All signs – as initially discussed below – point to a good year for equities in 2014. Of course, we are not deaf to the voices that talk about a stock market bubble, however and as we pointed out before we do not believe that we are dealing with a bubble, at least not...

Next Tuesday U.S. regulators are expected to approve a stricter version of the Volcker rule. The latter prohibits banks from proprietary trading which was at the heart of the financial crisis not only in 2008 but also last year when J.P.Morgan lost more than $6...

Last Saturday night the P5+1 nations (US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, and China) signed a limited agreement with Iran that paves the way for something which potentially would be very significant not only for security reasons but also for economic and financial ones....

Two days ago the third plenum of the Chinese eighteenth central committee meeting ended and all indications point to an historic event. Third plenums tend to consolidate power for the Chinese leader and produce significant economic and political changes. It was in...

Goethe’s insights into the seriousness of the problem of historical epistemology reminds us that in human history some have chosen to reject the notion of historical truth by diverting their poetic enthusiasm to heroic events that like in a legend have transformed the...

The essence of this commentary is twofold: First, to explain how and why the rising levels of financial lubrication are expected to generate and support a rally in equities and to a lesser extent in bonds. Second, to discuss how those elevated lubrication levels may...

In a interview on CNBC Mario Draghi (the head of the European Central Bank, ECB) told us yesterday that he is concerned about capital insufficiencies, balance sheet holes, and backstops related to the EU banks. He added that there is a need to “dispel the fog”...

In Shakespeare’s play titled “Othello” we discover an acrimonious manipulative protagonist in the person of Iago who envisions the downfall of Othello. Iago’s plans are not just convoluted. They are plain evil. Iago’s deceptions grow larger in every act of the play....

It’s a pity that the market participants’ focus is on the childish political theater in Washington D.C. which is nothing but a symptom of a greater problem. Nations like families and individuals should restrain excessive spending habits (especially those that advance...

The headlines of this past weekend edition of the European edition of the Wall Street Journal read: “Debt Targets for Greece Questioned”. In the article Klaus Regling, the managing director of the European Stability Mechanism states that the targets for Greek debt...