The US bond market is in the grip of a rather chunky bear. Simply, this means that people with cash to invest have over the past two years been demanding that the borrowers pay increasingly higher interest rates. Conventionally the text books tell you that this is a manifestation of perceived higher risks in lending money. Even if in this case the borrower – the US Government -- is considered to be the least risky of all. Recall that they print the world’s reserve currency. But the problem probably is that they have been printing a great deal of it recently, because they (the US) have an ever-growing list of causes they deem worthy of support. Now it appears that there is yet no sign from the White House of any less generosity (profligacy?) in the immediate future, so those interest rates (including the inflation rate) are probably going to keep on drifting higher. It’s a mess and rumour that presidential candidates for 2024 could include all the usual suspects including Hilary Clinton, should alarm everyone. Globally we ought to have a rule that anyone over say 65 years old may not hold any political office. It is time for them to learn the arts of golf, fishing and dandling. There really is scant evidence that any leader over that age has done much for their nations beyond aggressive nest feathering.
Our leaders just don’t get it. We really are unconvinced and bored by the sight of a president trying to fill a pothole in the road. His time is way more valuable than that. Isn’t it? What we want to see is our president appoint assistants (aka The Cabinet) capable of causing pothole repairs to be swiftly and effectively carried out by people skilled and equipped for the task. Importantly everyone in the responsibility chain from the shovel wielder right up to the Cabinet Minister and of course the President should be aware that failure to perform will result in being fired. It’s simple really. Mind you President Frogboiler seems to be your man if you need a sofa stuffed.
There is evidence that the world is becoming wise to the energy scam perpetrated on us all by a handful of zealots largely ignorant of the basic science of the subject. Few could object to the reminder that we have only one planet and need to take far better care of it in future. However, the remedies proposed by the activists and enthusiastically adopted by our equally clueless leaders have inexorably led us to this point where despite there being plenty of energy available there are serious local shortages which are causing great difficulties. That the wealthy and well connected can use their cash and clout to ameliorate their own circumstances should be clear and annoying evidence to everyone that markets work. While glib and meaningless phrases like “Net Zero” can never do so and are making life unpleasant for much of the planet. The amount of energy from the sun that has been sequestered over millions of years in the geologically created coal, and oil deposits completely outstrip what is capable of being stored in any manmade mechanism yet invented.
Barring the Bledisloe Cup, our rugby fix should be provided by the Sevens World Cup taking place in Cape Town starting about now. Good luck to the team. Its sudden death format is heart stopping. I do miss the lads with the streaming dreadlocks who used to dominate the Blitzbokke, however. The old adage about ocean yacht racing being akin to standing in a cold shower tearing up ten pound notes probably still applies but owning a Formula 1 team must have a similar simile. The rest of us are merely grateful for the moneybags that finance these spectacles. What proportion of the showroom floor price of a new Ferrari goes towards making Sunday afternoons entertaining? Particularly astonishing in F1 are the fully equipped hospitality suites that are dismantled and flown to the next venue each week.
The Queen is dead. Long live the King.
James Greener
Friday 9th September 2022.
