Archive for October, 2007

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Saturday, October 27th, 2007

Words from the wise for the week that was (Oct 22 to 28, 2007)

This week’s report has been compiled on airplanes and in airport lounges spanning New Orleans, Washington, Johannesburg and Cape Town. And similar to the turbulence experienced on some of my flights back home, financial markets have also had a real rollercoaster ride.
Before highlighting some thought-provoking quotes from market commentators during the past week, let’s briefly review […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Markets, Investment, Money, Oil, Wall Street, Stocks, Housing, Gold, Commodities, Business, Currencies, Economy, Finance, Equities, Bonds by Prieur du Plessis
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007

Does the Big R (= recession) lie in store for the US?

For culinary delight and extreme hospitality, the Big Easy (New Orleans) ranks top of the log. But these attributes are of little use when trying to figure out the lie of the US economic land. For help on this front I have turned to the speakers at the annual New Orleans Investment Conference where I […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Markets, Money, Investment, Finance, Economy, Business by Prieur du Plessis
Monday, October 22nd, 2007

Where to now, Mr Dow?

Yesterday I managed to do what most people would consider quite impossible – I got lost in Central Park while doing my daily run! I guess I was a bit preoccupied with the buzz of my meetings in New York City and not really concentrating too hard on identifying and remembering beacons.
A lack of beacons […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Money, Stocks, Wall Street, Markets, Investment, Economy, Equities, Finance, Business by Prieur du Plessis
Sunday, October 21st, 2007

Words from the wise for the week that was (Oct 15 to 21, 2007)

The week’s edition comes to you from New York where I am visiting for a few days. It is always a treat to look up old acquaintances in this vibrant city. But on this occasion, in the aftermath of Friday’s stock market sell-off, the vibe is downright gloomy. On a personal level, however, the weekend […]

No Comments » - Posted in Markets, Investment, Money, Oil, Wall Street, Stocks, Housing, Gold, Commodities, Business, Currencies, Economy, Finance, Equities, Bonds by Prieur du Plessis
Friday, October 19th, 2007

Global stock market valuations separate the wheat from the chaff

“All flights to Johannesburg have been delayed indefinitely due to inclement weather”. Those were the awful words that have just been uttered from the cockpit of a stationary aircraft supposed to fly from Cape Town to Johannesburg en route to New York. It is anybody’s guess whether I will still make it to the Big […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Money, Stocks, Wall Street, Markets, Investment, Economy, Equities, Finance, Business by Prieur du Plessis
Wednesday, October 17th, 2007

Greenspan, please shut your mouth!

I have never been a fan of Easy Al and firmly believe that he has caused the US economy irreparable damage. He retired only in January 2006, but is already doing his utmost to explain his way out of his blunders that are now a causing a financial nightmare for his successor.
William Greider started his […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Markets, Money, Investment, Finance, Economy, Business by Prieur du Plessis
Tuesday, October 16th, 2007

Global stock markets: pop ‘n drop?

Have global stock markets run into a cul de sac? Bulls with long and short horns alike will probably admit that the rally since August 17, 2007 (i.e. when the US Fed cut the discount window rate) was probably “too much too fast”.
The bar charts below show how global mature stock markets, as represented by […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Money, Stocks, Wall Street, Markets, Investment, Economy, Equities, Finance, Business by Prieur du Plessis
Sunday, October 14th, 2007

Words from the wise for the week that was (Oct 8 to 14, 2007)

It is with a sense of anxiety that I am compiling this article as our national rugby squad is contesting the World Cup semi-final against the Argentinean Pumas this evening. South Africa has now moved to odds-on (5:6) favorite subsequent to yesterday’s shock defeat of France by England in the other semi. But no need to […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Markets, Investment, Money, Oil, Wall Street, Stocks, Housing, Gold, Commodities, Business, Currencies, Economy, Finance, Equities, Bonds by Prieur du Plessis
Friday, October 12th, 2007

Fear starts gripping UK housing market

As stated before, the unwinding of the US housing situation has some way to go before the system rids itself fully of all the excesses accumulated during the multi-year upswing. But what about the UK residential property market? The graph below shows a clearly unsustainable trend of the UK House Price Index calculated by Nationwide.

Source: […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Markets, Money, Stocks, Investment, Housing, Economy, Finance, Business by Prieur du Plessis
Thursday, October 11th, 2007

Lack of stock market breadth flashes red light

Picture the scene: A dirt road twisting upward at a 60-degree incline, with vineyards lining the sides and a clear blue sky above – a picture of tranquility by any definition. This is the hill I tackled yesterday as part of my daily run. But alas, what I thought was going to be the proverbial […]

7 Comments » - Posted in Money, Stocks, Wall Street, Markets, Investment, Economy, Equities, Finance, Business by Prieur du Plessis
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