Excellent article: “Wall Street Lays Another Egg”

November 7, 2008 at 11:34 am
Contributed by: Chris

This month’s Vanity Fair has an excellent article on the market meltdown this year, which explains the history and the roles played by Fannie and Freddie, the Fed, hedge funds, and banks, and delves into the nature of fiat money, derivatives, and the other financial instruments that were the tools of our undoing. Fascinating article, very well done, highly recommended!

Wall Street Lays Another Egg

“Either way, Planet Finance has now returned to Planet Earth with a bang. The key figures of the Age of Leverage—the lax central bankers, the reckless investment bankers, the hubristic quants—are now feeling the full force of this planet’s gravity.”

A day to celebrate!

November 5, 2008 at 9:15 am
Contributed by: Chris

At long last, the seemingly endless national nightmare of the Bush administration is over, and a Democratic liberal has taken the reins. I still can hardly believe it’s true. I wept with relief and joy as I watched his acceptance speech last night. I can’t remember ever being so moved by anything political in my entire life.

Long live President Obama! I wish him luck–he’s got a very tough row to hoe. He’s going to need all the support he can get from Congress to tackle the challenges of the next four years, and he’s going to need the entire country’s help to take out the wedges that Karl Rove and his operatives drove between us, and heal the divides within. My new article, to be published tomorrow, will take a close look at his energy policy proposals, so stay tuned for that. For now I’ll just say: WAHOO!!

Below the fold, a banner and YouTube video submitted by friends, in recogntion of this historic moment.

What an amazing, blessed relief. After eight years of utter shame, I am once again proud to be an American.

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Notes from the 2008 ASPO-USA Peak Oil Conference

October 13, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Contributed by: Chris

Here are my notes from the 2008 ASPO-USA Peak Oil Conference, September 21-23, 2008 in Sacramento, California. Length: 57 pages.
View the Web version below the fold, or download the PDF.
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Market Meltdown Musings

September 29, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Contributed by: Chris

Just a few quick observations tonight, after the worst point loss in Dow history.

First, I gotta point you to my new hero, Rick Santelli, who is for my money the straight-talkin’est man on the Street. His take on the bailout failure today was typically clear-headed: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=872162980&play=1  His segment starts around 5:50 in. Santelli for prez!

Second, I should explain why I posted John Mauldin’s essay yesterday.  As long as we are working with conventional rules of the game and inside-the-box thinking, then I think his assessment was correct.

But for whatever reason, the voters rejected it about 30-to-1 and made their displeasure known loudly to their Congressmen, who caved to the pressure.

To be clear, I think the bailout proposal submitted was bad, and that the voters were right to reject it. It would have done nothing for the little guy and would have amounted to a huge bailout for the banks and their out-of-control leadership. This truly is a situation that calls for outside-the-box, unconventional thinking and conservative solutions, but those are complex issues beyond the ken of most laymen (and Congressmen) and I honestly didn’t think that the wishes of the masters of Wall Street could be overridden.  So it was a mixed, but pleasant suprise to see the proposal fail.

But that means we are now faced with the prospect of having to “go back to the drawing board,” as McCain put it today, and it will take days or weeks more to come up with an alternative proposal. We may not have that kind of time before another mega-meltdown on the Street. Due to the Jewish New Year holiday, no major votes are expected until Thursday. The next two days could feel like an eternity for investors.

I continue to advise that people remain in cash. Don’t buy anything, unless it’s a small short side position or gold. Unless you’re willing to ride out another wicked down-leg or three, selling might be the prudent course of action, even with many stocks dragging the bottom already. Because while they’re still changing the rules in the middle of the game, the safe move is not to play at all.

These are extremely dangerous times in the markets, and although many voters had the good sense to reject this bailout plan, I doubt that many of them understand the risk they took in doing so. We could have a long way to fall yet, and few appreciate how the pain on Wall Street can quickly trickle down to Main Street. Bailing out the “fat cats” may have been the wise choice after all, but we have turned our back on that option. I can only wonder what will happen next.

Good luck everybody–and keep yer fool head down.

Sign of the times

September 28, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Contributed by: Chris

Who’s Afraid of a Big, Bad Bailout?

September 28, 2008 at 10:27 am
Contributed by: Chris

Folks, amid the endless stream of commentary about the market meltdown and the impending $700 billion bailout of toxic mortgage debt, I thought this article from respected investor John Mauldin really hit the nail on the head, so I decided to repost it.

Whatever happens in Congress by tonight will have far-reaching consequences, and tomorrow (Monday) should be a most interesting day in the market.

Good luck out there…keep yer powder dry.
–C
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Reflections on the 2008 ASPO-USA Peak Oil Conference

September 24, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Contributed by: Chris

For my Energy and Capital article this week, I offered some quick observations about the just-concluded ASPO-USA peak oil conference.

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The New, Improved GetRealList!

September 18, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Contributed by: Chris

I switched over to a new ISP today, and a new blog platform (WordPress, replacing the old GeekLog).  All of the old articles, and the look of the blog, have been retained, but the back end is totally different.

Among other things, GRL will no longer be sending out email updates directly. Many subscribers, particularly those with Yahoo email, stopped receiving email updates months ago because GRL was improperly “blacklisted” as a spammer. Even though all GRL subscribers opted-in to receive email, there is no easy way to dispute being improperly blacklisted by dozens of email systems, and it is next to impossible to get whitelisted again unless you are a large company with a large support staff to throw at the problem. For an individual like me, it’s basically hopeless.

As an alternative, readers can re-subscribe to receive GRL email updates via Feedburer on this new blog platform. Just enter your email address in the box in the upper left part of the page and hit the Subscribe button.

I hope you like the new, improved GRL! Please email me if you find anything amiss, at chris [at] getreallist [dot] com.

Good reading

September 10, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Contributed by: Chris

I came across some good pieces today and thought it was about time I did a post to the blog just to pass some things along…so here you go.

–C

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Coal Stocks Set to Soar

August 29, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Contributed by: Chris

As promised, I’m posting both parts of my new article on China and coal today as a single piece. Part 2 went out yesterday on Energy and Capital.

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Important news about GRL

August 29, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Contributed by: Chris

For those of you who tried to check in to my blog in the last 24 hours or so, my apologies. Apparently my blowing ISP’s database server went down and corrupted some of my blog’s tables, which they refused to help me correct, and it was only with the help of a friend that I got it going again today.

Because my current ISP is going out of business as of November, I’m in the process of transitioning to a new host and, at the same time, switching over to WordPress from Geeklog as my blog platform. Hopefully we’ll have that done some time next week. In the meantime, “please excuse the dust” and don’t give up on GRL!

Important note about email delivery of GRL: Email delivery of GRL will also be changing after the move. Instead of emailing blog updates to you directly–which has resulted in over half of my subscribers getting blacklisted by dumb email services like Yahoo which make it impossible for me to get whitelisted again, even though everyone opted in voluntarily–blog updates can be mailed to you via Feedburner. On the plus side, many subscribers will once again be able to get GRL emailed to them, but unfortunately everyone will have to sign up again to get it. More details to come when I have them.

Chris Martenson’s “Crash Course”

August 21, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Contributed by: Chris

I have to give a shout out to Chris Martenson for his Crash Course. It’s an outstanding online video presentation telling you all you need to know about money, the economy, where we’re going, and how we got here. Rarely does such a complex subject get such a simple and accurate treatment. The next chapter (still to come) is about peak oil, and I’m looking forward to seeing it!

It will take you about 2.5 hours to get through the 16 short segments, so you can watch a new segment whenever you’ve got about five minutes to spare if you like. But I highly recommend it–I’d call it must-see material. Watch it, grok it, blog it, digg it, send it to your friends!

–C

The Big Picture Update on Q2 2008, Part 2

June 25, 2008 at 7:05 am
Contributed by: Chris

Folks,

Several updates for you here. First, my column this week for Energy and Capital, which is the final part of my update on the big picture for the second quarter of the year. In part 1 of this series, I reviewed the trends in financials, fossil fuels and electricity. This week, I take a look at renewables, food and fertilizer.

After that, some recent media updates. I have lots of media stuff going on related to the book, so stay tuned for more.

Feel free to send me your feedback; I love hearing from my readers.
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The Bulletin interview with Brian Hicks

June 20, 2008 at 7:59 am
Contributed by: Chris

Reposting a new interview with my co-author Brian Hicks about our book, by journalist Marc Kramer of The Bulletin.
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Commodities Soar as Stocks Sink

April 15, 2008 at 7:19 am
Contributed by: Chris

Folks,

It looks like blog is once again sending out email, after not working for a while. So if you haven’t already, you might want to check in to GRL and see what you missed!

Here’s my follow-up to last week’s article on good commodity investments that can help hedge your losses in energy, food, and stocks. Originally published at Energy and Capital.

–C
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Grain’s Gains: Profits or Pains?

April 11, 2008 at 3:30 am
Contributed by: Chris

Folks,

Here’s my latest article, originally published at Energy and Capital. Here’s the blurb: “Skyrocketing grain prices raise the specter of famine, but commodities can be a safe haven for investors.”

–C
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Daily Show on the history of U.S. foreign relations

August 23, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Contributed by:

Folks,

I had to pass along a tip regarding last night’s Daily Show.

Quoting SilentPatriot at Crooksandliars:

In perhaps the most brilliant segment on “The Daily Show” I’ve ever seen, last night Jon ran through the last three decades of United States intervention in the Middle East to show how incoherent, ass-backwards and counter-productive it has been.

I agree–it was brilliant. And included the 1994 Cheney video.

Find it on the Comedy Central site by scrolling down the Most Recent Videos column to “America to the Rescue,” or find it on Crooksandliars here.

–C

Brief interview on Traders Nation

August 2, 2007 at 10:02 am
Contributed by:

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

Radio interviews airing Friday

July 5, 2007 at 11:32 am
Contributed by:

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

Life Through Time

June 21, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Contributed by:

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




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