Escaping the market turmoil

So far, May has been a month of total market mayhem. Everything that should make investing fun, such as making money, being right, seeing the fundamentals be reflected in market prices etc etc, has been absent. Losing money for your investors is no fun at all, especially if you know that the primary reason is because government intervention keeps all the markets highly correlated and throws them into and out of turmoil without mercy. Government intervention is a pain in the behind, and there's nowt we can do about it except watch with horror as they bang their collective regulatory heads into the political wall again and again with various ineffectual stop-gaps.

The really bad news is that all this "policy with hindsight" will serve only to increase the volatility of markets in the future as people are led further into the tunnel of false security that politicians love to lead their constituents down. The reality is, people in public office shouldn't be fixing the financial markets because they really have erroneous understandings of what the real problems are. It's a really big mess, and it's getting bigger every day. I hate to think how messy things are going to get before they finally improve...

On a positive note, there are still people gambling their livelihoods away in the slot machines of Las Vegas. Human foibles are alive and well. A hedge fund conference took me there last week to listen to an impressive array of speakers including Bill Clinton, Mitt Romney, Michael Milken, Nouriel Roubini, Ken Griffin etc etc. General conclusion: no one has any idea what's going to happen, and the slower you speak the more people seem to listen (Bill is very good at this).

On Thursday, we are taking a long weekend to go sailing in the Caribbean. This time from St Marteen/St Martin for a jolly jaunt around Anguilla and St Barts, a la figure-o-eight. Time to reflect on 2010 so far and what a messy year it has been. Assuming we encounter no oil, no tropical storms, and no politicians - it should bring some reprieve and an end to what has been a rough month.

5 Boro bike race

Sunday saw Lisa and I tackle the 5 'boro' bike race here in New York. 45 miles, 30 degrees, blue skies and no sun cream. So, for those who didn't sponsor us....tut tut, and you should be ashamed! For the other person - thanks for the support!

The race saw us cycle through all 5 of New York City's boroughs, that's Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island - in increasing order of shabbiness, with the finish line just past the monolithic Verrazano bridge, which takes all the fun out of being on a bike. But awaiting for us the other side, the finish 'festival', shade under a tree, and the Staten Island Ferry back to Manhattan.

Next trip, our first 'century' - 100 miles in day, and then....perhaps, when it starts to cool down again, New York to Montreal? I dunno though, 400 miles might be pushing it...

Audit 101

If you can possibly avoid it - never work in an industry where you have to deal with Auditors. Lawyers you can't avoid, but auditors you can. I spent my whole day today explaining to our auditors (Deloitte) how to do their jobs, and harsh words were exchanged. When Arthur Andersen was found guilty in the Enron scandal, I'm surprised it didn't take down the rest of the then 'big five'. The Sarbanes-Oxley legislation that Bush introduced is a farce, auditors need to be accountable and overseen.
If any of you own any stock in a auditing company - i'd sell it, something's going to give.

Rant over. In other, far less stressful news, Lisa and I are preparing our trip to Europe this summer and we'd love to see everyone at some stage, our dates look tentatively as follows:

Jun 23rd - Jul 4th UK (Glos, London, Henley!)
Jul 4th - 1st Aug (San Michelle, Italy)
Aug (Ibiza, Capri, Geneva, Cowe's?)
Aug 28 - 1/2 Sep Iceland
Sep 3 - 10 Scotland/Skye
Sep 15 Back to US

So let us know if any of those dates/locations work!

The weather has finally turned back towards summery after a short spell of winter's dying throes. Bernard and Manuel (the cats) have taken to the roof deck like ducks to water and spend their days sunning themselves. In the bonsai tree growing competition, Lisa is racing ahead after Tim failed to water his bonsai and Manuel ate mine.

Toodle-pip

An Introduction

Life is hectic. So much so that I never seem to have the time to inform people of my whereabouts, whereupons, and of course, my werewolves. My family is drifting apart across the continents, and most of my friends are far away. This blog will hopefully lighten the darkness of my poor communication skills, and keep those who want to know...in the know. Don't anticipate the penmanship of my sister, or anything that resembles prose. I have a business to run, and these are harsh times...