Not everyone has time to read the lengthy, boring letters that I write, so I thought I’d summarize and simplify.

Official trade data for China showed exports growing YOY by 14.7%, ahead of forecasts of 9% and imports of 16.8%, ahead of forecasts of 13%. Closer inspection of the data reveals interesting themes. Notably, the bulk of the rise in exports was to Asia, as was the bulk of imports. Ex Asia, the numbers for

  The game of chicken is played when two cars are driven at each other at high speed. The one that flinches first, loses. The one that flinches last, wins. If neither flinch, they both lose. 

Having borrowed heavily in the bond markets in the past couple of years. If interest rates should rise substantially, a corporate CFO might be tempted to buy back their company’s debt at below par and retire its debt. Its an interesting way of making money without producing a single widget. One wonders how significant this

The sudden weakness in gold is intriguing given the acceleration in global QE most recently by the Bank of Japan. Gold has always been thought as a hedge against inflation and deflation. In fact most gold bugs would have one believe it can cure physical ailments. It is established wisdom, however, that gold is a