Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Mixed Signals

Before I move on to today's rant...

We built this mobile chicken coop on a sled of 2 x 4's and enclosed it in used cattle panels that were too bent up for fencing, and some left over wire garden fence. An old tarp was used for a roof.
My 16 year old son moving the ladies (and a few very lucky roosters) into their new home.

The finished product. The hens must have approved - we collected 25 eggs from 32 hens.
This "chicken tractor" is moved daily to let the hens graze on pasture but is really not light enough for many folks to move around. It works for us.

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The bond market NEEDS another equity market correction or rates are going to move higher... Energy equities say Oil pulls back... Nat Gas says Oil pulls back... the Euro says the US$ moves higher... Nissan says they have an electric car that will get 100 miles per charge... Everybody says California is bigger than Greece... The U.S. equity market says it does not care about Oil, California, Nissan, Nat Gas, or interest rates...

Don't believe everything you hear.

9 comments:

bureaucrat said...

I think the next thing to happen, if it happens, is the interest rates start rising. From that a lot of dominoes start to fall (equity deleveraging, more foreclosures, old ladies rush from the stock market back into CDs, the economy gets slammed down, reducing demand of gas and oil.) Interest rates are the key. But for them to rise, deflation has to end, and I don't think that is ending ... just quite yet.

PioneerPreppy said...

Good Idea with the cattle panels I hadn't thought to use them that way for chickens. They make excellent plant trellis and arbors.

As for the rest I am so confused financially these days I don't know which way is up. Just buying silver and bullets anymore and watching my stock values climb to my continued surprise.

Anonymous said...

Wow bur, something besides sunshine and lollipops from the resident optimist. I will look past the doubt and reservations expressed and focus on the fact that you are willing to admit things will not get better forever. Kudos on the personal growth.

Donal Lang said...

If equities have another 'correction', and if much of the bail-out money has been bet on the equity market by the banks, and the banks are using these said equities as collateral, do you think we're heading for Bail-Out PartII?

bureaucrat said...

I have just as much $$ in commodities as in gold. I bet both ways. That way I always win. :) Near term, with $20 trillion in credit being destroyed .. it's deflation all the way.

A Quaker in a Strange Land said...

Donal:

I think the economy muddles along until it doesn't. I have never navigated anything like this and have no idea how to quantify the time element. Pretty fascinating to watch, though.

Unknown said...

Greg

It has been a while since I've written you. I was "the other Greg" from West Palm Beach about 2 years ago. I'm a regular reader but infrequent poster.

When I saw your portable coop I thought maybe you would be interested in my website:

GardenEggs.com

About a year ago we started a small business that builds portable chicken coops. We also sell plan for our designs and other accessories.

Our primary market is homeowners who want to have a backyard flock. This is a small but rapidly growing group.

We're hoping to grow this business and use it as a launching pad for other ideas that we have.

The economy is contracting, energy is a concern, self reliance and conservation are merging into one cause; many new business opportunities are on the near horizon.

The Other Greg
Now in Houston

bureaucrat said...

Excellent article by Dave Cohen on the "fuzzy math" surrounding all this cheap shale (natural) gas now coming to market at $4/million BTU. The costs to get that gas are likely a lot higher than is being revealed.

http://www.energybulletin.net/node/52235

A Quaker in a Strange Land said...

gregory!

I wish you the best of luck! As an unrepentant capitalist I am thrilled to hear of your venture.

I shall check out your website.

BTW... we had an excellent pot of Mexican style chicken soup care of one of our birds today.... sooooo goooooood.