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All- there were a lot of great comments and questions this week, I will review several here: LATVIA Excellent insights on Latvia and the way to trade the devaluation. Johan from Sweden asks if we are too late shorting Sweden’s banks. I think not, and here’s why: Swedbank, one of the largest Swedish
You probably know the story of the boiling frog. The premise is simple. If a frog is placed in a pot of water that is already boiling, it will immediately sense danger and jump out, relatively unscathed. If it is placed in a pot of cool water, the frog will happily stay in
A final note on Latvia today before I put the Baltics to bed for now– Yesterday I argued that Latvia is definitely headed for devaluation, and that European governments are practically bending over backwards to make sure we know about it. In comments yesterday, the astute Mr. Marriott pointed out that the grey
Yesterday I talked about the demise of the Latvian economy and how it will foretell the future of California. Today I want to talk about the opportunity I see to profit from it. I have seen the face of crisis before, both in the military and as a civilian. But rarely have I
I found out this weekend that Paul Krugman is wrong about Latvia. For months, mainstream luminaries like Krugman have been telling me that Latvia is the next Argentina, and that the country is on the verge of economic collapse… wait, stop– what does this even mean? Have the lights suddenly gone out? is
Earlier today, amid much pomp and fanfare, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) opened the sealed bids for the canal expansion project. Audience members looked on eagerly like it was the Academy Award for best picture… The lowest bidder? A consortium led by Italy’s Impregilo, ringing in for a cool $3.12 billion. Wait, wait,
Making money is large part of achieving independence and living free. In my own life, I focus on select entrepreneurial ventures to generate capital, and specific investments which subsequently grow that capital. My investment habits might be best described as ‘peculiar,’ because, believe it or not, I do not have a strong risk
Yesterday I wrote to you about Lithuania and all the great things it has to offer– it’s inexpensive, has second citizenship, a low flat tax, and beautiful women. These are all great reasons to visit from time to time (and obtain a passport if you are so fortunate), but today I want to
About a month ago I was attending a private, invitation-only meeting with some of the finest unconventional minds in finance. We gathered for three days at a luxurious oceanside resort on the Maryland coast to have an open exchange of ideas, debate our philosophies, and play poker ’til dawn. Lobo Tigre, editor of
Argentina is still doomed. If you don’t know Argentine politics well, I’ll give you a quick history: the country has vast natural resource wealth and was once one of the richest in the world. It has been serially run by a group of incompetents ever since the Perons first came to power after
This always happens to me. Whether in Buenos Aires, Beirut, Rome, Bangkok, Zurich, or now Helsinki, I always seem to get caught up in some sort of protest. To be honest, I love protests… I think it’s great when people finally have enough of the system and demonstrate their unwillingness to continue going
Today I confessed my sins to Uncle Sam. No, I’m not talking about anything sinister. But in a mad dash through a US stopover today, I dropped US Treasury form TDF-90 in the mail: “Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts.” It went something like this: “Forgive me uncle for I have sinned.
We have a really intelligent group here. All the comments from yesterday, plus the dozens of private emails I received, underscore one of the big reasons why I do this in the first place– to build a community for like-minded, sharp, successful people who are lions instead of sheep… bold winners who think
I’ve always loved the women here. There I said it. I’m only human. To be honest, this is one of the great things about living free overseas, and I don’t just mean romance; when I’m outside of the United States, I have access to a completely different caliber of people– both expats and
I’m back in Panama today… I’ve never been so happy to see Panamanian soil before; the trip to Cuba, which I reported on yesterday, was fantastic– but the lack of reliable phone and internet connectivity was problematic now that I have a daily deadline to meet. I spend a lot of time in
