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Good Stuff Happens in 1:1 Meetings: Why you need them and how to do them well
Foster Elliot Ltd Weekly Report – 11th to 18th May’15
1. In this issue:
US: Coming Elections
Russia: Putin’s Muscle
US: The Markets
THE RACE IS ON
We are still so far from the finish but already the
various candidates are lining up their money
and hoping for an eventual run for the White
House. It is too early to call anyone a
frontrunner and there are still many potential
candidates who have not announced yet. It is a
question of time and of timing and as spring
moves into summer, the race will start to sort
itself out.
In the latest meaningless poll, Hillary Clinton
was projected as a fifty percent favorite over
her closest non-rival. This is, of course, a farce
but still worth mentioning. Also worth
mentioning is the fact that she was a huge
favorite over Obama early on in the race as well.
We assume it is better to finish strong than to
start strong. Perhaps her candidacy was
announced a bit early. Only time will tell.
In terms of the Republicans, the projected
frontrunner, the revered Jeb Bush, is still
waiting in the wings. It is still a question of time
and we can assume that his voice will be heard.
God knows he will have the funding from his
political machine. Considering his family
legacy, he will no doubt be a strong candidate.
Can you imagine another Bush as President?
Unfortunately we can.
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WEEKLY REPORT
May 11 - May 18 ⌘! Issue 19 / Volume 15
When we consider the issues, we have to start
with the economy. That is always a primary
issue. Then, another prime concern is
definitely the question of immigration. In
addition, this time around, gay marriage and
the legalization of marijuana will also have to
be considered. Who would have thought that
these issues would be such a big concern ten
years ago? It can no longer be ignored and it
will be very interesting how the Republicans
put a spin on it. How will the baby boomers
react to such controversy? God knows that they
did smoke and inhaled.
We know that we are perhaps being
premature but it promises to be so
interesting that we can’t resist starting the
countdown. As candidates begin to
announce themselves and the various
issues begin to go to the forefront, our
coverage will heat up and begin to be more
specific. Meanwhile, get ready to rumble!
2. FOSTER ELLIOT WEEKLY
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WHAT ABOUT PUTIN
Our main man Mr. Putin has been surprisingly
low key lately. We are not used to this and this is
certainly not his style. For the longest time he
has always managed to stay in the news. And as
much as we love to hate him, his style or lack
thereof has often fascinated us. His lack of
humor and his dourness has only added to his
‘charm’. Often we have felt the need to
speculate about him and his aims. Last year his
health became an issue and we were left to
wonder if any of the rumors concerning cancer
were true. What we most love about this guy is
the fact that the truth is very hard to come by
and we are often left to wonder. And, after all,
given his background, he is an expert at
disinformation.
His ability to confuse and annoy is
unprecedented and no matter what he does, he
is always a source of wonder and speculation.
Our so called ‘love affair’ started with Putin
some years back when he gave our favorite
Frenchman, the revered Gerard Depardieu,
French citizenship. We naturally found this very
amusing and we assume that the world, accept
for the French, laughed with us.
Our fascination with the man continued when
he granted asylum to our favorite spy and
employee Mr. Snowden. At the time, we were
forced to give Putin grudging respect because
he was the only one who had the guts to stand
up to the boorish behavior of Obama. After all,
who can forget the pressure that Obama
exerted on the whole world not to take
Snowden. And Putin defied the odds and tread
where no other man.
We were then forced to see his confrontation
once again with Obama over Syria and, at the
same time, we were able to see his racist
tendencies. It was perhaps something that
couldn’t be hidden. Anytime that these two
met, we were shown this side of Putin. We
would not think that a world leader from
such a powerful nation would be so
politically incorrect but he is all of that and
more. And it confuses us and often amazes
us at the same time.
And then of course we had the Sochi
Olympics which was, by his own
admission, the showcase to the world of
Russian greatness. In our humble opinion
it fell far short of his grandiose
expectations but that is, of course, mere
speculation. And finally we have been
treated to his adventures or misadventures
in the Ukraine. From beginning to end it
has been a disaster and it only served to
divide the world further against him. In fact
it pushed the West to the brink where it
became almost impossible to do business
with him.
For this reason, numerous levels of
sanctions were imposed against him and
the Russian people. Although not entirely
official, it has basically crippled their
economy. When we consider their crashing
currency and the double whammy of the
fall of the price of oil, it has been, to say the
least fairly devastating. He therefore had
no choice and had to seek business
partners elsewhere. We are all aware of the
deal he forged with his new ‘friends’ the
Chinese concerning natural gas. He also
has attempted to forge other economic
ties. We consider this bogus because we
know that the Chinese had the upper hand
3. FOSTER ELLIOT WEEKLY
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and a deal that looks good on paper is not so
good in real terms.
What did really surprise us was his attempt to
make some kind of rapprochement with our
favorite hero, the venerable Kim-Jing un. Talk
about a farce. And he did it badly, potentially
alienating his new ‘friends’. This was stupid
and a true faux pas and because of this, two
idioms come to mind. Don’t bite the hand that
feeds you. You can’t have your cake and eat it
too.
All in all, this man keeps us on our toes and we
never know what to expect next. He keeps us
guessing and will continue to confound and
confuse. And when he is as quiet as he is now,
one other idiom comes to mind- the quiet
before the storm. Do you agree?
AND NOW FOR THE MARKETS
For the year, the Dow is basically unchanged. It
has tried to gain a little traction but has not yet
been successful. We have definitely seen more
volatile years but it has nevertheless bounced
back and forth the last few months. We
remember a down January, and up February
and give and take ever since. There are always
reasons or at least that’s what the so-called
‘experts’ inform us. Housing prices, earnings,
unemployment and international issues are
always looked at. However, what we have been
able to notice over the last few years is the
market’s ability to bounce back from bad news.
This resiliency has been nothing short of
remarkable. And we have seen it time and
again. There were many times when we felt that
there was going to be the often predicted
‘correction’, but it hasn’t been the case. We are
officially still in a bull market!
One interesting thing to notice is the rise of the
crude oil price. It has gone up substantially over
the course of the year and it is still trending
higher. We had thought that prices would edge in
that direction but not so quickly. The producers
are certainly happier and the consumers are
feeling the pain. We don’t want to predict here
but if we were betting our heart, we feel it still has
a way to go. As for gold, it is a more boring
picture. We were really hopeful but it has not
taken off. It has made some noise but is still
nowhere the levels we saw it some years back. We
are holding our position but we continue to
remain cautious here.
CONCLUSIONS FOR THE WEEK
As the year develops, we will continue to report
on the upcoming election process in the states.
Putin is, of course, always an option but he has
been remarkably silent lately. That too will
change. As for next week, we will probably
discuss the election over in England. It is too
close to call and will go down to the wire. It is a
confusing process over there but we will do our
best to decipher the mess. In any case, we
promise to keep up on top of everything and
come up with something interesting next week.
As always we prefer to remain flexible. Now,
however, is our time to bid you all adieu. Please
be successful in your ventures and above all we
hope that you make a lot of money.