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Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

Are you one of the 55?

Can you read this? Only 55 people out of 100 can.
Don’t even think about using a spell checker!
fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too. Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of […]

No Comments » - Posted in Humor by Prieur du Plessis

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

Traditional rand standby

By Cees Bruggemans
With commodities broadly in retreat, driven along by global perceptions of sharply braking growth, especially in richer industrialised countries, we have a traditional escape valve.
Rand depreciation.
Will this once again come into play, and with what kinds of broader consequences?
So far the rand has been remarkably well behaved. Since 2005, the rand has moved […]

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

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

Poll: Grading Bernanke & Paulson

On the one-year anniversary of the credit crisis it makes for interesting debate to reflect on how well the situation has been handled by Messrs Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson. I have therefore deemed it appropriate to ask your assistance to assess the gentlemen’s performance by means of a quick poll.

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

Monday, August 18th, 2008

Dark economic clouds have a silver lining

By Jeremy Gardiner
The first half of 2008 saw world markets having to cope with an inordinate amount of bad news. The Americans had it the worst, as they were battered by the ravages of subprime, a collapsing housing market and a banking system under severe pressure.
Worldwide we have seen rising food prices, oil prices, inflation […]

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

Monday, August 18th, 2008

Regulating Creativity …

Hat tip: Barry Ritholtz’s Big Picture

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No Comments » - Posted in Humor by Prieur du Plessis

Sunday, August 17th, 2008

This is how ordinary people display vision and leadership

By JP Landman
Our politics are more and more noisy, the Zuma case has increased the stakes, important institutions are under tremendous pressure, and the economic shoe is pinching. As a good friend said recently: “We need a break.”
Under these circumstances it is understandable that the country is yearning for leadership and vision. But let’s assume […]

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

Sunday, August 17th, 2008

Words from the (investment) wise for the week that was (August 11 – 17, 2008)

The past week witnessed market participants focusing anew on deteriorating global growth prospects, arguing that slower growth could reduce inflation pressures. The notion that the US was further along the slowdown process than foreign economies, and an expectation that interest rate differentials could narrow in favor of the US dollar, resulted in continued strength in the greenback, further weakness in commodities, lower bond yields and mixed stock markets. Read all about this in my weekly review, highlighting some thought-provoking news items and quotes from market commentators during the past week.

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

Friday, August 15th, 2008

ACME’s Letter to Investors

ACME Systematic Leveraged Macro Momentum Fund LP
321 Overprice Street
Greenwich, CT
00573,
Dear Investor
This letter is to inform you that the wheels have come off of the proverbial wagon at ACME Systematic Leveraged Macro Momentum Fund LP, and that the same awesome thematic portfolio that made you feel (in the first half-year) as if you’d become very […]

No Comments » - Posted in Humor by Prieur du Plessis

Friday, August 15th, 2008

Third time lucky as interest rates pause

By Cees Bruggemans
The SARB again decided to keep interest rates unchanged in August, the third time it has now done so since it started its tightening cycle way back in mid-2006.
This time, though, we may have seen the peak of the interest rate cycle. The next move may be down, provided economic events continue to […]

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

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

All eyes on the SA rand

By Shaun le Roux
Last week was a volatile one for currency markets. With European Central Bank (ECB) Chairman Trichet adopting an unexpectedly dovish tone and expressing concerns over growth in the Eurozone, the euro lost substantial ground to the US dollar. On Friday the dollar recorded its best one-day advance against the euro for eight […]