Can Turtles Fly?

The Globe & Mail reports on the possibility of Australia slowing down : The boom Down Under may soon be over. Australia’s central bank has cut its benchmark lending rate for the second time in as many months, confirming fears that Europe’s debt crisis and a slowdown in China are threatening the resource-driven economy. The Reserve Bank of Australia lowered its cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.25 per cent, Tuesday. That followed a similar reduction in November. Much like Canada, Australia was a global leader among developed countries in weathering the 2008 financial crisis. A stable banking system, coupled with demand from China and other Asian nations for its commodities such as oil, iron ore and coal, helped Australia endure the downturn. Why is this important? Because it could be an early signal to a potential global slowdown. While about 70 per cent of Australia’s exports are destined for Asia, a struggling Europe and potential collapse of the European Union wa...

Happy Canada Day to fellow Canadians... and Happy Fourth of July to my neighbours down south. Here are some articles that have been on my list that I have read or plan to read. As usual, unlike other blogs, I don't necessarily link to recent articles so do keep the timeline in mind when reading my posts. (Recommended) Bitcoins - a novel, virtual, currency (Bloomberg Businessweek): Interesting story of a virtual online currency. I don't know if the US government, and others, will start cracking down on this—it's a threat to the existing currency scheme—but it remains to be seen. It's also interesting to see how the value of fiat currencies—bitcoin is purely virtual but limited by an algorithm—is set. Bitcoin's value appears to fluctuate wildly but that is likely due to the small number of users. "Reinsurance explained" (Liarspoker for Gurufocus): A basic introduction to reinsurance companies. (Recommended) Retained earnings for net-net stocks (Geo...