An Iranian Woman Died Fighting

Below is a blog entry by an Iranian woman, translated into English by huffingtonpost:

"I will participate in the demonstrations tomorrow. Maybe they will turn violent. Maybe I will be one of the people who is going to get killed. I'm listening to all my favorite music. I even want to dance to a few songs. I always wanted to have very narrow eyebrows. Yes, maybe I will go to the salon before I go tomorrow! There are a few great movie scenes that I also have to see. I should drop by the library, too. It's worth to read the poems of Forough and Shamloo again. All family pictures have to be reviewed, too. I have to call my friends as well to say goodbye. All I have are two bookshelves which I told my family who should receive them. I'm two units away from getting my bachelors degree but who cares about that. My mind is very chaotic. I wrote these random sentences for the next generation so they know we were not just emotional and under peer pressure. So they know that we did everything we could to create a better future for them. So they know that our ancestors surrendered to Arabs and Mongols but did not surrender to despotism. This note is dedicated to tomorrow's children..."

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Between the young and the old.

This is how I looked at the current crisis in Iran.

65 percent of Iran’s seventy million people are under the age of thirty - most are supporters of change - of Mir Hossein Mousavi. On the other side, is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the old clerics and relics of the Iranian revolution.

By nature, the old has to move in favor of the new. The old generation shall be replaced by the young - no doubt.

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I remember February 1986 how the Filipinos ousted the dictatorship of Marcos - a regime still hated until today.

So my heart and my admiration goes to the Iranian people who love freedom and democracy.

Credit Card Crisis

In my earlier post I said,

Can the 3-month long stock rally continue?

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IMO, until employment picks up, or at least an stabilization in unemployment is seen. I suggest, be wary.

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News from Reuters: U.S. credit card defaults rose to record highs in May, with a steep deterioration of Bank of America Corp's lending portfolio, in another sign that consumers remain under severe stress.

We, indeed, have to look somewhere else for better and reliable signs that the world economy is out of the crisis.

IMO, it is great that this Credit Card Crisis is explored as early as now.

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This is all for now.

Stocks, Wall Street, and China

I am certain the question most minds today is:Can the 3-month long stock rally continue?

This is the question asked by CNN Money today. So what's our take on this?

Is the movement going to slow down? or move faster?

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The week ahead brings readings on the deficit, jobless claims, retail sales and consumer sentiment. Monday is also the deadline for "stress tested" banks that need to raise more capital to explain just how they plan to do it.

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U.S. stocks flip-flopped throughout Friday's session, with the major indexes ending split as investors paused to consider conflicting signals in monthly U.S. jobs data.

Trading was choppy as the stock market initially started higher and then drifted lower as investors reassessed the implications of the latest jobs report.

The Labor Department reported that employers cut 345,000 jobs in May -- substantially less than analysts had forecast -- but the U.S. unemployment rate hit 9.4 percent, its highest since 1983.

However, according to George Soros:

"It may have further to go because there is a lot of liquidity, a lot of investors are on the sidelines. If the market keeps on going up, more of them may decide to join in. You never know how far the rally goes."

"But I certainly don't think we are at the beginning of a big bull market worldwide."

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Home Depot's (HD.N) stock price "looks like a bargain" as the home improvement has slowed expansion and tried to improve customer service under Chief Executive Frank Blake, according to the latest issue of Barron's.

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On China, I believe, everyone agrees that:

"China is going to be a positive force in the world and the market, and as a consequence, its power and influence are likely to grow. Personally, I believe it's going to grow faster than most people currently expect," Soros said.

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I hope the above are good guides on how and what to trade in stocks in the coming weeks. But be wary and watch your back.

Forex, Ramos, Estrada

The coming months are both going to be exciting and confusing.

1. Ramos is meeting with Estrada.

2. Villar is being hit hard, while Lacson is also being cornered - both by Palace operatives. It seems the Palace are afraid of these two Presidentiables - which is an indicator that voters should not and never vote for Escudero, or Roxas, or De Castro.

Who is you choice then? Lacson or Villar?

I shall wait what Ramos is up to. I trust the old man.

The Liberal Party - the preferred one - is confused. The people do not know if they are an opposition party or administration or what? This party needs a fight - seriously - to be noticed or considered by the Filipino people. Jamby is getting a lot more attention than the whole LP party and it members combined.

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On the economic front. Things are bit by bit going normal.

1. GM bankruptcy did not create as much fear as was expected.

2. Traders are no longer running to the dollar:

Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon, said worries about the long-term strength of the dollar were overblown.

“The dollar remains the sole reserve currency of first choice,” he said. “There’s no currency remotely approaching it. It’s only during periods of relative calm and risk appetite that other currencies begin to look attractive.”

United States dollar index, which measures the greenback against other heavily traded currencies, fell to 78.66. One euro was worth $1.43 — its strongest position against the dollar since December. The dollar fell to $1.66 to the British pound, and lost ground to the Canadian dollar and Japanese yen. Investors who flocked to the safety of the dollar at the height of the financial crisis are beginning to shun the currency.

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As I expected the world economy would be in path to recovery earlier than anticipated, which means that, by fourth quarter - all will be back to normal - almost.