Thoughts from the Frontline

Be Careful What You Wish For

By John Mauldin

October 29, 2010

Choose your language

It’s Softer Than It Looks
Not Finer for the “99er”
Be Careful What You Wish For
Philly, London, and the Rangers

People only accept change when they are faced with necessity, and only recognize necessity when a crisis is upon them.

- Jean Monnet, father of the European Union

This week we turn our attention to the elections and their aftermath. Long-time readers know I am a Republican, but I offer some sobering advice to my friends on my side of the aisle: Be careful what you wish for. It’s one thing to get a few votes. It’s quite another to live up to promises that simply can’t be kept. We will start our analysis by looking at the GDP numbers that came out today, and we will end by pointing out that there will be no easy choices. And then we can turn our attention where it should be, to the World Series here in Texas.

But first, let me congratulate Jon Sundt and his team at Altegris Investments, who last week announced they had been bought by Genworth Financial, a Fortune 300 company, for a rather tidy sum. It is a tribute to their hard work and the quality of their team that Genworth not only bought them but required management to stay on with no changes in direction or purpose, simply adding distribution and financial backing. In a real sense, they bought the people and not the company.

And that is the same reason I am proud to have been their partner for over seven years. We have a common sense of purpose in helping investors find quality alternative investments in this turbulent world. And let me say that every one of my partners around the world have that same purpose and quality team. If you are known by the quality of people with whom you associate, then I am not in a bad league at all. You can learn more by going to www.accreditedinvestor.ws and signing up. That is for accredited investors (net worth $1.5 million or more) in the US, Canada, Europe, and Latin America. If you are not an accredited investor and in the US, you can see about alternatives available for you at http://cmgfunds.net/public/mauldin_questionnaire.asp. (In this regard, I am president and a registered representative of Millennium Wave Securities, LLC, member FINRA.) And now to our letter.

It’s Softer Than It Looks

The GDP number came in at a rather soft 2% growth, up slightly from last quarter’s 1.7%. From the standpoint of creating new jobs, 2% just doesn’t cut it. We need about 100,000-125,000 new jobs a month just to keep up with population growth, and a 2% GDP will not give us half that, as we saw last quarter. Most economists say you need about 3.5% GDP growth…

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