Bernanke Describes A Critical Juncture Where Economic Prospects Pivot On Long-Term Unemployment

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 27, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) As conditions ripen for a bottom in housing in 2013, I am more frequently reviewing the on-going dynamics of the unfolding recovery in employment. The rates of unemployment and under-employment, and … Read more

From Silicon Valley to Florida – Two Extremes In A Recovering Housing Market

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 19, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) I still believe that a bottom is coming for housing in 2013. Some areas of the country, like the Silicon Valley area of Northern California, have already left a bottom far … Read more

Nassim Taleb Likes Euros And You Should Too

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 19, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) In November, 2010, Nassim Taleb (Mr. Black Swan) broke a long-standing media blackout to talk on CNBC about his distress over quantitative easing Part two (QE2). At the time, Taleb concluded … Read more

My Love Affair with the Australian Dollar Has Officially Ended

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 5, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip}…this is a good moment to describe finally why I recently sold my long-term holdings in the Rydex CurrencyShares Australian (FXA). {snip} Never once have I pondered the possibility of the … Read more

Whirlpool Still Has Upside But Better Bought On A Dip

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on February 13, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Whirlpool (WHR) has gained 29% since reporting fourth quarter and full-year earnings on the morning of February 1. At the time, WHR represented an explosive combination of a business turning around … Read more

Robert Reich Over-Reaches By Blaming Investing and Shopping for Income Inequality

Soon after I finally posted my review and critique of Robert Reich’s book on income inequality titled “Aftershock: The Next Economy and America’s Future,” Reich published commentary which extended his analysis of income inequality to blame investors and shoppers for the problem. The concise argument appeared in an editorial in the Financial Times called “We … Read more

Talk of QE3 Increases As the Dollar Rises – Time to Reposition

This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 12, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Mainly thanks to a plunging euro (FXE), the U.S. dollar index (UUP) now sits at 52-weeks highs set in January, 2011. When the Federal Reserve telegraphed its second round of quantitative … Read more

Wrangling Over Income Inequality: A Comprehensive Review and Critique of Robert Reich’s Book “Aftershock”

According to “Building a Better America One Wealth Quintile at a Time” by Dan Ariely and Michael I. Norton, Americans are generally misinformed about the true distribution of wealth in America. Robert Reich’s “Aftershock: The Next Economy and America’s Future” represents an insightful and creative approach to educating the reader on income inequality and potential … Read more

Time to Buy the Dips In Homebuilders

This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 12, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) I last provided a comprehensive review of the housing market on September 29, 2010 in “Still Expecting Housing to Bounce Along the Bottom Until 2013.” At the time, I reiterated the … Read more

After LPS Plunges On New Legal Woes, Volume Soars in Call Options

This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 29, 2011. Click here to read the entire piece.) In early November, I wrote that a turnaround finally seems to be materializing for Lender Processing Services (LPS). Regulatory and legal issues have long been a severe overhang for LPS, so … Read more