I said previously that I would maintain a wiki and blog at the same time. That way with the wiki you get a good overall view of things, and the blog are thoughts from the moment.
Well…

That did not work out so well. My blog went downhill, and so did my wiki. I got nowhere!
Then I decided to look back and see what is going on. I realized something interesting, and it was blogging is not where its at anymore. Recently I joined a chat room and people asked me, “what’s …

I still own a few shares of GOOG. It’s felt overpriced recently, but I’m holding onto a minimal amount at all times and trying to add more over time. So I’m hoping the price drops a bunch so I can pick up more cheaply.
Do a search here for GOOG for my previous thoughts (years old), but I basically think that the world will continue to be drowned in data. Google’s goal to organize the world’s information and their expertise at scaling Internet apps puts them in a great position to …

At the beginning of May I said that the Greek demonstrations would drop off dramatically. Of course nobody listened… What has happened? Oh yeah the Greek demonstrations have dropped off dramatically.
So why did this happen? It is because the English speaking media does not understand mainland Europe. In fact the English speaking media is pretty ignorant of everything that is not English speaking.

Let me illustrate another misunderstanding. These folks are talking how the Euro dropping is bad, and that the European economies will do bad. YET, and here is the …

Wow sell sell sell…  Why? Because Germany introduced a ban on naked short selling?
Germany will ban so-called naked short-selling from midnight, a lawmaker with the ruling Christian Democratic Union told Dow Jones Newswires. He added that Chancellor Angela Merkel will announce the plan in her speech to the lower house of parliament Wednesday morning.
Naked short selling—which differs from short selling in that the sold shares aren’t borrowed in advance—came under fire at the height of Greece’s struggle to refinance its debt, with many euro-zone governments saying such transactions in …

I find the article from one of Germany’s biggest tabloid very interesting. It asks does Germany need the Euro? Would Germany not rather have the Deutsch Mark back?
First in this time of crisis I find it interesting that Germans are split 50-50 about the Deutsch Mark. You would figure that more German’s would want the Deutsch Mark back. I guess I can tell you anybody over 50 wants the Deutsch Mark, and anybody below 50 doesn’t want the Deutsch Mark.
The answer in the article is that Germans don’t want the …

Greece and Turkey have met and begun the process of building ties between their two countries. Let me tell you a bit about this situation since my father was living and working in Boursa Turkey.
Athens and Greece have been enemies for a very long time. This dates back 400 years or more, back to the Ottoman empire and beyond. The Ottoman empire was a Turkish empire. This hate of each other has caused many problems including Cyprus and the ownership of a few islands in the black sea.
But when Greece …

I know I am going to hear a lot about the naysayers…
BUT look at the following article, Greece and Turkey have called a truce. They have both agreed to a massive reduction in military budgets and increased trade between the two countries.
Die griechische Schuldenkrise ermöglicht eine historische Annäherung zwischen Athen und Ankara. Um die Staatskasse zu schonen, wollen die beiden Rivalen ihre Rüstungsausgaben massiv kürzen.

People pigs just flew! And to think people doubted that Greece could change! Congrats Greece you are making history. I am more optimistic than ever.

I have no idea if I caused this, but it is interesting to think about. First let’s look at the article and you will see what happened.
He said an earlier rumor that France’s credit rating could be in jeopardy accelerated the selloff in the euro, as it added to the markets’ contagion fears.
"That scared the heck out of everybody," Cashin said.

When I heard this I thought, “you have got to be f****g kidding me?”
On Friday early in the morning CET time I was talking with some people in the …

Great overview and background on Gold as a Commodity over at Crossing Wallstreet.
The summary for current investors is…
My view is that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates earlier than expected. I don’t know exactly when that will be but it will put gold on a dangerous path. For now, my advice is to stay away from gold, either long or short.
… but you should read the whole thing for a lot of interesting tidbits on the history of gold and how to track and trade it. Here’s another quote …

When I get into something I can become single-minded. Take for example the following article.
Monday’s market euphoria across the world at the terms of the European Union/International Monetary Fund rescue package for the European bond market faded Tuesday as investors sold stocks and took profits on the euro. The worry for investors is whether governments in Greece and Portugal can live up to their end of the bargain and manage to significantly cut government spending in the face of bitter opposition from voters.

Ok again moving the goal posts, but hey …