Folks,

If you follow the markets, you are more than aware that they have been melting down for the last three weeks, with the Dow crashing hundreds of points in a day. For those of us who trade stocks, it’s been a very volatile time, with fear and greed hashing it out big-time.

The cause of all this was the “sudden” realization that a huge number of adjustable rate mortgages out there were sold to people with poor credit, and that many of those mortgages are about to have their interest rates raised, leading to a large number of defaults. This in turn caused the rapid devaluation of many other investing vehicles which were levered to those loans, which in turn has sharply devalued the businesses of some of the biggest banks on Wall Street, and caused carnage in the hedge fund world (like, losing 60% of their portfolio values).

I won’t try to get into more detail than that here–there is plenty to read elsewhere on the subject written by more knowledgeable observers–but I’ll give you my bottom line, based on my research: The economy is in trouble, banks are in trouble, there’s not a whole lot that the Fed can do about it, and it is going to take a while to unwind…not days or weeks, but months or even years.

Consequently, I have unloaded almost all my long positions and gotten short via ETFs: SKF and SRS. I believe that this is a good time to be in cash or in a defensive posture. But the markets have been extremely volatile and irrational. There has already been a rally since the first selloff two weeks ago–when the Dow and oil had both reached record highs–but it has been a classic “dead cat bounce” and more than a few investors (like myself) swooped in on an apparent buying opportunity, only to get stopped out of those positions a day or a week later.

Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!

That’s about all I’ll say on the markets right now.

Moving on…I feel compelled to comment on the announced resignation of “Hot” Karl Rove, since he’s been a regular whipping boy in these pages, but I’m not sure what to say. In a sense, I think I felt safer knowing approximately where he was and what he was doing. Who knows what his next trick will be? But of this I’m sure: he’s not going anywhere. I have no doubt that he will continue to work on Republican campaigns and do everything he can to divide and conquer America by actively destroying its social fabric, pitting us against each other in order to scrape a few more votes his way. Just for grins, feel free to email me your best guess at Rove’s next gig.

Finally, I did a short (~6 minute) guest appearance at the daily online podcast The Real Story with Aaron Task today. Check it out here (“No Shelter From the Selling”). My bit starts around 27:00.

Keep your powder dry and your stops tight, and good luck everybody!

–C

Folks,

I did another short (~ 5 minute) radio interview this morning on Traders Nation with Kurt Schemers in Phoenix, AZ, if you want to check it out:

Chris Nelder interview on Traders Nation

–C

Folks,

If you tried to tune in to my interview on the Ken Brown show last week only to find another interview being broadcast, my apologies. I’m new to the broadcast business, but it seems to be a very flexible environment where last-minute changes to the schedule are common. Such was the case at the Florida radio station hosting my interview last week.

But they were kind enough to give me an MP3 of it, so I can share it with you here. Do note this is a large file–85 MB–so if you’re not on a broadband connection, you might want to let it download overnight or something.

I was pleased to have this opportunity to speak at length (45 minutes) on a broad range of energy topics, and I hope that it is informative and useful to the public. If you listen to it, please drop me a line with your constructive criticism!

Download here: Chris Nelder on the Ken Brown show July 5, 2007

–C

Folks,

Just a quick heads-up for some new radio interviews I am doing this week.

First, I just taped a rather long (45 minute) interview with a Florida station that will air tomorrow, Friday July 6 at 5:15 PM EST (2:15 PST). You can listen live over the Web at www.wsbrradio.com

Also, I have another interview tomorrow first thing in the morning, which I believe is a live interview. It starts at 11:30 am EST (8:30 am PST) and will air on KFNN in Phoenix. You can isten live at www.kfnn.com

If you do tune in, drop me a line and give me some feedback on it!

–C

Folks,

Happy summer solstice!

You simply must check out this presentation. It’s “a stunning photographic journey through time and the history of life on Earth,” one of the fruits of a 7-year project by photographer Frans Lanting.

http://www.lifethroughtime.com

As the forwarder commented: “This is more than just photography, but a life’s work that requires knowledge of various fields of science, an eye for beauty and synchronicity, journalism, aesthetics, computer interface (very well done!), and remarkable vision.”

Take a little timeout from the hardcore content of GRL to enjoy this visual romp through the history of the planet. Make sure you click around and explore the timeline and the controls and the “learn more” links. Really a nice piece of work. Kudos to you, Frans Lanting, whoever you are.

–C

Folks,

If you have nothing better to do, you can catch me on a 10-minute radio interview segment tomorrow talking about oil. Here are the details:

Station: Biz Radio Network (Houston 1320 AM, DFW 1360 AM)

Show: Market Buzz w/ Tom Busby

Time: 5:20 PST, 8:20 EST

Listen live at: www.bizradionetwork.net

And if you’re really a glutton for punishment, you can check out another upcoming radio interview with me on gas prices:

Show: Traders Nation w/ Kurt Schemers

Time: Fri June 22nd 11:20-11:40 am EST (8:20-8:40 am PST)

Listen live at: www.tradersnation.com

–C

Check out this article on the impending demise of the Hummer, by the ever-opinionated and unapologetic hardcore leftist, Mark Morford of the San Francisco Chronicle. It’s a fun read and might even signal a turning of the American sentiment toward their precious cars.

Rejoice, The Hummer Is Dead

Folks,

Here’s a very cool art project I came across, which uses visual art to demonstrate the volumes of stuff that Americans consume every day. It’s pretty stunning!

In the author’s words:

This new series looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on. My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 426,000 cell phones retired every day. This project visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs.

Check it out!

Running the Numbers

An American Self-Portrait

By Chris Jordan

Folks,

Here is my latest for Wealth Daily, about a new report by retired military brass about the national security implications of climate change, and what should be done about it.
(more…)

Folks,

This is interesting: a collaboration between Google Earth and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM). The latter’s Genocide Prevention Mapping Initiative “seeks to collect, share and visually present to the world critical information on emerging crises that may lead to genocide or related crimes against humanity” and has used Google Earth as a platform to present their information.

This first effort is a very effective display about the genocide that is happening in Darfur. Using Google Earth, you can zoom in, find villages that are burning or destroyed, find photos, videos, and other media about each trouble spot, and find links to related information. It also features high-resolution imagery that “allows any user to see the systematic destruction of tens of thousands of homes, schools, mosques and other structures. It also reveals the sprawling refugee and displaced person camps, often identified by thousands of white tents strewn across the desert.”

More such presentations are planned. You can also use the platform to make your own presentations.

That’s how you make a war real, and generate public support for stopping the genocide. This is the kind of work that the mainstream media used to do, and that I wish they still did. Kudos to the USHMM and to Google for this compelling presentation!

Get started here: http://www.ushmm.org/googleearth/projects/darfur/

–C