I’d better change that to “Some Markets.”

While the U.S. markets are all jittery, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange actually ticked higher today. You wouldn’t know that for all the news, though.

Apparently, folks are worried that this three-day crisis between Israel and Hamas will disrupt oil supplies. Now, the oil exporting countries must be smiling at this… First, Israel and Palestine aren’t exporting oil anywhere, nor are they really close to any oil installations or major export routes.

The “threat” - if any - would come from other Arab nations protesting Israel’s bombing raids on the Gaza Strip. If Hezbollah gets involved and Israel goes back into Lebanon, or, heaven forbid, Syria, then Iran may have something nasty to say.

And that would certainly worry oil importers, as Iran could easily block the Straits of Hormuz, a major oil shipping corridor.

It hasn’t done it yet, though, and there have been other times when that was threatened. But there hasn’t been a peep from Iran, really. The International Herald Tribune reported this quote from Iran’s supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: “The horrible crime of the Zionist regime in Gaza has once again revealed the bloodthirsty face of this regime from disguise. But worse than this catastrophe is the encouraging silence of some Arab countries who claim to be Muslim.”

That’s not exactly a message of support for Palestine or Hamas.

But let’s get away from all this political hubbub for a second. Let’s look at what’s happening today on Middle Eastern stock exchanges.

Continue Reading »

Stunning news from Western Europe today…

The government of Belgium has collapsed. For years now, the French and Dutch speaking citizens have been at odds concerning autonomy and local governance. Back in July, the government announced its resignation. Officials from several of the elected parties could not reach an agreement on how much separation should be between its French-speaking citizens (in Wallonia) and its Dutch-speaking citizens (in Flanders).

But since the global economic crisis, things have come quickly to a head. The government made a controversial move to bail out the belleaguered financial group, Fortis (FORB:Brussels) back in October 2008. It cost investors a lot of money and has lead to the unravelling of the entire government.

Today, the Belgian king accepted the resignation of the government. Yes, the entire government.

So what does this mean?

It means a new “coalition” will step in and deal with all the problems the old government couldn’t handle, from the down-and-dirty autonomy discussions to the immense financial problems that no one in the world can get a jump on. (Right now, anyway.)

Continue Reading »

Yesterday, I told Taipan Insider readers that Argentina’s penion nationalization left much to be desired in the way of transparency. On Monday, a federal judge froze assets here in the U.S. in connection with the pension.

Read my full Taipan Insider article (available to all Taipan Publishing Group members) for all the details.

But that’s not the end of the nationalization trend.

Actually, it’s not the beginning either. The timeline can get a bit confusing, so try and stick with me…

On May 25, 2003, Nestor Kirchner was elected president of Argentina. He was elected by default, however… The main candidate, former President Carlos Menem, withdrew from the race for fear of a run-off election that he felt he could not win.

He was a popular president, though, with one of his notable acheivements being the renegotiation of Argentina’s massive debt from defaulted loans with the IMF. He successfully dropped the payback amount to about one-third of the original amount.

But in the background, President Kirchner was creating state-owned companies and nationalizing a number of industries: energy, railways, water companies, and telecoms.

The Economist wrote about him on August 10, 2006, “By founding state-owned enterprises and re-nationalising privatised ones he has expanded the executive’s power over employment and prices… His biggest triumph came on August 3rd, when Congress gave him authority to reallocate government spending as he sees fit.”

That’s in line with some of Kirchner’s closest allies, like Evo Morales, president of Bolivia, and Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela. Even the leftist Lula da Silva, president of Brazil has some nationalization tendencies. (Read my blog post from Nov. 12 for more info.)

So with so much of the countries infrastructure under the State’s belt, what’s left for private investors?

Not much, and dwindling everyday, it would seem.

Continue Reading »

Alright, folks, my trip to Buenos Aires is nearly complete, and I have to say, I think I’ve found the three best things in the city, foodwise.

Yesterday I told you about a place in Puerto Madero that served outstanding raviolis. Tonight I just had the best dessert and the best wine. Let me tell you about them.

Okay, here’s your night out…

Start in Puerto Madero, walking along the water, checking out the people in sidewalk seating as they check you out. Head to Bahia Madero and have the spinach ravioli in parmasean sauce. Another option is the ricotta and walnut ravioli in spinach sauce. Enjoy the ambiance of al fresca dining, and watch the couples stroll by in their (undoubtably uncomfortable) stylish shoes.

Then make your way to San Telmo, to a little organic restaurant called Origen. It’s a small corner eatery with a lot of vegetarian options, but since you’ve just had the best ravioli in the world, you headed straight for the postres y dulce (or dessert). Go with the helado de frutas rojas.

You’ve just order the best vanilla icecream with raspberry sauce (with frest raspberries) you’ve had in your life. It’s a healthy portion, too, so after you get your check, you’ll walk for a couple blocks up Av. Peru to a place called La Cava.

This is an out of the way wine bar with excellent staff, and a number of very good wines served by the cup.

And to be honest, in this city, it can be hard finding wine by the cup.

I had the Tempranillo (pronounced Tempranisho) and it was delightful. I may have found the one red wine that will not give me headaches. A heavy pour and a plate of smoked swiss cheese and bread will set you back only 15 pesos, or about $4.33.

When I left the wine bar, it was raining, and the street I wasn’t frequented by taxis all that often. Now, the staff will certainly be more than happy to call one for you, as they did for one of their regular patrons just before I left.

But I like the rain, and it was only a couple blocks before I hit the major street, Av. de Mayo, where the tango festival was last Saturday.

I stopped for a brief moment under an overhang in a quiet plaza with an old clock tower at the end and watched the storm roll in with some spectacular lightening displays.

It was the perfect end to a wonderful evening.

With my belly full, and my head not aching (yet), I’m calling it a night. I sincerely hope you’re enjoying your evening as well.