Folks seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum - so what else is new. With the passage this past week of the latest aid to Greece, some are saying markets are undervalued, even after a strong week of gains. Don't believe me, read here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-04/european-stock-futures-trade-little-changed-after-greek-aid-approval-by-eu.html
But then again, some people I highly respect are a bit more reserved in their forecasts over the next six months. John Mauldin, for example, sees some serious risks, which he spells out well in the next linked article. Pay attention to the graphs. They are quite telling, you might even say, quite graphic:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/277731-focus-on-the-next-half-year-less-certainty-than-ever
I tend to agree with John that there is more uphill than downhill for the remainder of the year (and probably next). We will see.
Either way, it is good to be free and have freedom of thought and speech. Enjoy your 4th of July!!!
Disclosures: None.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Bill, Bill, Bill . . .
Okay, I like Bill Clinton. He was a fun President and he did it in a fun time. He may have just been lucky in getting into office at an optimal time, but his eight years was a great ride for the U.S. The economy grew, the deficit was cut and all looked well. Sure he lied about having "sex with that woman" but I try to separate the personal issues (so long as no crime is committed) from the political achievements.
But while things went quite well during his tenure, he did make one massive mistake - beyond Monica. He signed into law the repeal of the Glass-Stegal Act. The repeal was known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which was signed into law in November of 1999. This basically ended limitations between banks doing traditional banking business and doing more investment type activities. I attach an article I found from the time:
http://www.ratical.com/corporations/DErulesUD.html
Bill was quoted as saying:
"This legislation is truly historic," President Clinton told a packed audience of lawmakers and top financial regulators. "We have done right by the American people."
Now do not just blame him, it passed the Senate 90 to 8 and House 362 to 57. Someone did quite the sell job. Note as well how the article states that financial company winners that day in the stock market included the likes of J.P. Morgan, Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, companies that needed taxpayer support in the last crisis, one of which being bought out to survive.
Perhaps the most significant quote in the article, however, is as follows:
"'With this bill,'" Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers said, 'the American financial system takes a major step forward toward the 21st Century -- one that will benefit American consumers, business and the national economy.' Opponents said it would have the opposite effect, creating behemoths that will raise fees, violate customers' privacy by sharing and selling their personal data, and put the stability of the financial system at risk."
Wait a second, isn't this Summers the same idiot that Obama hired as the Director of his National Economic Council? Well yes it is. Why the hell would Obama hire as one of his key economic advisers someone who praised the bill that made the whole mess possible in the first place? Why would he hire someone who did not see the train wreck coming and indeed told the engineer to heap on more coal to get that engine running? WHY?? Seriously - I REALLY REALLY WANT TO KNOW AS IT SIMPLY SHOCKED ME AND STILL DOES TO THIS DAY THAT OBAMA WOULD HIRE SUCH A STUPID IDIOT!!!
Now I voted for Hillary Clinton in the primary and think she would have done a much better job. I voted for Obama for President as he seemed to have good intellect, McCain seemed to be bending over too far for the far right and I did not want Palin one bullet from running the country. But now I am wondering if Palin would perhaps have done a better job than Obama. I think she is not nearly as intelligent, but someone of lesser intelligence doing nothing (or even the wrong thing) is better than someone of enhanced intelligence doing the wrong thing. In my book, Obama was a fool to follow the advice of Geitner and Summers. So far, the proof of this is in the pudding.
I really have no idea who I will vote for next election. I have voted Republican before and suspect I will this time if the Republican candidate is not a worse fool than Obama. I simply am horribly disappointed in Obama. And so I must say I am also horribly disappointed in Bill for supporting him still, which he does here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-01/bill-clinton-predicts-speedier-unemployment-drop-will-aid-obama.html
Still, I cannot say I am surprised. His wife, after all, works for the guy.
Let me end by noting that while some barriers have been put up to prevent the problems we saw this past decade, I think we need to fully reinstate the Glass-Stegal Act. It is kind of like the Constitution; the folks that put it together had learned some very hard lessons, hand-in-fire, and they sought to protect future generations from the pain they had suffered. We repealed it and - surprise - we felt their pain. We should bow down to their intelligence in enacting it in the first place and reenact it in full.
Disclosures: None
But while things went quite well during his tenure, he did make one massive mistake - beyond Monica. He signed into law the repeal of the Glass-Stegal Act. The repeal was known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which was signed into law in November of 1999. This basically ended limitations between banks doing traditional banking business and doing more investment type activities. I attach an article I found from the time:
http://www.ratical.com/corporations/DErulesUD.html
Bill was quoted as saying:
"This legislation is truly historic," President Clinton told a packed audience of lawmakers and top financial regulators. "We have done right by the American people."
Now do not just blame him, it passed the Senate 90 to 8 and House 362 to 57. Someone did quite the sell job. Note as well how the article states that financial company winners that day in the stock market included the likes of J.P. Morgan, Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, companies that needed taxpayer support in the last crisis, one of which being bought out to survive.
Perhaps the most significant quote in the article, however, is as follows:
"'With this bill,'" Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers said, 'the American financial system takes a major step forward toward the 21st Century -- one that will benefit American consumers, business and the national economy.' Opponents said it would have the opposite effect, creating behemoths that will raise fees, violate customers' privacy by sharing and selling their personal data, and put the stability of the financial system at risk."
Wait a second, isn't this Summers the same idiot that Obama hired as the Director of his National Economic Council? Well yes it is. Why the hell would Obama hire as one of his key economic advisers someone who praised the bill that made the whole mess possible in the first place? Why would he hire someone who did not see the train wreck coming and indeed told the engineer to heap on more coal to get that engine running? WHY?? Seriously - I REALLY REALLY WANT TO KNOW AS IT SIMPLY SHOCKED ME AND STILL DOES TO THIS DAY THAT OBAMA WOULD HIRE SUCH A STUPID IDIOT!!!
Now I voted for Hillary Clinton in the primary and think she would have done a much better job. I voted for Obama for President as he seemed to have good intellect, McCain seemed to be bending over too far for the far right and I did not want Palin one bullet from running the country. But now I am wondering if Palin would perhaps have done a better job than Obama. I think she is not nearly as intelligent, but someone of lesser intelligence doing nothing (or even the wrong thing) is better than someone of enhanced intelligence doing the wrong thing. In my book, Obama was a fool to follow the advice of Geitner and Summers. So far, the proof of this is in the pudding.
I really have no idea who I will vote for next election. I have voted Republican before and suspect I will this time if the Republican candidate is not a worse fool than Obama. I simply am horribly disappointed in Obama. And so I must say I am also horribly disappointed in Bill for supporting him still, which he does here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-01/bill-clinton-predicts-speedier-unemployment-drop-will-aid-obama.html
Still, I cannot say I am surprised. His wife, after all, works for the guy.
Let me end by noting that while some barriers have been put up to prevent the problems we saw this past decade, I think we need to fully reinstate the Glass-Stegal Act. It is kind of like the Constitution; the folks that put it together had learned some very hard lessons, hand-in-fire, and they sought to protect future generations from the pain they had suffered. We repealed it and - surprise - we felt their pain. We should bow down to their intelligence in enacting it in the first place and reenact it in full.
Disclosures: None
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