Dylan Grice on the paradox of risk management and risk managers

In the broadest sense possible, the greatest and most fundamental risk is the risk of not knowing what you're doing.  To the extent these "risk models" trick "risk managers" into thinking they do, they are dangerous because they blind users to the true nature of risk.  The paradoxical outcome is that such risk managers are making the financial world much riskier than it would otherwise be.

~ Dylan Grice, "The Language of Inflation," Edelweiss Journal, November 4, 2013

Gnanasekar Thiagarajan: "You can’t be too bearish on gold"

You can’t be too bearish on gold.

~ Gnanasekar Thiagarajan, director of Mumbai-based Commtrendz Research, "Cooling Chinese Demand for Gold Adds to Metal’s Gloomy Global Outlook," WSJ, November 4, 2014

Adam Klopfenstein: "I don't see why anyone should buy gold"

When equities are going up and making new highs on the year, I don't see why anyone should buy gold.

~ Adam Klopfenstein, senior market strategist, Archer Financial Services in Chicago, "Gold Plunges to 4-Year Low," WSJ, October 4, 2014

David Seaburg: "Very hard to make a fundamental case to be long gold"

Long-term I think it's very hard to make a clear fundamental case on why you should be long gold.  I don't think fundamentally the backdrop is that strong.  You've got weak demand coming out of India, China.  You've got the dollar; it's been in one direction straight up.  You've got deflationary fears on the horizon.

~ David Seaburg, head of equity sales trading at Cowen and Co., Talking Numbers, November 5, 2014

Thomas Sowell on the cause of great tragedies of history

Few of the great tragedies of history were created by the village idiot, and many by the village genius.

~ Thomas Sowell

John Stuart Mill on the hidden tax of inflation

All holders of currency lose, by the depreciation of its value, its exact equivalent of what the issuer gains.  A tax is virtually levied on them for his benefit.

~ John Stuart Mill

Cowen & Co. trader: "I don't see a scenario where we fall off the face of the earth" (2014)

I think that we are setting up currently for a really, really good buying opportunity into a year-end push...  A lot of the negativity has been talked about.  We've seen it all, right?  We know what's going on.  The Fed's not going to screw this up when it comes to interest rates and it comes to really walking away from that.  We've got the ECB onboard as well.  I just don't see a scenario where, over the next let's say 6 to 12 months, we're going to fall off the face of the earth.

~ David Seaburg, head of equity sales trading at Cowen and Co., "Why this selloff is different," Talking Numbers, October 3, 2014