Rich Kleinbauer

35 years asset manager, markets consultant, musician. Managing Director at RMK Research & Markets, Switzerland since 2005. My songs here:

[Rich Kleinbauer @RMKOutFront]

Tell this to the Swiss Migros supermarket which employs “The 7 Old Ladies of Basel” to choose, on our behalf, the one and only brand of granola bars available.

[Melissa Chen @MsMelChen]

Been living in London for 3 years and every time I come back to the US, I have to recalibrate.

When you're overseas, you tend to forget what real abundance feels like, so much so, I just stood there in the granola aisle, mouth open, brain completely short-circuited as I stared at a ridiculous wall of infinite choice.

Bajillions of brands, flavors, and innovations - chocolate peanut butter banana crunch, maple pecan espresso, keto, paleo, collagen-packed, probiotic, gluten-free, protein-loaded, you name it. I was straight-up paralyzed by options.

The French call it “embarras de choix” - embarrassment of choice. That overwhelming feeling when there are simply too many great things to pick from. It’s usually used positively or neutrally (the options are desirable), but the “embarrassment” highlights the mild frustration, guilt and indecision it causes.

But Americans don’t get embarrassed by it. At all.

Because they don't feel guilt about having MORE.

It is the Land of Plenty for a reason. It’s easy to start a food company here, it's easy to build brands, and it's easy to just employ / fire people.

That freedom unleashes relentless innovation and variety, feeding an unstoppable demand for better, tastier, healthier, crazier options.

No wonder Europeans lose their minds the first time they step into a Costco.

American abundance is a policy and cultural choice.

[Rich Kleinbauer @RMKOutFront]

@The_Real_Fly Have you followed the political chaos happening now in the 🇵🇭 ? Might explain it

[Rich Kleinbauer @RMKOutFront]

AirBnB IPO'd about 5 1/2 years ago to lots of fanfare and a healthy 50% rise in its first month of trading. What happened since?

[Rich Kleinbauer @RMKOutFront]

Switzerland has nothing to do with the G7 and we aren’t invited. Why don’t these ‘casseurs’ take their issue with it to Annemasse 🇫🇷 just across the border?

[SuisseAlert @SuisseAlert]

🔴🇨🇭🔥🧨 EN DIRECT - Des policiers antiémeutes sont caillassés par des manifestants anti-G7 à Genève. (TdG)

[Rich Kleinbauer @RMKOutFront]

Are we in a “sell everything” period in order to raise the $85 billion SpaceX is seeking next week?

[Rich Kleinbauer @RMKOutFront]

@CleveArguelles Two weeks ago, gunshots in senate halls, today dereliction of duty, what next?

[Rich Kleinbauer @RMKOutFront]

@cursedbyaclown1 @HardRockStadium @FIFAWorldCup @FWC26Miami Ask Trump, he “knows more about grass than any human being in the world”

[johnny maga @johnnymaga]

Trump on regrassing DC parks: “I’m very good at grass because I have a lot of golf courses all over the place. I know more about grass than any human being in the world… we have a life and grass has a life — and the grass here died about 40 years ago.” 😭

[Rich Kleinbauer @RMKOutFront]

Switzerland slots in at $9.20 per gallon. At least our roads are immaculate

[Brad Furber @bradfurber]

The ultimate transatlantic reality check on the price of gas per one U.S. gallon in Europe vs North America (based currency and unit measurement conversions as of today):

🇳🇱 Netherlands: $10.49
🇸🇪 Sweden: $7.55
🇫🇷 France: $9.13
🇬🇧 UK: $8.04
🇩🇪 Germany: $8.96
🇮🇹 Italy: $8.52
🇪🇸 Spain: $6.81
🇨🇦 Canada: $5.94
🇺🇸 USA: $4.56

[Rich Kleinbauer @RMKOutFront]

@biancoresearch Ever an election where incumbants win with gas prices up over 50%? Guessing none

[Rich Kleinbauer @RMKOutFront]

@biancoresearch Jawbone has a shorter half-life than jetfuel but its more efficient

[Rich Kleinbauer @RMKOutFront]

US 10 and 30-year bond yields are making breakout highs today. We could thank this diverse group below for their service to get us here… or replace them with the yield on the 2-year note, currently trading 50bps above Fed Funds (I.e. let the market decide).

[Rich Kleinbauer @RMKOutFront]

Love almonds but can do without them

[Rich Kleinbauer @RMKOutFront]

@biancoresearch One can only jawbone markets so far… or not

[Rich Kleinbauer @RMKOutFront]

@biancoresearch If raising a kid costs $1 million from 0-25 today while only, say, $250k a couple of decades ago, it could explain the steep decline in birth rates. Want the birth rate back up, get the cost back down.

[Rich Kleinbauer @RMKOutFront]

@mangunonmarkets @MichaelMcGaughy Great article, thanks! No wonder investing in the Philippine stock market has been a dead money trade since forever

[Rich Kleinbauer @RMKOutFront]

@ttmygh Grant @ttmygh is back to shorting Tesla. I remember back in 2019 when he said it was headed to zero. You’re -2’200% offsides mate. Have some humility

[Rich Kleinbauer @RMKOutFront]

US govt has delayed delivery of Switzerland's 2022 order of Patriot missile defense systems to 2034 and up-priced F-35s til god-knows-when. You'd hope we'd have the political balls to say fuck off this time, just once

[*Walter Bloomberg @DeItaone]

TRUMP: SWITZERLAND SHOULD PAY US MORE, WE'LL GET THAT UP A BIT