As the New Year started a short 106 days ago, turmoil existed on many fronts.  The US budget and federal spending situation had just averted another disaster, but over the world, things were not good.  Unlike good wine, conditions have not improved with age.  Now we have the North Korea situation, the confiscation of assets in Cyprus, a wobbly Euro, China and Australia making their own currency market without the dollar and on and on and on.

So why does the PM40 continue to hover near record levels?  Like the rest of the financial world, when things are shaky and interest rates are zero, might as well be in equities.  And, in the world of pulp and paper, we have real, glued to the ground brick and mortar assets.  I am not saying marketing driven assets, such as Google, are not valuable, but if economies blow up, so will such market driven assets.  Bricks and mortar still represent a real, tangible place to put your investments.

At least, this is my theory.  You can find your theory of choice nearly anywhere these days.