A cautionary tale
“Bristol Crown Court heard how almost 10,000 people booked to visit the brothers’ Lapland New Forest attraction.. in the run-up to Christmas 2008. They were lured by promises of a “magical tunnel of light”, a “bustling Christmas market” filled with...
Don’t go Dutch
“I’ve listened to enough of your crap ! You’re a ******* git !” – And then he began firing. - Michael Lewis’ account of Irishman Gary Keogh throwing rotten eggs at the chairman of Allied Irish Bank, in his Vanity...
Special Situations
On February 2, 2011 Martin Gray, Manager of the CF Miton Special Situations Fund, spoke with Tim Price and Killian Connolly of PFP Wealth Management. A transcript of the interview follows. Tim Price: Is the financial crisis over ? Martin...
Relax
“At one point, two former employees say, Goldman’s top management was demanding hourly profit and loss statements from certain teams [at Goldman Sachs Asset Management]..” - Richard Teitelbaum, Bloomberg News. The watched pot does not boil. The financial equivalent of...
Wrong at the top of their voice
“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” - Stephen Roberts. Given their role...
A playground for robots
“When a government is dependent upon bankers for money, they and not the leaders of the government control the situation, since the hand that gives is above the hand that takes. Money has no motherland; financiers are without patriotism and...
The first duty of intelligent men
A special, post-Christmas message: “When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.” - Henny Youngman. It is customary for asset managers to begin the year with a list of forecasts and predictions for the year ahead....
Dollar Finds Strength As Global Financial Concerns Continue To Build
A guest post from Forex Traders: The U.S. dollar was decimated during the summer and early fall as traders sold the greenback based on the expectation that the Federal Reserve was going to move forward with a second round of...
In search of real money
“Osborne says iconic red budget box empty ‘for years’, keys lost” - Bloomberg headline. This will be our final Investment Commentary of 2010. We would like to wish all clients, prospective clients and readers a happy and healthy Christmas and...
Ireland is no Island
“A Budget tells us what we can’t afford, but it doesn’t keep us from buying it.” - William Feather. “In emerging economies, public debt of more than 40% of GDP is considered dangerous. That is less than half the ratio...
Economic Agent Orange
“I, however, place economy among the first and most important republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared.” - Thomas Jefferson. There are, crudely, three types of investment risk once one leaves the supposedly...
“No problem”
In the interests of brevity, readers may wish over the coming weeks and months to substitute Portugal, Spain and Italy for the word "Ireland" within this week's commentary. “..Brian Lenihan, Ireland’s finance minister, told Irish radio early on Wednesday the...
