Alphameister

What Stories Aren't Being Told?

Who do you think elected those bozos who have brought us to this point? "Responsible" mis-educated Americans. As a country, we have the big heart of an adolescent, utopian liberal.....and the weak mind that goes with it.


On Sep 11 09:58 AM Popham wrote:

> Gosh, between the Chinese manipulating their economy, Western European
> banks on the verge of crashing, Russia's economy and peope on the
> brink, the severe drought conditions in Kenya, the threat of terrorism,
> failing banks, low ebb of consumer confidence, foreclosures still
> happening, commercial and industrial real estate bubble bursting,
> double digit unemployment near, health care reform, cap & trade,
> more taxes, the H1N1 flu; but most of all, the rabbid sophistry of
> the White House and Congress, which for the past 30 years have been
> dragging this country down to where we find ourselves today. Indeed,
> the list goes on, but how we, as responsible
> Americans, respond to these crises, will define our fate and destiny.
>
> We can and must at this critical time in history join forces as one
>
> family of 300+ million Americans and show the world that we are<br/>indeed
> the greatest nation on earth.

It May Be Time to Go Contrarian

The caution flags are certainly flying for the short term and I've become substantially hedged on that basis; too early, though, to call for a major top. Don't fight the tape, and don't fight the Fed.

10 Notes on the Current Markets

Excellent collection of points on which to reflect!

Could the decline in the price of farmland reflect elimination of the premium for "development potential" in the wake of the collapse of the housing market?

Note to Dave R: The fact that the broken window was replaced with a superior grade of glass does not invalidate the parable, though I agree that the basic principle is more readily understood through the window example than through the c4c example.

Nusbaum on Ritholtz: A Review of 'Bailout Nation'

I guess I'll go on being misinformed because I'm convinced CRA was at the heart of the mess. Banks were under tremendous pressure, from local agitators such as Acorn to a broad range of politicos in DC to let minorities partake of the housing boom. Once standards had been lowered at the subprime level, it was easy to extend the same approach (why require income verification when the house is bound to increase in value anyway) to other economic strata. (Any other pollicy would have been reverse discrimination.) If the underlying mortgages had been sound, then the packaging of them into various investment products would not have led to such horrendous risks.

No Market Gain Without Economic Pain

We are a nation devoted to instant gratification and pain avoidance, nowhere more evident than in the nation's capital. This nation's greatest generation emerged from the crucible of the Great Depression. I expect that considerable good will flow from today's somewhat lesser depression as well, though it is an environment frought with political risks.

10 Reasons Why We Still Haven't Hit Bottom

The comment by Vogobeck was the best reason for clicking "read" on this rather naive post.

Fixing the Economic Crisis in Six Easy Steps

Open an express lane for would-be immigrants to the U.S. who would commit to buying a house within three months of their arrival. Eliminate mark-to-market accounting for at least two years. Cost to taxpayers: zero.