TIPS

Going short Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities for the stock market game. Yields have to come up eventually since they’re at around zero. Zero coupons will be hit the hardest by their nature. I think the gov. lowballs inflation for obvious reasons. If inflation does rage the investment in rgi and the oils should rise faster than the short on the tips fall.

Up Down

This is my imaginary securities portfolio for the up down portfolio site. Most securities take up less than ten percent of the contest portfolio. The exception is SQQQ which stands around 20% of the portfolio.

ABV Beer companies tend to be rock solid and this one also benefits from growth in Brazil.

BTI Cigarette companies are some of the most profitable and hardest to bring down around.

CEO One of the few oil majors that has a real chance to grow reserves and also benefits from growth in China.

CHD Owns vital consumer brands.

CNI Rail benefits from shifting and uplifting fundamentals.

CNY Just a place to store cash. Rather own the Yuan than US dollar.

DTV Good cashflow growth.

EGPT This one is reactionary. Egypt’s market has been beaten up bad.

GSH Same reasons as for CNI plus it benefits from growth in China.

GSI A short. An inferior steel company to Posco. Less capital and scale. Acts as counterweight.

HOKU A short. Has bad cashflow. Counterweights big energy bets.

ICO Good cashflow growth.

ONP A short. Questionable if numbers are real.

PAL A short. Counterweights pall.

PALL Scientific advances working in favor of palladium.

PDO Conservative management. Lots of cash on balance sheet.

PKX One of the best steel makers around.

PM Same reasons as those for BTI.

RJI Commodities bull market going on. This is based on one of the best commodities’ indexes around.

SQQQ I think the market is choppy and could be headed down hard.

SU Oil sands are going to be one of the last places to turn.

TEVA Strong cashflow.

USO A short. Has mechanical issues. Tracks oil poorly and suffers from front running. Counterweights the oils.

Metal Gods

I have probably just completed the most taxing event of my life so far. I woke up at 10:30 am on Friday and wandered about my apartment till 8:00 pm when I went to Kroger for food. I went home, ate and left my apartment at 1:00 am on Saturday. I spent until 11:30 am collecting aluminium cans from the streets of Toledo. Exercise doesn’t really cover the level of exertion put forth. It was more like the movie Tigerland were all the recruits are sent to a simulated hell-hole before moving on to the real one in Vietnam. Fortunately no one shot at me.

Poetry

Here is some poetry I enjoyed out of A Concise History of Australia.

“The night too quickly passes

And we are growing old,

So let us fill our glasses

And toast the Days of Gold;

When finds of wondrous treasure

 Set all the South ablaze,

And you and I were faithful mates

 All through the Roaring Days.”

 

 

“Out on the wastes of the Never Never-

 That’s where the dead men lie!

There where the heat-waves dance forever-

 That’s where the dead men lie!”

 

 

“And I think still of men in green

 On the Soputa track,

With fifteen spitting tommy-guns

To keep the jungle back.”

I bring you music.

I am thinking of starting a company “for carrying on an undertaking of great advantage but no one to know what it is.” Anyone is welcome to contribute funds to this worthy endeavour.

Easy Investing for the Quesy

Natural gas. Buy some.

Gold maybe a good inflation hedge but it is probably halfway up the hill towards ecstasy so probably not a great move.

Pepsico hasn’t recovered as much as some. Pepsico is too big to get rich off of even if up it goes. Let there be options was not one of God’s opening sallies as far as I know. Still, it may apply here.

Palladium, a friendly, quasi-precious, quasi-industrial metal that I think should do better than gold.

Anything China as long as it’s not too expensive. What is not too expensive? Dear reader, that is for you to decide. That way you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.

Boom

Like falling from a great height.

Like going down the rabbit hole.

Like pulling the tail of a snoozing, scaled smokestack.

“I hear a coughin from the coffin as he slides back the lid.”

Boo!

All Walls Forbidding Insanity Must Fall

A wave of offal sent courtesy of this joke known to some as life has happened to land on me feet. So my grandma died and I was fired for questionable reasons. I’m biased, still questionable I say. I was super pissed as they would say in Comic Party. About losing the jewel that was my grandma I remain so about the job not so much. How much can one care about a job that paid between $100 and $215 a week? I never knew on which end the pay would be for the next week anyway. My plans haven’t really been changed only accelerated. I intend to buy a car by the end of the week to haul scrap metal. I went to a coin shop to sell my collection to build up the war chest. The silver came in line with what was expected but a 1950s proof set my father had given me two weeks ago brought about something almost akin to a miracle. Based on the silver I thought it would be worth $10 or maybe up to $30 something  if the proof set had some collectable value beyond that. They offered me $420. I took the money and ran. I think I’ll love cruising the streets at night. Since I have almost no obligations I might travel some during the summer. I want to go to Arizona in search of gold and madness. What will the future bring?

The Online Market for the Masses

Well, I’ve been having some fun on Ebay recently. I won a bid on some small gold tokens. If they are truly as advertised I got a deal but if not I lost five bucks so no sweat. I think I might buy a lot of books this way. It’s one of those things that I’ve known about for a very long time but never took advantage of. I get paid tomorrow so I will once again have some cash. It’s never even close to enough. I don’t even really have money for food and I’m sick of it. Yes, I do buy books over food so suck it.

Pay Me in Silver

I offer the elusive silver panda for your consideration. I bought one from the year 2006 for $20 today from F & J Coins. I admit it. I’m a bit of a precious metal fan. I also sold a quarter I found while cashiering for around $3 so I’m proud of that. If that doesn’t qualify as arbitrage I don’t know what does. I just started, but I think buying bullion will be a good way to save since it isn’t as liquid as cash and is thus harder for me to blow. Plus I think the coins look very cool and shiny indeed. All around a victory for the forces of light.