Sector expert Michael Ballanger reacts to today's Federal Open Market Committee meeting. To the surprise of the many and the chagrin of the few, the Fed opted to do nothing with policy today and left rates unchanged despite clarion calls for a cut. As I wrot...
Streetwise Reports
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June 20, 2019
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Ever since Sept. 19, 2008, when Hammerin' Hank Paulson appeared in front of the U.S. Congress on bended knee and begged those clueless politicians for a bailout—which he did successfully—the spread of moral hazard throughout the world has been a contagion that makes the...
Streetwise Reports
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January 21, 2020
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I was looking over the charts last night (over a fine Merlot and some fava beans), trying desperately to avoid the temptation of attending that embarrassment of capitalism called PDAC. The mining conference held annually in Toronto has transformed from an industrial showc...
Streetwise Reports
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March 11, 2019
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As many of you know, I love to spend the summers exploring the thousands upon thousands of bays and inlets and coves that represent the Georgian Bay landscape. With the exception of a few boyhood jaunts around the Parry Sound area, I was not able to fully appreciate the g...
Streetwise Reports
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July 10, 2019
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Invasive species: Any kind of living organism—an amphibian (like the cane toad), plant, insect, fish, fungus, bacteria, or even an organism's seeds or eggs—that is not native to an ecosystem and causes harm. They can harm the environment, the economy, or even human he...
Streetwise Reports
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August 14, 2019
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With due deference to the greatness of William Shakespeare, the opening line of Hamlet is one that has been found not only in literature, but in film, music and politics, and is a question that has been asked for centuries as to whether the pain we endure in life is pre...
Streetwise Reports
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September 5, 2019
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On Wednesday, as the kiddies were upset over a swooning S&P, then trading a paltry 5% from the all-time high of 3,027, I tweeted out this graphic that perfectly describes my cynical view of the paper markets around the world. What prompted me to exercise my artis...
Streetwise Reports
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October 8, 2019
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"For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." —Sir Isaac Newton (Newton's Third Law) In nature, where everything moves freely absent human interference, her omnipotent forces are allowed to manifest themselves in manners that create a living ecosystem t...
Streetwise Reports
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November 19, 2019
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It was one of those days that all sexagenarians loathe; you have to go to the doctor, and whether it's the GP (general practitioner) or the dentist or the proctologist, nothing reminds you more rapidly of your advancing age than going to the optometrist. Now, many of ...
Streetwise Reports
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January 14, 2020
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I was poring over the Federal Reserve minutes from Feb. 21, and as I was rolling my eyes and looking around my den for something to throw, I was reminded of the comments from then-Fed chairman Ben Bernanke years ago when he was asked if the Fed was "monetizing debt." The ...
Streetwise Reports
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February 26, 2019
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