Archive for December, 2009

• Gregor Weekly Model Portfolio Update: 30 December 2009
  Gregor Macdonald, December 30th, 2009 at 11:23 pm, Comments: 0

  I wish the prospects for wage growth in the OECD were as robust as the outlook for coal demand in Asia. (no need to expand much on this opening line, and so I’ll move on to the next paragraph).
  According to Bloomberg, 2009 will be the worst year for government bonds since 1978. Obviously that was [...]

• Gregor Weekly Macro Note: Sunday 27 December 2009
  Gregor Macdonald, December 27th, 2009 at 10:42 pm, Comments: 0

  It’s Overhead Crush time again. If you told me that for the next two years gasoline would go to 90 cents a gallon, that natural gas would go to $1.75 per MMbtu, and that base price electricity would return to 9 cents a kWh, then I would be ready to finally turn more positive on [...]

• Gregor Weekly Model Portfolio Update: 24 December 2009
  Gregor Macdonald, December 24th, 2009 at 6:41 pm, Comments: 0

  Flaherty you CAD! The action and the newsflow this week in the Canadian Dollar potentially settles a multi-year debate I’ve had with some Canadian friends. Since 2004, in addition to being long-term perma-bullish on the Canadian economy, I have taken the position that when the denouement to America’s credit bubble finally began to unfold, that [...]

• Gregor Weekly Macro Note: Saturday 19 December 2009
  Gregor Macdonald, December 19th, 2009 at 11:39 pm, Comments: 0

  Someday this war’s gonna end. For this week’s Campfire series on The Oil Drum, I have submitted a kind of post-peak, energy-transition, urban renewal plan and used Philadelphia as my tableau. Embedded in what is otherwise a rather thematic, big idea kind of essay are most of my views on energy transition, permanently higher oil [...]

• Podcast Picks: Friday 18 December 2009
  Gregor Macdonald, December 18th, 2009 at 3:20 pm, Comments: 0

  Long Emergency USA Tour – Parts I and II: Crary and Kunstler, KunstlerCast Radio.
  An Economic Warning: interview with John Mauldin and Jeremy Seigel, WBUR On Point Radio.
  Interview with Dr Marc Faber: by Eric King, King World News Service Broadcast.
  Superfreakanomics duo Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt: interview by Ezra Klein, C-SPAN.org Podcasts.
  Energy & Commerce Cmte. Ranking [...]

• Gregor Weekly Model Portfolio Update: 16 December 2009
  Gregor Macdonald, December 16th, 2009 at 11:45 pm, Comments: 0

  Quietly, without much attention, the long end of the US Treasury market continues to deteriorate. It’s just not pronounced enough yet to draw much attention. And as someone who’s been interested in going short US Treasuries for over three years now (without having done so), I can understand the complacency. Or is is caution?
  This January, [...]

• Readings: Tuesday 15 December 2009
  Gregor Macdonald, December 15th, 2009 at 2:00 am, Comments: 0

  Investing in an Empire of Illusion – Real Solutions to the Energy and Climate Crises: Chris Nelder, GetRealist.com.
  Cocktails and Real Estate in Greenwich: Bruce Krasting,  ZeroHedge.com.
  World Bank Spends Billions on Coal-Fired Power Stations: Ben Webster, The Times of London.
  Fastest Food Inflation Since Riots Means Milk Up 39%: Bloomberg.com.

  Greece Defies Europe as EMU Crisis [...]

• Cross Posting: Exxon Faces Reality
  Gregor Macdonald, December 14th, 2009 at 3:00 pm, Comments: 0

  GregorWeekly subscribers might enjoy reading a Gregor.us post from this afternoon, on the deal Exxon Mobil has made for XTO. Excerpt: Whether Exxon’s corporate culture of denial has changed or not is unclear. However, Exxon today has purchased for itself one of the best run Natural Gas producers in the United States, with its all [...]

• Gregor Weekly Macro Note: Saturday 12 December 2009
  Gregor Macdonald, December 12th, 2009 at 11:04 pm, Comments: 0

  Let’s talk about oil and coal: In the Summer of 2003, having already embarked on my oil journey, I took out a sheet of paper and started making notes on the global coal sector. To my initial astonishment, the entire listed market cap of coal names on the NYSE came in just shy of 30 [...]

• Podcast Picks: Friday 11 December 2009
  Gregor Macdonald, December 11th, 2009 at 11:24 am, Comments: 0

  Anthony Bolton Goes to China: Business Daily, BBC World Service .
  Gas, Shale, and Hydrofracking – problems of shale gas extraction: Medlock, Mall, Adams, Wujnovich, WBUR On Point Radio.
  Aqua Shock – The Water Crisis in America: Author Susan J Marks, Financial Sense Online.
  “Keep the Oil in the Soil”: Ecuador Seeks Money to Keep Untapped Oil [...]