I’m incubating. 

If the square root of four is two, which it is. 

And the squared fruit of a quince tree becomes marmalade, which it does. 

What is one to make of doubled and quadrupled LIBOR (bank lending) rates on euros and dollars? Allow me to lift one off late comic Lou Costello, who said thousands of times to his partner Bud Abbott, “I don’t know and I don’t give a darn.” 

Which is to say, as the banker quipped on the quote boxes Wednesday morning: those once-storied benchmark rates hailing from London are now mere “theoretical constructs.” 

The media-branded fiscal turmoil is making nonsense-poo of lots of flim-flam standards these days: money market rates, cross-currency exchange rates, credit ratings, and headline stock and bond indexes. Even reliable commodities are riding a daily teeter-totter in search of a home. 

So it was nice to see an economist the other day in a major newspaper, New York Times, put in her two cents for scrapping cross-currency exchanges and linking a nation’s paper to gold. Did you know that America has one of the greatest, if not the greatest, gold reserve on the planet? 

At any rate (not LIBOR, please not that), I thought it worthwhile to post several forecasts in this ThomWatch of ours – on condition that we savvy one eternal truth, and that is that forecasts while worthwhile are almost always worthless until we examine the 30-30 squared possible and probable angles that root to a forecast, and for sure including those darn black swans*: 

• Emerging industries and companies are still my buttered bread. These include genomic tools, personalized health diagnostics, zee WiMax standard for broadband wireless, generic pharmaceuticals (leave that up to you, audience, to decide whether generics is emerging or has emerged), and tough-as-diamond-drill-bit uranium, lithium, platinum, and gold exploration/mining teams.
• Robert Prechter is a nice person, and in my MarketWatch days I enjoyed his books, especially the ones detailing how to thrive during deflation (cash and a good job). But Prechter, bless him, was and almost certainly still is wrong about prospects for gold. It’s a metal that we at home here hope to own for a long, long time. If there is a forecast there, it is that gold will demonstrate extraordinary staying and spending power, even during a deflation. (Don’t you just love those pure and pristine Maple Leafs! Koalas and Kroogs and Eagles, too.)
• Securities of small companies will do far better than those of larger ones in the next two years. But the biggest winners will be those individuals who pony up “angel money” for freshly scrubbed technologies and start-ups in the current venture capital vacuum. The financing terms (preferreds, convertibles, and warrants) for angels are better than they ever have been, it seems to me. Just ask Frank Quattrone.  

Note: My cosmos in terms of holdings is listed on www.stockhouse.com under the “portfolio setting.” I believe it is open to the public. 

*Black swans these days include: a third term for U.S. President George W. Bush (Mike Bloomberg is vying for one as NYC mayor in the wake of difficult economic conditions); “Crash” winning the Oscar for Best Picture several years ago; Wachovia (NYSE: WB, Stock Forum), Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM, Stock Forum), Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE, Stock Forum), Bear Stearns, and Lehman Bros. going under or getting bought/usurped by government/bargain buyers; gold replacing paper as first-world sovereign reserve. 

Thom Calandra Report: For many investors who profited from a meteoric rise of commodities, mining, and life sciences companies, Thom Calandra acted as a beacon. Thom helped his followers find value in a quagmire of investment choices. Yet he is not a titled investment adviser. He is, more than anything, a scribe who goes where the action is. Thom co-founded CBS MarketWatch and MarketWatch.com. As the voice of Thom Calandra's StockWatch and The Calandra Report, Thom beat bushes for prospects. He fancied $300-ounce gold before that metal became an investment rage. Thom visited numerous biomedical companies, metals mines, and even a haberdashery or two, not to mention thin-crust pizza joints across the planet in his search for profit, fashion and food. Thom's latest project, the novel Pablo by Numbers, was completed in summer 2008. He and Stockhouse this autumn will offer a subscription report with all the bells and whistles. The service is tentatively titled Thom Calandra Report. Please stay tuned and pruned to Stockhouse.com, ThomCalandra.blogspot.com, and to ThomCalandra.com for more.