Actualidad - Cluster Family Office

Marriage and Heritage (2)

It appeared a few days ago the news Curious, though not surprising, that the octogenarian George Soros had been indicted by a 28-year-old Brazilian soap opera actress, Adriana Ferreyr. It seems that the billionaire, who recently retired as a fund manager, allegedly promised the actress to buy her a $2m Manhattan flat. He did in fact buy it, but with such misfortune for Adriana that their relationship broke down immediately afterwards. Her lawyers are now claiming 50M to compensate for the displeasure, moral damage, harassment and I don't know how many other things.

(more…)

The misunderstood Mr. Market

Nearly two years ago we wrote an article entitled «Economy and Politics«The video showed various videos of trade union leaders and economists. Obviously their speeches were and are not only opposites, but they actually spoke different languages. They are in fact different animals. Their divergences become even more evident and lethal when the situation of the global economy and finance deteriorates, i.e. when their rapport and harmony is most needed. But they do not. The greater the systemic risk, economic deterioration and global complexity, the more governments need to act expeditiously, the more inoperative their policy decisions become. And markets need deeds and not words in these delicate times, firm and courageous action. However, politicians can only offer, as we are currently seeing, empty words, good intentions and populist decisions that keep them in power, inoperative but power nonetheless.
(more…)

The debt ceiling rap in the US.

News, Crisis, Entertainment, Reflection
07/28/2011

Following the brilliant Hayek vs Keynes videos on first y second version, here comes the rap of the summer with lines like this: «I can afford all sorts of cars, I’ve got all sorts of set-ups; the ladies ask me how I get them, and I tell them: STIMULUS«. You can watch the video below, and the lyrics are transcribed further down. Hope you enjoy it: (more…)

A world without credit rating agencies (2)

«What would happen if credit rating agencies ceased to exist? It is a question that few of us ask ourselves today, but one that leads to some fascinating reflections.»That’s how it began" the article which we published over a year and a half ago. Unfortunately, this debate is now dominating the media headlines for very sad reasons, as the role of the credit rating agencies is being called into question solely because they have downgraded Portugal’s rating. In other words, because their ratings are a thorn in the side of those of us who are still members of the Eurozone. We invite you to re-read that short article from 16 December 2009 – it feels like it was only yesterday – and afterwards we’ll offer some thoughts on the matter. (more…)

John Mauldin's predictions for the second half of 2011

It is clear that, in the current climate, predicting what will happen in the second half of the year is risky, to say the least. But despite this, it remains our duty as wealth advisers – and, ultimately, as a family office. Reading or listening to the macroeconomic views of people such as John Mauldin o Ray Dalio, undoubtedly shed light on this sea of financial darkness. His experience and the fact that he has already fought in almost every bullring also lend weight to his interpretation of the past, present and future of the world of finance and investment. (more…)

There are still lessons… Negative Pledge.

«Why have issues such as the Hellenic Republic’s €150,000,000 Floating Rate Notes due 2012 performed so well recently, whilst the rest of the debt has been plummeting?»This is the striking and apt question that opens the excellent article published in the Blog: Right to the Bottom by Juan Ramón Caridad and Jacobo Zarco in FundsPeople. And the authors’ immediate response is the difference between local regulations and English regulations. (more…)

Rodrigo Rato's unfunny joke

El flamante nuevo presidente de Bankia, Rodrigo Rato, intervino el el XVIII Encuentro del Sector Financiero en el que hizo un chascarrillo que además de desafortunado, no tiene ninguna gracia. La comparación económica de los europeos es odiosa, y con una mano fustigamos a aquellos que hablan de la periferia de la UE en términos de PIGS, mientras que con la otra los presidentes de bancos españoles recuerdan en público el viejo chiste de «…van un alemán, un inglés, un francés y un español en un avión…» El chiste recordado por Rodrigo Rato lo podéis ver en el siguiente enlace.

Pues bien, lo que para el señor Rato es una situación envidiable que haría que los ingleses, italianos o franceses se tirasen gustosamente en paracaídas en España para disfrutar de nuestras condiciones financieras de activo y pasivo, a nadie se le escapa que no es más que una distorsión fruto de la precariedad del sistema financiero español. Pura desesperación para mantener a flote balances quebrados. Pero según el presidente del nuevo banco (reciclado con antiguas Cajas y sus residuos tóxicos), las benevolentes condiciones que ofrecen nuestros bancos son la envidia del resto de la Europa central. ¿A quién pretenden engañar? Bueno sí, ya sé, engañan a los ahorradores que les confían su dinero en toda clase de productos bancarios a cambio de intereses tentadores. Pero a quién más? Y es que su negocio se mantiene vivo por la confianza popular de la que, paradójica y sorprendentemente, aún gozan. Por ello, cualquier oportunidad, chascarrillo o intervención en medios de comunicación, es buena para repetir el único mantra que los mantiene a flote: El sistema financiero español no está en quiebra, los inmuebles ya no bajarán más y toda una retahíla de consabidas mentiras.

Siguiendo con el absurdo razonamiento de Rato, los paracaidistas europeos deberían preferir tirarse en Portugal o en Grecia (o quién sabe si también en cualquier república bananera hiperinflacionada), que lanzarse en España. Pero la realidad, la triste y cruda realidad es que es el español (o el resto de PIGS), el que debería saltar de un avión en el que sencillamente su economía no le permite volar. Eso sí, hasta el momento los paracaídas para todos ellos los está suministrando el alemán, el francés, el italiano…. Qué mundo Facundo!

P.D. Ahí va otro que twitteamos hace un par de días para sonreír antes del fin de semana, esta vez de un cómico de verdad, Buenafuente: Se abre el telón y se ve un griego, un irlandés y un portugués…

…empeñan el telón 🙂

Reality always beats fiction

With barely 10 years having passed since two aeroplanes full of passengers brought down New York’s tallest skyscrapers, reality is once again overtaking fiction. It is true that what is happening in Japan has, at first glance, a lesser global impact than the threat of international terrorism posed by the 9/11 attacks, but the sequence of events that have unfolded since the earth shook last Friday goes beyond anything our imagination could have foreseen.

A confluence of circumstances is causing the world’s third-largest power to collapse and be brought to its knees by the catastrophe. Not only did the earth shake with a magnitude of 9 on the Richter scale (and is still experiencing aftershocks that would devastate any other country), but the epicentre was underwater, just a few kilometres off the Japanese coast. Right in front of several nuclear power stations, which have lost their ability to cool the radioactive beast within them.

Misfortunes are piling up in a sinister way, as the earthquake has caused the violent eruption from a nearby volcano. The tsunami has been far worse than the one caused by the Sumatra earthquake, and has swept away entire towns, reaching up to 20 kilometres inland. The dead and missing (most of whom are also presumed dead) now number in the tens of thousands, and the sea is constantly washing up bodies on the beaches – if one can even call the current coastline that. But the most harrowing thing of all is that the worst is yet to come.

Unless a miracle contains the radiation from the affected reactors, the contamination will kill millions and millions of people in the coming years. This is because the death toll from the Chernobyl disaster was relatively low, given the sparse population in that area. But we are now talking about an imminent risk of uncontrolled radiation in one of the countries with the highest population density per square kilometre on the planet.

The Japanese stock market has plummeted, and Asian and European markets have been dragged down with it. However, this unfortunate disaster is local rather than global. And in economic terms, the impact on other markets should be limited, despite the initial panic and contagion.

Without the admirable discipline, spirituality, modernity and efficiency of Japanese society, chaos would already have taken hold of the country, greatly exacerbating the consequences of the disaster. We would like to express our solidarity with a country that we love particularly dearly for many reasons.

I’d like to recommend a few Twitter accounts to follow for up-to-the-minute news and updates on the disaster: @Kirai (run by our friend Héctor García); @Takeshi_Tngch; @V7VOA; @YonhapNews. We’re also providing a permanent link on our blog the NHK World channel’s live stream (in English) so you can follow what’s happening in Japan as it happens.

(+34) 93 626 47 75

(+34) 91 794 19 82

Category: Actualidad

Marriage and Heritage (2)

The misunderstood Mr. Market

The debt ceiling rap in the US.

A world without credit rating agencies (2)

John Mauldin's predictions for the second half of 2011

There are still lessons… Negative Pledge.

Rodrigo Rato's unfunny joke

Reality always beats fiction

The preservation of heritage and the real economy

Shall we help you search?

Cluster Family Office

Do you need help in capital and wealth management?

How can I avoid the negative effects that my fortune may have on my children?

How and when should I talk to my children about family wealth, and what relationship should they have with money throughout their adolescence?

How can I measure the real risks of my investments and protect my assets adequately?

Do I have sufficient liquidity and stable income to cover my needs on a permanent basis?

(+34) 93 626 47 75

(+34) 91 794 19 82

Category: Actualidad

Marriage and Heritage (2)

The misunderstood Mr. Market

The debt ceiling rap in the US.

A world without credit rating agencies (2)

John Mauldin's predictions for the second half of 2011

There are still lessons… Negative Pledge.

Rodrigo Rato's unfunny joke

Reality always beats fiction

The preservation of heritage and the real economy

Shall we help you search?

Cluster Family Office

Do you need help in capital and wealth management?

How can I avoid the negative effects that my fortune may have on my children?

How and when should I talk to my children about family wealth, and what relationship should they have with money throughout their adolescence?

How can I measure the real risks of my investments and protect my assets adequately?

Do I have sufficient liquidity and stable income to cover my needs on a permanent basis?

(+34) 93 626 47 75

(+34) 91 794 19 82

Security Notice