What's your legacy?

South Africans and our friends around the globe celebrate the birthday of Mr Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (aka MADIBA), a Statesman, our National Treasure, a global icon and a gentleman extraordinaire. His is a living legacy, a beacon of hope, past and present and most importantly, proof sufficient that triumph in adversity is the sweetest of them all.

Today's politicians would do well to lead, follow or get out of the way. 






It always seems impossible until it's done - Nelson Mandela

Minutes to win it...

Buying equity anticipating post-meeting minutes to reflect one or two words in the right order is just about as useful as learning to balance 5 ping-pong balls on your nose. Failing to appreciate that the odds are stacked against the trade is similar to a bout of inconsolable hysteria after failing to bounce a dime into an open-necked bottle at 30 feet.

Hoping against hope that Germany will fund delinquent excess whilst Merkel teeters on the political abyss presumes that PIGS will fly in the middle of July..

There are some fearsome odds we seemingly ignore. $600 trillion approx. is the size of the global derivatives market. Romney vs Obama for the world's most important economy is a David vs David contest. Where's Goliath? Companies have retrenched, are retrenching and will continue to retrench extraordinarily large percentages of their work force. Consumer spending resilience under those conditions is probably ephemeral at best. Internal controls at the world's largest financial institutions are either lax or deliberately misleading. Global youth unemployment, the Arab spring and the Asian Tiger struck low with cat-flu virus are fairly strong signals that all is not well. When 27000 words of legislation regulate the planting of a cabbage, who can honestly claim surprise when the Europeans disagree to disagree?

If Buffett's form holds true, 'risk-on' is just around the corner; the music's stopped and the exit is jammed. Ping-pong anyone?

Anti-theft lunch bag fools the playground

Two little boys running mad
Rajoy & Monti; from spendthrift fame
Both little boys thoroughly bad
The rules they break, they play a game

Onto the playground they have run
To steal the lunch off Merkel's mum
Her lunch bag in hand and off they dash
Their celebrations, prematurely rash

The bag wide open, they see the mould
Back to Merkel they must scold
The bag's disguise in mould is sham
Under the plastic is good ham

Wrapped in court for many a week
Merkel's lunch is still her own
Rajoy & Monti will you moan
Off to class they must sneak

Europe awake!

For the attention and consideration of Europe's leaders

What has happened to Europe?

You've told us that the EU stands as a select body of nations believing in social and economic freedom. Circumstances have proved that the interests of individual nations are not identical. At the same time the separate identities have, until now, been seen as a strength rather than weakness. With the region's experience and expertise now is not the time to hide your heads in the sand....

New problems are looming.. Live not under any illusions. You cannot opt out of the world!

Your capacity to play a constructive role in world affairs is related to economic strength. If you hope to guarantee your way of life, the question you must ask yourselves is whether the present leadership is fulfilling their duty. The battles are being fought in your territory, not ours.

This is the moment - a moment when your decisions will determine the life or death of your kind of society; - and the future of your children.*





* With apologies to Margaret Thatcher whose words roused the nation's collective spirit. Will Chancellor Merkel be hailed as Europe's new Iron Lady? 

The sins of our time...

To Sarkozy I say - Fais ce que dois, advienne que pourra and for Germany's Merkel - auf Biegen oder Brechen / mag es biegen oder brechen. For the effluent who masquerade as members of Congress - a house divided against itself cannot stand! To those lesser fools (honi soit qui mal y pense) and a spineless Cameron - Actions speak louder than words and finally to that philandering twat in Italy - in bocca al lupo! (to the ordinary men and women who might take offence, I apologise. This is not for you.) 


With Merkel's bluster and Sarkozy's indifference the world waits, once more, on the precipice of the unknown. Perhaps in a pleasant dream and if you cast your mind back far enough you might recall the time when our investment decisions were based on sound sector and or company-specific fundamentals? Theoretical investment principles, now frustratingly outdated, discarded & forgotten, reinvents the mayhem.

Our children will look back on these days of political flotsam and recall 'the sins of our fathers' ...