Folks, when you really boil it down, the question that’s been at the center of this whole European situation has always been pretty simple: How can you be a monetary union without being a fiscal union? And the answer is equally simple: you can’t be. If you share a currency, you have to share other [...]
Imagine you’re riding in the back seat of a car. Your friend is driving, and it’s storming outside. You assume that he’s going the right speed, checking his blind spot, following the car in front of him at a safe distance. You know there’s a possibility that at any second he could be swerving all [...]
Folks, there are three distinct factors that are driving these markets right now: earnings, Europe and China. Let’s break it down, shall we? Earnings. I’ve talked a lot about the lowering of expectations for corporate earnings and how they might have gotten too low over the course of the last couple of months. I also [...]
Folks, after nine straight sessions of gains and an 11% move in the S&P, the markets are in the red this morning on news from—you guessed it—Europe. Germany once again lowered expectations on finding an end to the European Union’s debt crisis, saying that a summit of European finance leaders wouldn’t be likely to produce [...]
Folks, I love it when we start out a week in the green. Though we may find out that the markets are a little illiquid today due to the Columbus Day holiday, everything is on fire early in the session. If you’re looking for the reason behind this bounce, look no further than Europe. Although [...]
Folks, yesterday, Jim Cramer interviewed Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on CNBC. I probably don’t need to remind you that I think Mr. Geithner is a little long in the tooth as far as that position is concerned, but he said something very important that I wanted to make sure you all caught: there is no [...]
Folks, if you’re thinking about anything besides what’s going on in Europe these days, you’re missing the picture. I’ve said before that I don’t think the EU will break apart, but I do believe that we’ve gotten to a point where we need the other shoe to drop. And that shoe is a Greek bankruptcy. [...]
Well, folks, all eyes are on my fellow Chicagoan, who is scheduled to outline his job-creation plan tonight. We’re all holding our breaths. I’m a man who believes in the power of prayer. I never pray for markets—I pray for things like peace on earth and the health of my family and loved ones. And [...]
Folks, last week I told you to look for hints that Germany would come to the rescue of the European Union, and today we got another one. The German Constitutional Court has upheld the legality of bailout packages for member nations stricken with debt. That’s good news for European banks that are holding that Greek [...]
Folks, for those of you who were enjoying your long weekend and not watching the market, yesterday there was a huge selloff in Europe. German markets were down about 5%, and our markets were catching up here this morning. Stocks opened sharply down, and gold is near 1900—emotion has found its way back into the [...]