Thoughts

On Gold and Europe

Gold: Based on the majority of bullish comments I am seeing this week to exploit the current weakness and buy the dip in gold, gold bugs/bulls seem to remain of the view that "Gold is just 'God' with the letter 'L' -- that is, they worship at its shiny altar. I remain of the view that the gold bugs and gold bulls are clinging to the "inflation/money printing" actions of the world's central bankers. Unfortunately (for them), non-U.S. central banks are now hiking interest rates and restricting credit, and our Federal Reserve is likely to be employing its last quantitative easing effort over the next few months.

Europe: Central to my worldwide economic growth case is the idea that Europe's GDP will disappoint. The eurozone remains critical to many multinational S&P companies.

Buffett to Wrap It Up at Washington Post

Warren Buffett will retire from the Board of Directors of Washington Post.

Defensives Catch Fire

As should be expected in a market downturn, the defensives are on fire.

Recommended Reading

Run, don't walk, to read Knowledge@Wharton's "The Goldman Sachs Facebook Deal: Is This Business as Usual?"