Morning all,

Nothing like getting out of Sydney for a few days to invigorate the soul..not sure I missed very much in the market though…strange reaction to the deafening war drums from the US as Gold and Oil fell and stocks rose…good for business I guess if the US can beat its chest and bomb someone..Looks like the Russians aren’t that convinced and the G20 meeting at the Weekend is shaping up as a Moscow Olympic rerun or maybe a G19 with the US maybe not going..

 

 

To the Markets Batman!…small sell off yesterday but the rally will be back on today..5200 is back in its sights ..still a little nervous on a number of fronts but at least Syria has taken the focus off the Fed and Tapering!!

There is a growing feeling that the next leg up is all about resources…specially big ones..it makes a bit of sense ..they have cut costs big time, shelved plans,China is still going pretty well and commodity prices in AUD aren’t too bad…Oil at 105 helps BHP and Iron Ore at $150 Aussie isn’t too bad either…and I reckon Gold is worth a look too…

Idea of the Day

Another test of 5200 to come…now I know that Gold took a hit last night as Putin said ‘Nyet’ to the US bombing but it seems that the US is now on a collision course with them…They will launch a strike against Al-Assad and the ‘Lemon Ruskies’ won’t be happy…this has potential to create a bit more angst than normal..I would think that having some exposure to gold is a good idea…favourite is BDR but need a pullback to buy them…maybe even look at NCM on some weakness below 13.00..disclosure report out this morning may clear the air a little…

Come Monday we will be living in a brave new world of life under Abbott and Hockey! These guys are going to be more pro business but I am still concerned that they will use the profligacy of the Rudd /Gillard regime to bring more than one skeleton out of the closet!!All incoming CEOs do…so expect some slashing and burning..if I was a bureaucrat in Canberra I would  be worried!!

Things to make me go mmmm….

Spending a few days in the country makes you realise that climate change is gonna be a big deal..not much rain happening out there and 50 c out there last summer…

Jack Nicholson has retired from acting as his memory is gone…at 76 he has had a good run …

Americans spending more on cars and housing helped the economy maintain a “modest to moderate”pace of expansion from early July through late August, even as borrowing costs increased, the Federal Reserve said today.

Australian billionaire James Packer bought 9.4 percent of Zillow Inc., becoming the second-biggest shareholder in the U.S. real-estate website, after housing starts in the country rose to a five-year high. Cavalane Holdings Pty bought about 3 million shares, Seattle-based Zillow said in a filing, without giving financial terms. The stake is valued at $298 million based on Zillow’s last closing price. Cavalane, controlled by Packer, is Zillow’s largest shareholder after Caledonia Private Investments Pty, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

UK economy is going from strength to strength as their recovery continues.. New orders performed particularly strongly, climbing to their highest level since May 1997 – the month Tony Blair came to power. Backlogs of work also hit a 13-year high.

And in Zombieland too… Factory and services output rose for a second month in August, the composite purchasing managers index (PMI) showed, as the official GDP estimate confirmed that the economy grew by 0.3pc in the three months to June.

For blacks in the U.S., 18 years of economic progress has vanished, with a rebound in housing slipping further out of reach and the unemployment rate almost twice that of whites. The homeownership rate for blacks fell from 50% during the housing bubble to 43% in the second quarter, the lowest since 1995.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to authorize President Barack Obama to conduct a limited U.S. military operation in Syria, the first step toward congressional endorsement of the effort.

Enlarge image Senate Panel Authorizes Limited Military Strike in Syria Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., right, and the committee’s ranking Republican Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. listen on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Sept. 4, 2013, during the committee’s hearing to consider the authorization for use of military force in Syria.

The resolution, approved 10-7, supports use of force in a “limited and specified manner against legitimate military targets” during a 60-day period following enactment, with a possible 30-day extension at Obama’s request. LEADING industrialists and investors have a strongly positive view of China’s prospects and its new leadership, despite the growth slowdown, if the Forbes Global CEO conference is any guide. China’s prospects dominated the keynote sessions of the annual global jamboree, with some attention also paid to India and Indonesia, hammered recently by capital outflows.

The BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) reported August sales of 30,546 vehicles, an increase of 35.4 percent from the 22,553 vehicles sold in the same month a year ago.

AUSTRALIAN corporate leaders have questioned Kevin Rudd’s claim that the mining boom is over, expressing confidence that the economy is set to benefit from the income phase of the boom as the higher production phase for iron ore and liquefied natural gas kicks in during the next few years. And they have called on any new government to ensure the focus is on productivity improvements to help ensure that the more than $260 billion capital expenditure phase in iron ore and LNG expansion is delivered on time.

Seems that Online gambling mob William Hill are looking at scrapping their different brands in Australia with Tom Waterhouse,Sporting bet  and Centrebet all moving to become William Hill…in which case it does beg the question why buy them in the first place but that’s just my cynical mind at work…

I think Kev13 should adopt this as his new slogan..”Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest…?” When Henry said this ,four knights marched to Canterbury and executed Thomas a Becket…Albo,Shorten,Wong and Bowen to the rescue!!

Yesterday’s GDP number  was ok..hardly the stuff of crisis at 2.6% but will slow the RBA down a little.

And finally………………a lesson in economics from a good friend of mine..

A manager at Goldman Sachs has this to tell.

Once upon a time in a village, a man announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for Rs 10. The villagers, seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them.

The man bought thousands at Rs 10 and as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort.

He further announced that he would now buy at Rs 20. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again.

Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer rate increased to Rs 25 and the supply of monkeys became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone catch it!

The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at Rs 50!

However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now buy on behalf of him.

In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers, “Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at Rs 35 and when the man returns from the city, you can sell it to him for Rs 50.”

The villagers squeezed up with all their savings and bought all the monkeys.

Then they never saw the man nor his assistant, only monkeys everywhere!

Welcome to ‘Goldman Sachs’!

Have a great day..only two days to go til our own Turbulent Priest takes the top spot!!

 

Clarence

 

XXX

 

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