The Freedom Factory

This is the first time I can recall disagreeing with economist Ben Stein. In “Reflate the Economy – Now,” Stein presents an extremely desperate plea for the government to do all it can to prevent deflation. To put it another way, Stein is calling on Congress, the coming Obama adminstration, and the Federal Reserve, to do all they can to pump money into the economy. The method is irrelevent, Stein states; what is important is that money be printed and thrown as fast as possible into the remnants of a crumbling economy. Call me crazy, but this is the exact opposite of what should be done! Continue Reading

Long energy and short financials has been a winning hedge fund trade this last quarter, but has since unwound. Oil has fallen nearly $30/barrel off it’s highs approaching $150/barrel, and financial stocks have been all the rage of late. Concensus is that, although we’re not in a recession, GDP growth is stagnant and markets are all over the place. How should a prudent investor approach today’s environment, particularly in dealing with energy? Continue Reading