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Investment Perspectives: Frank Beck
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2012: Off to a Good Start; More to Come
Contact Beck Capital Investments In December, when my 2012 view became positive, I questioned whether I was misinterpreting the value … Continue reading →
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2012: Off to a Good Start; More to Come
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Recent Posts
Videos
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Roadblocks to Recovery an Interview with Dr. Lacy Hunt
The extent and implication of the U. S. debt overload. Neither monetary nor fiscal policy can solve the debt problem nor the profound side effects of excess debt. Download .pdf Welling at Weeden Interview
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Uncharted Waters Ahead Government Debt Options
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Roadblocks to Recovery an Interview with Dr. Lacy Hunt
About the Spellman Report
Lew Spellman is a Professor of Finance at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business. The Spellman Report seeks to interpret current and future trends in the economy and financial markets from the perspective of history, theory, policy and market expectations.
Category Archives: The Spellman Report
Warren Buffet and the New Calculus of Gold
There has long been a disconnect between gold and institutional investors. The instincts of these managers of large sums are typically tied to the generation of cash flows to feed the monster — that is, the institution’s cash flow needs. … Continue reading
Posted in The Spellman Report
Tagged BRK.B, BRKA, Collateral fails, Debt crisis, Default hedge, Fiat money, financial crisis, GLD, Gold, Gold asset class, Gold bonds, Gold prices, Gold Standard, Inflation hedge, Money, Reserve currency, Scarce collateral, Store of value, Warren Buffett, Warren Buffett and gold
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The Supply Side
Since the housing and mortgage expansion reached its unsustainable zenith nearly five years ago, economic headwinds and financial contraction have been at the forefront of financial market discussions. Two years ago, the sovereign debt problems of the developed world further … Continue reading
Posted in The Spellman Report
Tagged Employee productivity, Keynesian economics vs. the supply side, Real wages, Supply side, Trade surplus or deficit
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Preserving the Debt: The Helium Express
How much country debt is too much? This is an issue of relativity. In this case relativity depends on the income flows from which debt service can be paid. Whether the debt belongs to the consumer or the government, the … Continue reading
Financial Repression: The Unintended Consequences of Saving the Sovereign
What’s new has often been lived before, but sometimes it’s not pretty. Presumably that’s what Clarence Darrow meant when he said, “History repeats itself, and that’s one of the things that’s wrong with history.” It is becoming increasingly clear that … Continue reading
Liquidity and Asset Bubbles, But Only if the Dam Holds
The ECB lending program to banks is off and running. On the first day offered, low interest rates loans were subscribed by banks in the amount of $635 Billion, an amount greater than the Fed’s QE2 which took nine months to complete. This is a battle of whether liquidity will trump insolvency and stabilize government debt prices. If it does, it will set off an asset bubble in assets that thrive in low and stable interest rate environments. Continue reading
Posted in The Spellman Report
Tagged ECB lending, Euro debt crisis, Euro financial crisis, insolvency, Liquidity, monetization
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How Monetization Happens: Being at the Helm When the Ship Goes Down
The consequences of excess debt are now facing the leaders of Europe head on, and a monumental decision must be made whether explicitly or implicitly. Excess debt leads to a long chain of D words: Deleveraging in an attempt to … Continue reading
The Dumpster for Toxic Euro Sovereign Debt
Some might be wondering why the euro zone rescue focus turned to saving banks as opposed to saving governments. The reasons are illuminating. Consider the following: When a government has a debt bulge, the debt must be held as someone … Continue reading
Dominos: From Financial Crisis to Economic Crisis to Government Crisis
The dominos are falling. It’s the modern version of a 1930’s bank run. Since everything is bigger (the leverage) and faster (the computers) these days, so is the downfall in financial prices and institutions. The lead domino is an asset … Continue reading
Turn Out the Lights, the Party’s Over
Invitation: Unchartered Waters Ahead: I will be giving a McCombs Alumni Lecture/Discussion (open to the public) Wednesday, Sept. 14, starting at 7:30 p.m. at the AT&T Conference Center just off campus. The content will be the likelihood and effects of … Continue reading
Posted in The Spellman Report
Tagged Banking crisis, Economic analysis, Financial market trends, Flight to quality, Investments, Reserve currency, Safe haven, Sovereign Default
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A Return to the Grand Tetons: Perspective on the Economic Obstacles Ahead
Last month, I made a personal odyssey to the Grand Tetons Mountains and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It’s the place where I discovered the American West while in college. It is a mountain rising abruptly from its flat surroundings (the Hole) … Continue reading





