Author Archive

• MacroTwits Special with Howard Lindzon
  Gregor Macdonald, March 11th, 2010 at 11:00 am, Comments: 0

  Watch me school Howard in the big picture of energy. A special MacroTwits mid-week interview. As always, the full range of stocktwits.tv programming can now be taken through iTunes. See link at bottom of the StockTwits. TV front page. Regards, –Gregor

• Oil Crush: Model Portfolio Update
  Gregor Macdonald, March 10th, 2010 at 5:37 pm, Comments: 0

  Fresh figures were released today from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showing that the big states lost further ground in the battle of unemployment. California, Illinois, Florida, and North Carolina set new highs in their unemployment rates. Interestingly, these are four of the seven large states I identified in February as energy-deficit states. It’s not [...]

• Readings: Tuesday 9 March 2010
  Gregor Macdonald, March 9th, 2010 at 11:58 pm, Comments: 0

  Peak Demand Yes, But Not the Nice Kind: Chris Nelder, GetRealList.com.
  Can California Declare Bankruptcy?: Christopher Beam, Slate.
  Exxon Lowers Bar, Buys Assets Once Seen Unattractive: Edward Klump, Bloomberg.com.
  Requiem for a Dying City: Damien Perrotin, Energy Bulletin.
  What’s Wrong with Venture Capital?: James Surowiecki, MIT Technology Review.
  Losses Wipe Out Equity of Mexico’s Pemex: Robert Campbell, Reuters.
  California Job Losses [...]

• The End?: Gregor Weekly Macro Note
  Gregor Macdonald, March 6th, 2010 at 11:53 pm, Comments: 0

  Apparently the (labor) recession ended while I was attending the MIT Energy Conference in Cambridge-Boston on Friday. Job losses came in less than expected and the economists who are prone to keep things simple were generally quite upbeat on the report. Bloomberg Radio had two macroeconomic observers back to back on Friday, the first being [...]

• Podcast Picks: Friday 5 March 2009
  Gregor Macdonald, March 5th, 2010 at 5:15 am, Comments: 0

  After Words: Facing Unpleasant Facts – Packer and Hitchens on George Orwell, C-SPAN Podcasts.
  The 2010 Census: roundtable with Williams, Frey, Jost, Sparks, Dianne Rhem WAMU Radio.
  China’s Forgotten Admiral: Nick Baker on Zheng He, BBC World Service Documentary.
  Coal in the Heartland: Coal in the Heartland – Jeff Biggers on Clean Coal and Coal Policy, Democracy Now [...]

• Silver Flashing: Model Portfolio Update
  Gregor Macdonald, March 3rd, 2010 at 6:07 pm, Comments: 0

  The gold/silver ratio continues to come down from recent highs, when the 72.81 level was hit, and is currently sitting at 66.28. This most recent thrust off the Greece drama looks like it’s going to carry some. At least through the end of March. And, I think we should look for the ratio to fall [...]

• Readings: Tuesday 2 March 2010
  Gregor Macdonald, March 2nd, 2010 at 9:49 pm, Comments: 0

  My Verdict on the Bloom Box: Chris Nelder, GetRealList.com.
  Drought Threatens Syria Economy as Refugees Flee Parched Farms: Daniel Williams, Bloomberg.com.
  Bad weather and uncertainty hit construction sector recovery: Phillip Inman, Guardian.co.uk.
  U.K. Teeters on the Brink of Its Own Greek Debt Tragedy: Landon Thomas Jr., The New York Times.
  A Game of Tag Breaks Out Between London’s Graffiti [...]

• MacroTwits Hour: Sunday Night Show 28 February 2010
  Gregor Macdonald, March 1st, 2010 at 9:04 am, Comments: 0

  The full range of stocktwits.tv programming can now be taken through iTunes. See link at bottom of the StockTwits. TV front page. Regards, –Gregor

• Maybe Next Year: Gregor Weekly Macro Note
  Gregor Macdonald, February 27th, 2010 at 11:05 pm, Comments: 0

  Neither Ted Williams nor Carl Yastrzemski won a World Series with the Red Sox. In fact, whole generations of Red Sox fans lived, and died, without seeing the Red Sox win a World Series. I thought of these long-cycle disappointments today as I read over the investor newsletter from Warren Buffet. Warren appears to be [...]

• House of FED: Model Portfolio Update
  Gregor Macdonald, February 24th, 2010 at 11:55 pm, Comments: 0

  When the FED confirmed its intentions to terminate its MBS buying program as planned in March, I immediately began to wonder how they could diplomatically reverse course should they change their mind. A very funny commentator, on the Calculated Risk blog, wrote sarcastically: As of April 30th, the FED mortgage-backed security buying program is now [...]