So much for tirades against American greed [EU banks worse]

The Telegraph ^ | 10/2/2008 | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

[SAJ]

Who's gloating? I'm a trader, mate. All I look for is opportunity, having given up completely on the ''integrity'' of governments long ago.

I'll tell you this right now: buying the CME Eurodollar December 9712-strike or 9725-strike call options right now, and selling an equal number of the November 9712- or 9725-strike call options is almost certainly profitable over 30-45 days, and MIGHT be enormously profitable.

This is called a 'calendar spread' or 'time spread'. The margin required, for each spread you put on, is $40.00. Each tick in Eurodollar contract is $25.00. You risk less than 4 ticks (plus commissions) per spread and stand to make between 3 and 20 ticks per spread by 1 November, with further chances of enhancing your profit after that.

Won't speak for you, but that's a plenty good enough opportunity for me.

FReegards!

[SAJ]

Could be worse. EU might have decided to have the Italians run the banks, the English do the cooking, the Hungarians to run the political side, and the French to balance the budget.

Ich habe keine (or is it 'kein'?) Deutsch. Sehr schade. Eine kleine Nachtmusik, bitte!

;^)

[SAJ]

The politico I should like to insert into your ‘3 Stooges’ scenario is my old ‘’friend’’ Gerhard Shoe-Odor, now a lobbyist for a Russian-German energy firm.

[Wilhelm Tell]

I didn’t mean you were gloating. There are plenty of people in various posts who seem thrilled that European institutions are even more dysfunctional than American institutions. They have the perverse idea that America “wins” if other countries are sinking to the bottom faster. That is why I said that smart people shouldn’t gloat. I guess I should have said that smart people are not gloating.

[Wilhelm Tell]

Can you suggest any good newsletters or whatnot where they give generally sound advice? There is so much disinformation out there.

[SAJ]

Unfortunately, I can't. I don't subscribe to newsletters.

I can, however, recommend a website to you that tracks currencies in real time, and has a number of very experienced traders on it (caution: their jargon can be VERY dense, so one must try to get used to it). That site is Jay Meisner's excellent Global-View site.

Global-View

Very short 2-item signup, completely free unless you want to subscribe to various forex trading advisories (I don't). The commentary is VERY good, if occasionally a bit difficult to sort through. Oh, and G-V does **not** send out any obnoxious e-mail solicitations (definite plus!).

FReegards!

[SAJ]

Come to think of it, I **can** recommend a good newsletter, oriented strongly toward currencies, but with a LOT of commentary on politico-economic events too.

Written by a woman named Barbara Rockefeller, LONG-time currency analyst, spent 20 years or so with Citigroup.

Rockefeller Treasury Services

Don't recall what she charges, but it's reasonable for non-commercial (meaning non-bank) subscribers. Her politics are pretty lefty, but she knows her field, bet your life!

[Wilhelm Tell]

Thanks! I know you ultimately have to be your own guru, so to speak. And it can be work to find out what is really going on. I know enough to not let emotions drive financial decisions and I have a pretty good fad detector, but there are a lot of things I should study more than I have recently.

[Nervous Tick]

I hardly ever post mkt predictions here. This one, however, is inescapably true, barring only some absolutely ludicrously stupid action on the part of the US

Check out this thread you posted in April, bruinbirdman. Look at my reply #2 and your #3.

SAJ, this is why I'm not a trader. No balls. Especially as regards shorting. :-) So I'm afraid I'll have to stick with investing.

Over time and through experience the Good Lord has made it abundantly clear that His plan for me involves working, not "trading". If you know what I mean, and I think you do. If you can make a living at it, more power to you!

FRegards

[Leisler]

Thirty years ago he and, I forget, wrote a book called, “Blood In the Streets”. About the world wide financial collapse and the wars and revolutions it would bring.

Goldbugs. You know, I’ve never been income taxed, sale taxed, property taxed, fined, permitted, observed, regulated, lawed against by a goldbug, but I have by the fiat money people.

I willing to give the goldbuggers a chance to do to me what the paper guys have. Could it be worse?

[Leisler]

YouTube James Grant. He of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer. I try to read everthing he publically puts out. A bit of a bear, but a great financial historian, funny too.

[bruinbirdman]

"Especially as regards shorting. :-) " April, 10

In fact, the Forbes recommendation was to "repatriate dollars" invested in foreign instruments which, since the beginning of the year, were trading at historic highs. Forbes said that at least 20% of foreign equities' valuation increase to U.S. investors was due to undervalued greenback.

Joe sixpack shorted the EU by taking his foreign profits. Many did just that. One result was that U.S. equities peaked at the end of May (a month after the post).

yitbos