In the early days of the 20th century there was a colloquialism: 23 Skidoo. Wikipedia’s definition: A slang American term popularized during the early parts of the last century. It generally refers to leaving quickly, being forced to leave quickly by someone else, or taking advantage of a propitious opportunity to leave, that is, “getting out while the getting’s good.” If I was a British voter I would adhere to the wonderful thought of the Spectator article published last week (h/t OB).
The fear-mongering from the globe’s self-selected elite is predicated on concerns about the potential for large financial losses from the entire European project to be cast asunder as many other EU nations seek to depart from the “shared responsibility” of a grand vision of the Davos elite. The Brits need to blow up the EU to save it from itself. If Britain votes to stay, the average U.K. citizen will find herself trapped in the EURO and wind up a major creditor to the debt the ECB is accumulating. The fear of Britain being left out of world trade is a bogeyman with no substance.
The G-7 recently admonished the Brits for having the “audacity” to seek out its own trade deals with China rather than being a servant of the demands of the U.S. and its subordinates. Read the Spectator piece and form your own opinions about the June 23 vote. For me it’s skidoo.
***Today, Janet Yellen offered no surprises in her testimony to the U.S. Senate. There was a good discussion about Brexit and, even more importantly, an appropriate questioning on the importance of the Labor Market Condition Index. Chair Yellen explained that the significance of the LMCI provides a glimpse at the rate of change in a variety of variables. Currently the rate of change is deteriorating, which is making the Fed cautious about the employment picture. Still, the Fed chair spent more time answering questions about diversity in the Fed appointments.
Senator Shelby tried to pin down the Fed Chair on the centeral bank’s exit strategy from its massive balance sheet expansion but Ms. Yellen dodged that issue as she so adroitly did Steve Liesman question at the Fed press conference. It all comes down to the market response to the Brexit vote. Until then, skidoo from position risk. Trade with fervor, invest with fear.
Tags: Brexit, Euro, Fed, Janet Yellen
June 21, 2016 at 2:37 pm |
And I thought I was an old curmudgeon.
June 21, 2016 at 3:45 pm |
Stu—with age comes wisdom and /or scars—
June 21, 2016 at 4:23 pm |
If, IF, anyone at the NYT or nObama administration read that Spectator article, you Mr. Harris, might be imprisoned for inciting the “extremist activity” that brought down the EU!
Perhaps we can have a national referendum to Amexit from the Federal Government as it seems to be following the template of Brussels and Luxembourg in overriding the brilliance of our Constitution as it was written and meant to be understood (not interpreted, as it was written in English and fairly clearly so).
Great post “Kiddo” And Spectator’s article is brilliant. Of course I’m actually trying to read the entire “Wealth of Nations”, so my mind is twisted.
June 21, 2016 at 6:43 pm |
Fear mongering, indeed. If George Soros and Wilbur Ross are forecasting a BREXIT disaster, all we know is they have interests against it. All else is vapor.
As common stock investor (not a trader), I hope a BREXIT not only provides blessed relief to British citizens and shows a stiff middle finger to Brussels, but will also create some nice long term buy opportunities.
Kudos to Spectator.
June 21, 2016 at 9:05 pm |
The entire world would no doubt be better off, without the blood sucking vampires of Brussels foisting their special interests into the spokes of global trade.
June 22, 2016 at 2:19 pm |
“Today there are a great many Brexiteers who would love to pin all the UK’s problems on the EU. Trust me: most of those problems will still be there after Brexit, along with a heap of nasty new ones. And you’ll have no one left to blame but yourself.”
—Niall Ferguson
June 23, 2016 at 9:40 am |
[…] friend Yra Harris is an expert on these sorts of things. He has traded Forex for 40 years. Yra concludes that leaving is the right thing for […]
June 23, 2016 at 12:49 pm |
What a wonderful commentary in the Spectator! Thank you for bringing it to the attention of Notes readers!
June 24, 2016 at 12:31 am |
Bingo!
June 24, 2016 at 8:30 am |
Arthur–Niall Ferguson is in mourning and as a reader of several of his books I was very surprised by his view on Brexit
June 24, 2016 at 7:29 am |
Who’s next and what extent will elites take while subverting the democratic process?
June 24, 2016 at 11:03 am |
I am wondering if our so-called betters will let the #Brexitvote stand. Right out of the gate on Squawkbox this AM an intellectual who happened to be an Italian saying the Article 50 clause had to be initiated immediately..more as a punitive measure against the Brits. And there are other rumblings along that line.
June 26, 2016 at 3:26 pm |
donna–good point and I believe that Ambrose Evans-Pritchard had a great piece the other day 0n a possible response to Brexit–called Mutual Assured Destruction–if Europe seeks to punish Britain
June 27, 2016 at 12:29 am
Thanks so much, Yra. Will track it down.
June 24, 2016 at 11:31 am |
I’m wondering if our so-called betters will let this vote stand. There are already rumblings of punitive actions against the Brits.
June 24, 2016 at 4:22 pm |
There are many who feel Brexit isn’t the real issue at hand, that it’s being used as a smoke screen.
The real issues are profoundly systemic.
June 24, 2016 at 5:19 pm |
Well I guess the “smart money” wasn’t so smart was it? And the really delicious part is that Obama’s stupid grandstanding probably pushed a lot of undecided voters to EXIT.
All that tough talk about making an example of the Brits is going to backfire. It’s going to reinforce to the creditor states the notion that its time to get out while the gettin’s good.
At some point it might actually dawn on Brussels’s elites that they over-reached. But it will be too late.
June 24, 2016 at 6:02 pm
This is to include Chicken and appreciate both comments. Agree that the real issues of Brexit are systemic that only the Europeans can solve.
And to Joe, when I heard that Morgan Stanley and Jami Dimon were going to take employees out of GB I heard explanations but couldn’t figure out why that would be. Thanks to you both.
June 26, 2016 at 11:30 am |
The brexit has won my thoughts fwiw::After careful consideration I think the Brexit is going to be bullish for Britain and the British pound. The bureaucracy of the eu is going to be gone and Britain will to be more capitalistic and stable. Eu is in more trouble with member states wanting to leave, Britain it will be seen as a safe haven. Right now English stocks are 20% cheaper between the currency and markets. Within a week or two I would be buying british stocks and hard assets. Soros is completely wrong. The conventional wisdom been totally wrong about markets( e.g. yen) and it will be again. I will be a buyer a long dated sterling calls soon.