Stan Druckenmiller about the Endgame – Is the best really behind us?

There are lots of observant people around who on the one hand are delighted about the strength of the US economy and the (stubborn) health of the US equity market, but on the other hand point to a number of facts that in normal times would give rise to concerns. Now fortunately it seems, we don’t live in normal times any more, hence, we can largely ignore the ‘statistics-relevant-in-normal-times’. Shall we? Continue reading

The Apple Is On A Roll

Anybody who doesn’t know about iPhone, iPad, or iPod? It seems the California-based company is enjoying the best time of its life, or maybe times are getting even better in the months and years to come. After good quarterly figures, the company looks as strong as never before. Where is the company today in the hit list of the most expensive enterprises in the world? Will its share price rise and reach out to the moon? Continue reading

About The Beauty Of Stock Markets

From time to time, stock markets reveal their real beauty. Not only when they are going straight up for investors being long the stock (as they do now in Jan 2012), or when they keep diving deeper and deeper for short sellers (as they may well do later in 2012 when the January euphoria will have evaporated), but also when investors take a moment of rest, and the markets are looked at from a distance, over a long time period. That’s the moment when they reveal their true inner beauty, pure elegance. Continue reading

Worried About Your Stock Portfolio? Go And Insure It

The economy is swinging back and forth; are we back in a recession, yes or no; will the weak governments now eventually default on their debt and when; will the Chinese soon pull out from funding US government debt and will they ever chip in money into the European Financial Stability Facility; will all this hurt share prices and my investment portfolio; how painful will it be; anything I can do about it? …. Such questions are floating around en masse in the big world of small investors. One answer is: Yes. Manage your risk and insure your investment portfolio. So then, how? Continue reading

Cash from fallen angels

In times of market turbulences in the USA and in Europe, caused by uncertainties about the economy, fears of a double dip recession, concerns about sovereign debt and possible implosion of the Eurozone, equity markets are under pressure. This is partly justified because any forthcoming recession would put a dent into EBIT of corporations and likely therefore a dent into the future free cash flow of companies. On the other hand, markets are also hammered down by emotions, by the king amongst them: fear. Continue reading

Perspective on financial markets – bad surprises in store for Q4 2011?

Europe: European stock markets are in the doldrums. The EuroStoxx 50 had recovered from its major low in early 2009, but then went into free fall in Aug 2011. Equity markets are now much driven by the bad news about European sovereign debt crisis, either real bad news about European banks or speculation that the banks are still undercapitalised and some may hit the buffers should Greece default sooner than acceptable for the banks. From a technical point of view, the outlook is not rosy with a few key technical indicators boldly pointing south. Continue reading