2008 January » Investment Postcards from Cape Town

Archive for January, 2008

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Thursday, January 31st, 2008

South African Reserve Bank keeps rates on hold

By Kevin Lings
The Reserve Bank decided today to leave the Repo rate unchanged at 11.0%. This was in line with market expectations. Only one or two analysts had expected a rate hike.
In deciding to leave rates unchanged the MPC made the following key points:
Economic conditions:

•

The international environment has become increasingly uncertain and volatile. The slowdown […]

No Comments » - Posted in South Africa by Prieur du Plessis

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

For everything else …

A BUGATTI VEYRON:

£899,995
BUYING AMBAC AND MBIA AT CURRENT MARKET PRICES:

$3 billion
CREATING A GOVERNMENT ENTITY TO BUY UP DODGY MORTGAGE DEBT:

$10 - $20 billion (Yeah, right)
BAILING OUT AN OVER-LEVERED MORTGAGE LENDER:

£25 - £55 billion
WRITING DOWN YOUR HOLDINGS OF STRUCTURED CREDIT TO PROPER VALUE:

$120 billion (and counting)
BEING LONG GAMMA THIS WEEK:

PRICELESS
THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT MONEY (ALMOST) […]

No Comments » - Posted in Humor by Prieur du Plessis

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

South Africa’s political landscape made easy …

Click on the thumbnail for a larger image:

No Comments » - Posted in South Africa by Prieur du Plessis

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

The US economy, according to the Prez

Source: Stuart Carlson, Slate, January 29, 2008.

No Comments » - Posted in Humor by Prieur du Plessis

Tuesday, January 29th, 2008

Investment Postcards – a make-over of which to be proud!

The big moment has arrived – a new-look blog site for Investment Postcards from Cape Town! Since launching my international investment blog at the middle of last year, traffic has increased measurably, causing me to revamp the site. Let’s raise a glass to memorable (and profitable) market moments!

12 Comments » - Posted in Money, Markets, Investment, Economy by Prieur du Plessis

Tuesday, January 29th, 2008

South Africa is hosting the 2010 soccer World Cup - without electricity!

Source: Unknown

No Comments » - Posted in Humor by Prieur du Plessis

Monday, January 28th, 2008

Words from the wise for the week that was (Jan 21 - Jan 27)

The past week witnessed an extraordinary set of events on the financial front, a rogue trader creating havoc at Société Générale, and wild swings on global stock markets as mounting concerns about a recessionary US economy and the implications for global growth continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

This regular weekly article highlights some thought-provoking news items and quotes from market commentators during the past week, and briefly reviews the week’s market action on the basis of economic statistics and a performance chart.

No Comments » - Posted in Money, Markets, Investment, Economy by Prieur du Plessis

Friday, January 25th, 2008

US economy: danger from all directions

Source: Slate, January 24, 2008.

No Comments » - Posted in Humor by Prieur du Plessis

Friday, January 25th, 2008

The Year of the Rat: How to Invest

The Chinese calendar proclaims this as the Year of the Rat. Based on the behavior of economies and financial markets over the past few months, investors would be forgiven for thinking that a plague has descended upon the financial system. But on occasion it is useful to step back from the day-to-day shenanigans of markets and take a bird’s-eye view of events. And there is nobody better to assist with this than Donald Coxe, Global Portfolio Strategist of BMO Financial Group.