MurkyMarkets.com

World�s eyes finally wide open

Christopher Galakoutis — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:11:00 -0400

A lot has happened in the last month or so since our last post, so let’s get right into it.

First off, the overall market has not seen much of any decline, holding firm between the 8000-8500 area on the Dow. Oil has continued to go up. Gold, contrary to what I thought mi...

The eye of the hurricane

Christopher Galakoutis — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:15:00 -0400

A relative calm has come over the markets in the past month or so, following the early March lows recorded by stock markets worldwide.

We have seen a nice run since then, over 1,000 points on the Dow as of this writing. Gold has stagnated around the 900 range, and oil is fighting wi...

A rally with legs?

Christopher Galakoutis — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:48:00 -0400

It is getting interesting in the markets as analysts chime in about this rally that is finally under way – one I was expecting this month as stated in my commentary from 2/24. Namely, the focus seems to be on how long this rally lasts?

I find it quite amusing that folks are tr...

Gold can rally along with the market's counter trend move

Christopher Galakoutis — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:48:00 -0500

The markets have been on the decline since October, 2007. Roughly 50% has been taken off the market indexes. That is an enormous loss of wealth, with the ramifications all around us including but not limited to the continued housing collapse and destructive unemployment situation.&nbs...

Foreign savers on the hook, not American debtors

Christopher Galakoutis — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:20:00 -0500

I always chuckle when I hear media reports of Americans’ tax dollars going to the Wall Street bailouts and array of stimulus bills. The little guy on the street is interviewed sharing his disgust at the thought of his tax dollars going to bail out Wall Street hucksters and businesses...

Gold & the Dollar: Green across the board

Christopher Galakoutis — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 13:25:00 -0500

The U.S dollar is rallying this morning against most currencies, with the dollar index almost back to its highs for this move. The interesting thing to note is that strength in the dollar is not weighing on gold, itself enjoying a nice up day, as the typical reaction by traders up to now ha...

More thoughts on 2009

Christopher Galakoutis — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:07:00 -0500

Further to my post of this past weekend, I wanted to add a couple more thoughts on the upcoming year as well as 2010. The difficulty is that unlike other recessions, where interest rate reductions were enough to stimulate the economy, this one is a different animal altogether.

In th...

The 2009 quandary

Christopher Galakoutis — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 11:00:00 -0500

By all accounts 2008 was a horrendous year in the markets, with almost every asset experiencing double-digit declines, save for gold bullion, US treasuries and the US dollar. Most US investors, however, have their money invested in equities. Whether through their 401(k), IRA or regula...

Oil is cheap here

Christopher Galakoutis — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 11:08:00 -0500

A market condition called contango, in which oil futures contracts for immediate delivery are lower than ones for future delivery, has traders scrambling to find crude storage as they attempt to lock in future profits. Buying today, therefore, and taking delivery and storing, can lock in a...

What of the currencies of Commodity exporting nations?

Christopher Galakoutis — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 09:24:00 -0500

With the credit crisis causing a stampede into the US dollar since August, the currencies of commodity exporting nations have been pummeled senseless.

The Australian, Canadian and the Mexican currency have suffered declines of over 25%, and the Russian government has recently widened the...

Opportunities for 2009

Christopher Galakoutis — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:14:00 -0500

With the announced 600B domestic stimulus spending plan in China as well as what many believe will be massive infrastructure spending here in the US in 2009, the questions that arise are what the investment ramifications might be and how we can position ourselves accordingly.

I have been...

The US dollar's reserve status has got to go

Christopher Galakoutis — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:47:00 -0500

It is clear that the United States has relied on a continuous cycle of debt growth to fuel its economy. The engine of the US economy has been the US consumer, and consumer debt had to expand at a rate that far outpaced negligible consumer income growth in order for the US economy to continu...

Is Exhaustion at Hand?

Christopher Galakoutis — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:33:00 -0400

What many investors have learned, the hard way in many cases, is that price action alone does not dictate market bottoms; that indeed, it’s all about exhaustion.

That is how it feels this week, with the current downside move appearing to have run its course, with millions of America...

Why would Credit Deflation bring down Gold when Credit Inflation didn�t send it to the moon?

Christopher Galakoutis — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:36:00 -0400

The inflation/deflation debate has been raging for years. Whether the US experiences inflation or deflation, and in what order, are the questions that have been hotly debated by some of the best minds in finance.

I wrote a public ...

Panic Selling equals Opportunity

Christopher Galakoutis — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:18:00 -0400

It has not been easy being a commodities investor the last few weeks.

The value of our Canadian energy trusts have taken huge hits, on average losing about 50% of their market values.

The declines have been so monumental I have never seen anything like it for companies with solid...

Fed blinks in AIG case

Christopher Galakoutis — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:07:00 -0400

The Federal Reserve appears to have blinked in the AIG standoff, agreeing tonight to provide an 85B loan to the ailing insurer in return for a reportedly 80% ownership stake.

Details of the about face continue to emerge but it should be obvious this is yet another bailout by the governmen...

The battle of the dead cat bounces

Christopher Galakoutis — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:59:00 -0400

The drop in gold and oil since mid-July reminded me of the movie title “Gone in 60 seconds”.

It sure felt that way, with significant gains washed away in a matter of days.

What is important to remember, however, is that the gold and commodity bull market remains intact...

Oil is not in a bubble

Christopher Galakoutis — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:35:00 -0400

I find it quite comical that, after last week’s correction in the oil market, several talking heads on US television are calling for a continued decline down to the $70-80 level.

Apparently there is this magical supply spigot that can be turned on and crash the price. It is no...

Gold gearing up

Christopher Galakoutis — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:54:00 -0400

That the US dollar can rally on the back of a Euro zone rate increase last week speaks to an absolute market delusion.

The market chose to focus on the dovish statement from the ECB, which was construed as dollar friendly, in that it is believed the ECB will now go on hold and raise rates...

Single dissenting vote speaks volumes

Christopher Galakoutis — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:40:00 -0400

The U.S Federal Reserve is not concerned about inflation. If it were, there would have been more the one person dissenting at today’s policy meeting.

As we expected, the Fed left rates unchanged at 2% as they closed out their two-day meeting today, disappointing some who were...