America's finest quality is that it has no memory!Three months ago, the topic of the day was which window to jump from; today all I hear is how hot the market is. This morning's conversation on "Squawk Box" was how the market has moved 24 percent and maybe there is too much exuberance.Too much exuberance? Last October we were wondering if there would be a run on the banks. Now it's too...
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According to the new book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, countries that have high PDI's (power-distance index) respect authority more and are less likely to speak up to or challenge superiors. The evidence cited is the case of a Korean Air flight where the...
T. Boone Pickens thought oil was going to hit $150 last year and go up from there. I don't mean to pick on him. He's worth about $3 billion. He's earned his stripes. I have nothing but respect for the man. Pickens wasn't the only person who got 2008 wrong....
The economic calendar wastes no time getting off to a busy start in the first full week of 2009. The Construction Spending report for November this morning leads off the week, and carrying over from last year, it should show a continued slowdown. Until the...
Very few investments held up as well as gold in 2008. Gold started the year at $838. It closed the year above that level, which means it has closed higher in nine out of the last ten years! That is a powerful bull market. It is just now getting warmed up.The...
Retailers hoped that Christmas would ultimately save them from a bad season. It didn't happen. It seems that most of us took recession worries seriously and stuck to our vows not to overspend on holiday gifts. Through Christmas Eve, sales this December fell...
It comes as no surprise to anyone who has set foot in a mall this holiday season that retailers are struggling. The Sunday before Christmas, I went to Target in the early afternoon for some last minute gifts. When I went to checkout, the express line for...