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 [...]
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 readers [...]
One 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, [...]
Charles 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 [...]
As 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 [...]
I read a fact this week that I never expected to read in my lifetime: “The Japanese government is expected to announce Wednesday that the country recorded its first annual trade deficit since 1980″ (see ” End of Era for Japan’s Exports “). Trade deficit? Japan? Japan’s economy has been a slow-motion train wreck for [...]
China has what I like to call a “high quality problem.” Only in the People’s Republic does economic growth of 8.9 percent represent a slump. These kinds of numbers would be pure fantasy to Americans or Europeans. American real GDP growth is clocking in at less than 2 percent, and the Eurozone may already be [...]
Monday’s edition of the Financial Times had two side-by-side headlines that were telling: “Earnings Growth Falters for S&P 500” “Art Market Bucks Gloom to Leave Equities Trailing Again” In a year in which the S&P 500 returned nothing and earnings growth began to decelerate, the “art market” as measured by the Mei Moses All Art [...]
As I wrote last week, I have emerging markets on my mind because—at least through the first of the year—I’m living in one. I’m writing this article from the bustling Peruvian farming and ranching town of Paijan, where, between attempting to follow the markets from afar and chasing after my two-year old son, I’ve managed [...]
Perhaps it is my surroundings, but I have emerging markets on my mind this morning. I’m writing this article from, of all places, Paijan, Peru, where I’ll be spending the Christmas and New Year holidays with my inlaws (see map of Paijan). Paijan is a small farming and ranching town on Peru’s Pacific coast that [...]
Is the founder and editor of The Sizemore Investment Letter, a monthly newsletter dedicated to finding superior investments backed by powerful macro trends. 
