The Sizemore Investment Letter

I’ll give the European Union credit: at least they are creative at finding new ways to upset the world’s capital markets. Instead of demanding just the usual austerity measures of higher taxes and lower spending—and a potential haircut on speculative creditors such as hedge funds—the EU bailout negotiators insisted over the weekend on extracting a [...]

The post The Cyprus Crisis and What It Means For Investors appeared first on Sizemore Insights.

In the world of finance, “Investing in Oz” is usually taken to mean investing in Australia.  But with the recent interest in the 1939 classic movie The Wizard of Oz, the phrase has taken on a whole new meaning. In 2013, Oz is back in a big way.  Walt Disney Pictures, a division of the [...]

The post Investing in Oz appeared first on Sizemore Insights.

In the world of finance, “Investing in Oz” is usually taken to mean investing in Australia.  But with the recent interest in the 1939 classic movie The Wizard of Oz, the phrase has taken on a whole new meaning. In 2013, Oz is back in a big way.  Walt Disney Pictures, a division of the [...]

The post Investing in Oz appeared first on Sizemore Insights.

It may sound like a harsh question.  But the man is seriously ill with cancer, and he has had no public appearances in over a month. Rumors abound that he is near death…or may already be dead.   As he is reported to be in Havana, some have even speculated that the Cuban government is essentially [...]

The post What Happens if Hugo Chavez Croaks? appeared first on Sizemore Insights.

Part of me really missed the guy.  There was something naturally endearing about Silvio Berlusconi. Perhaps it was his ability to charm women 50 years his junior or his complete disregard for the conflicts of interest involved with being your country’s national leader and one of its richest men and the owner of its most [...]

The post He’s Back: What Silvio Berlusconi Means For Italy and the Euro Crisis appeared first on Sizemore Insights.

Ah, to be back in South America.  Long-time Trading Deck readers might recall that I spend a fair bit of time in Peru (see “Going Long Two Beaten Down Euro Stocks”).  When you marry a Peruvian, you don’t really have a choice. Not that I’m complaining.  I can say in all seriousness that I’ve never [...]

Share/Bookmark The European Central Bank announced that it injected €530 billion into the European banking system in February, slightly higher than the €500 billion expected by analysts. This second installment of the Longer-Term Refinancing Operation (LTRO) is larger than the €489 lent out in December and brings the running total to over €1 trillion. For [...]

Share/BookmarkOne of the strongest major currencies in the world since the onset of the 2008 crisis has been the Japanese yen.  This is a dramatic change of fortune for what has long been—and what should be—a weak currency. Take a look at Figure 1, which tracks the dollar / yen exchange rate.  In late 2008, [...]

Share/BookmarkCharles Sizemore gave his thoughts on the unfolding crisis in the Straits of Hormuz to the Wall Street Journal’s Quentin Fottrell: The “Iran issue” is one of about four macro risks that concerns me in 2012, the other three being a disorderly default by Greece or another Eurozone country, a greater than expected slowing in [...]

Share/BookmarkAs a wise man by the name of Yogi Berra once said, “It’s déjà vu all over again.”  This is how investors feel about Greece at the moment. 2011 was the year of risk on / risk off. Virtually all risky assets—including stocks, commodities, energy, non-Treasury debt, and non-dollar currencies—rose and fell together based primarily [...]