel to any shorts and personally I am hoping they do not come to pass - which probably means they most likely will.

Have you been giving any thoughts to the charts given the price action since posted?

BinT said...

maybe not Texas to pac-10. Maybe texas and a and m to sec. Could you imagine Texas playing Arkansas yearly like in the old days....?

The English striker, the big burly very fast white guy...he will be a factor in the tournament. I thought the USA was lucky to contain him.

Andy T said...

"The English striker, the big burly very fast white guy."

You talking about Rooney? He's probably the shortest guy on the pitch....

wunsacon said...

Nic, thanks for the warning.

I hold gold (via PHYS, SGOL, CEF). But, I'm nervous. For several reasons.

First, Prechter mentioned the "94% bullish" reading. Or something. When I saw the housing bubble, I worried that "everyone who ever wanted to buy a house has already bought one". Apparently, I should be worried about the same thing with gold.

Second, sure, there aren't a ton of ads *selling* gold to Main Street. Indeed, the only ads are from companies like "Cash4Gold" that try to buy gold from Main Street. I observed that distinction and told myself "gold will top when I see ads *selling* gold to Main Street". But, maybe I'm fooling myself with that one. Let's face it: Main Street has no money to buy gold. At this point, only investors have money to buy gold. And, although I don't watch CNBC, I sometimes channel-surf. And I *do* see ads on TV selling gold. And companies are pitching gold to readers on all the financial blogs. So...maybe the "pitch" is right in plain view. Us investors are being sold gold.

Third, there appears to be a tad bit of "gold fever" in China and maybe the Middle East (with those 2 gold ATM's). And more articles are popping up, like the one DL -- thanks -- just pointed to.

BinT said...

Andy,

He's built like a fireplug.

Nic said...

DL Thanks for the article and thanks Wunsacon for the stats.
It could go either way to be honest. A break higher confirms the flag break or a break below the last swing low confirms double top and much lower. Sentiment suggests lower to me. Weird to see gold moving with the dollar and not inversely.
I am trying to find where I read it but I did see that gold purchased for speculation had surpassed gold purchased for jewellery for the first time since 1980 which suggests a sepculative bubble.

Nic said...

Good night trader friends :)

Anonymous said...

Good Night Nic

Anonymous said...

@wunsacon

I'm not making a case for gold here, but just pointing out an observation...

There would be a difference, I think, in comparing "sentiment" numbers of gold to houses...

You can't incrementally buy a house... You can't go to the Hamptons and say... "OK, it's out of my price range, but I'll buy a couple of "two by fours" of it (and call me a fractional owner)...

Gold you can buy in any quantity large or small...

Also, once you have a house, that's it... That's all you SHOULD need (unless your idea was to be a flipper or something of that nature)...

Not so with gold... You may decide that you want to continue to increase your stash as you go along... It doesn't cost you anything to hold it (unless you're paying to store it somewhere - which should be a stupid idea)...

Anyway - I never even really thought of a house as an "investment" anyway... A house is a place to live (and there are all kinds of costs attached to ownership)... The IDEA that a home became an "investment" was a silly idea perpetuated by the idea that prices would continue to go up because genius "chartologists" could dig up pretty charts that had lines moving from bottom left to top right (that factored in nothing in the way of the other costs that I'd described before)...

So if one happened to buy a house at the right point in the cycle, it might have looked like an investment ON PAPER... Otherwise, it might have looked like a "jingle mail" candidate (as it does now)...

Gold is basically the same thing, but in another sense...

It's just PERCEPTION... Gold becomes more valuable when people DON'T TRUST other things... Or, when people are OVERLY TRUSTFUL (erroneously) of other things (like 1999)... Gold has less perceived value...

There's nothing INTRINSIC about it...

You could ask a girl to the Senior Prom because you think she's pretty... But then, at the Prom, you find yourself alone for a minute and the prettiest girl in school comes up and starts flirting with you... One minute you were perfectly satisfied, next minute you're thinking to yourself, "damn - if I'd had known this before"...

It's all perception...

CV

Nic said...

Oh dear Ahab, your name is being used in the oil consumption argument.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/weekinreview/13kennedy.html

Privately Employed. said...

The national debt situation, and our unfortunate lack of leadership in the oval office looks like things will be worse after 2010, not better. The Afghanistan War is not going anywhere, and I doubt there will be any sort of resolution there. The oil spill will continue at least several more months, and there is a deep recession in progress along the Gulf South states. Spending is out of control, and our juvenile, cursing president has not "lowered the deficit by half" as he stated in the campaign. Small business is not hiring, and with the added costs that small business owners will incur in 2011, who can blame them? We in the salt mine are going to lay off a few people this fall, as I have already told you. The economic forums have been over the why of how Americans became "wealthier" over the last 6 months. Working class Americans didn't participate.

There is an awful lot of creating new debt now to service old debt. The end of this charade is coming, but determining when is always problematic. Forecasters may see the storm, but how fast it is moving, that is quite a different story.

I don't believe the house of cards lasts more than another year. Just my two cents.

Time to get some grass mowed...

Anonymous said...

Nic- from your NYT Ahab article-


"One of the great underlying themes of “Moby-Dick,” Mr. Delbanco observed, “is that people ashore don’t want to know about the ugly things that go on at sea . . .We want our comforts but we don’t want to know too much about where they come from or what makes them possible."

exactly my point from Friday night- not quite word for word- but damn close-

thanks for the link(-:!!!

Anonymous said...

LB has a bias on this one so I guess he won't be saying this, but England is hardly a team which has any chance of winning this one. Hell, they can't beat even USA.
Messi was good but he was trying too much, alone. And Veron is not what he used to be.
Overall, slow paced matches up till now. Holland, Brazil, Spain may provide some sparks. Hopefully.

Nic said...

I have the solution to America's debt problem - War with Britain. That would be a humdinger.

Nic said...

Anyway. Today we are all Ghanaian

2small2bail said...

Speaking of Ghanaian, there is still time for Manny and CV to make SC fantasy World Cup a four player race (looks like you guys missed some picks). Otherwise, Ben and I will be guessing our way to the trophy alone :-)

Nic said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Andy T: Re gold, and EWI's comments about 94% bullish setiment, are you familiar w/ Gary Savage/Toby Connor -- one and the same person, publisher of Smart Money Tracker blog and Gold Scence blogs. He takes issue w/ Precter's claims and cites Sentimentrader.com showing that gold is in the middle of its historic sentiment trading range at about 70% bulls right now. But, he is very bullish on gold and miners in particular, so take that w/ a grain of salt as well.

Post a Comment

Disclosure/Warning

This blog should not be interpreted as investment advice of any kind. The authors are NOT representing themselves CTAs or CFAs or Investment/Trading Advisor of any kind. The authors may or may not trade in the markets discussed. The authors may hold positions opposite of what may by inferred by this blog.The information contained in this blog is taken from sources the authors believes to be reliable, but it is not guaranteed by the authors as to the accuracy or completeness thereof and is presented here for information purposes only. Commodity trading involves risk and is not for everyone.