Michael Ashton

E-PIPHANY

Contributor since: 26 Feb 2010

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• Let the (Political) Games Begin

  Published 13 August 2012 | viewed 0 times

  The Olympics are over, so the political games begin in earnest. Over the weekend, presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney made his first revealing executive…

• How Disinflation Could Happen

  Published 09 August 2012 | viewed 0 times

  While the markets are relatively quiet - bond yields rose slightly today and stocks were essentially flat; only commodities were reasonably buoyant - it may…

• Interesting, Even In August

  Published 07 August 2012 | viewed 0 times

  It was another slow day, part of what is shaping up to be a typically slow August week. I am always fascinated during these slow…

• There May Have Been Life Here Once

  Published 06 August 2012 | viewed 0 times

  There's just nothing like August in the financial markets, unless it is the barren landscape that is Mars. "I think there may have been life…

• Bundespanked

  Published 02 August 2012 | viewed 0 times

  Draghi's celebrated, chest-thumping, "whatever it takes" to preserve the Euro was apparently...nothing. The ECB did nothing. Perhaps he meant the value of the Euro, not…

• Your Lead, Mario

  Published 02 August 2012 | viewed 0 times

  Quite contrary to my expectations, not to mention those of a majority of investors and analysts, I think, Ben Bernanke's Federal Reserve confronted the recent…

• Is Inflation Flowering?

  Published 30 July 2012 | viewed 0 times

  To know that you're standing before a cherry tree, you needn't have cherries; cherry blossoms suffice. The seasons are long, so if you want to…

• What If There Was No Cash?

  Published 28 July 2012 | viewed 0 times

  Bonds, stocks, inflation-linked bonds, commodities, real estate, MLPs, hedge funds, and cash. That is essentially the asset class universe we face as investors. Now, before…

• Happy $10 Trillion Day!

  Published 26 July 2012 | viewed 0 times

  It seems that few people look at M2 money supply these days, so the fact that the odometer on the key money supply gauge rolled…

• It Turns Out That Margins Matter

  Published 10 July 2012 | viewed 0 times

  A mild surprise on Monday afternoon from Alcoa, which beat a significantly-lowered consensus estimate, wasn't enough to sustain stocks overnight. Another pulse higher came when…

• The Importance of Being Clueless

  Published 10 July 2012 | viewed 0 times

  We wrote off last week's dull equity trading to the fact that the U.S. had a holiday in the middle of the trading week. Despite…

• The Choppers Are Warming Up

  Published 06 July 2012 | viewed 0 times

  Today's market selloff owes much to the people who put together the ADP figures (that is, Macroeconomic Advisers). Yesterday's cheerful ADP report raised expectations for…

• Green Acres Is The Place To Be

  Published 05 July 2012 | viewed 0 times

  The repudiation didn't take very long to begin. Despite good economic data and generous central bank action, stock markets sank in Europe and the U.S.…

• Slow-Motion Repudiation Yet To Come

  Published 02 July 2012 | viewed 0 times

  After a huge rally like we had on Friday, it's often prudent to wait for at least one trading day to see whether the move…

• Where Can I Buy Global Economic Health Insurance?

  Published 29 June 2012 | viewed 0 times

  For a few hours, Americans actually paid attention to news from the United States this morning. It wasn't the continued weakness in Initial Claims (386k…

• Getting Chippy In The EU

  Published 28 June 2012 | viewed 0 times

  Things are getting a little chippy in the EU, and I don't mean on the soccer pitch. While in the U.S., the economic data continues…

• Pain Everywhere Except In The Commodity Pits

  Published 25 June 2012 | viewed 0 times

  Writing a column these days is challenging, because the observations are sometimes out-of-date before you finish writing. At the least, it is risky to wait…

• A Soft Evans Rule In Place

  Published 20 June 2012 | viewed 0 times

  So in the end, we got about what I expected from the Fed. Operation Twist was extended, and actually a bit more than I thought…

• Can the Fed Remain Relevant?

  Published 19 June 2012 | viewed 0 times

  Greece is skittering awkwardly towards temporary resolution of their crisis. Venizelos, the leader of the party Pasok (which placed third in the Greek elections) said…

• A Whimper

  Published 18 June 2012 | viewed 0 times

  With the whole financial world seeming bracing for the Greek elections this weekend, the results so far have seemed thankfully anticlimactic. There was talk late…