Year: 2014

Value in France – Who Would have Thought?

Nowadays France is better known as the country which has managed to take incomprehensible, anti-growth, anti-sanity, bureaucratic policies, layer them on top of existing, mind-numbing socialist stupidity and have their citizens think it all as ordinary as chocolate cake. It’s enough to induce a guy to reach for Xanax, if

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A Bull Market in PR

The World Cup is on. I sat and watched a game on the weekend with my son. “Dad, that guy completely faked that fall. Couldn’t the ref see that?” My son, who watches precious little television noticed immediately how many of the players were pretending to be hurt at the

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The Importance of Buying Lots of Time

Early in 2012 I noted how cheap Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) appeared. Certainly the stock looked cheap, though when trading options I need more than just a cheap stock. Importantly, in this instance the availability of ultra-long term December 2016 expiration options (trading on the Amsterdam exchange) also seemed cheap,

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It’s Crazy What This Commodity is Being Sold For!

Internally we have a running joke here. We talk of the “Yeti” deal. Like the Yeti, everyone has heard about the deal but few have seen it, and the longer this persists the greater the doubt that the “Yeti” actually exists. The “Yeti deal” is a project that I began

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You Want to Know the Truth About the World? Ask a Child…

“Why is she so fat Daddy?” …looking at an obese woman struggling to get out of her car at the supermarket. “I like your funny hair.” …said to a surfer with dreadlocks. “How do you know that?” …asked of a religious, end-of-the-world crusader holding up a placard and yelling that

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Iraq: A View from the Inside Out

Today I bring you insights from Kevin Virgil, an ex army ranger, and the founder and managing director of Frontera news an emerging markets news portal. Once again, Iraq is in the news. The Western media has interrupted its 24-hour Kardashian coverage to bring stories of fearsome insurgents who appeared

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