Charles Payne's  Instablog

We don't know what's going to happen in Libya after Western forces have prevailed but the fact that Brazil, Russia, India, China, and Germany didn't go along with the call in the first place makes the notion it's Qaddafi versus the world a farce. If Arab support fades, it is going to become an even greater public relations fiasco and regional powder keg. In the meantime, crude oil is back above $100.00 a barrel as gas has already surged in the last few weeks.

Equity markets may be fine with decisive, albeit late, action in Libya but the Doomsday Clock has moved closer to midnight, not further away.

In Japan, things remain touch and go but there is a great feeling of calm. In the meantime, the Yakuza has stepped up to help. Japan's three largest organized crime groups have pitched in to assess victims of the disaster. Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest, has opened its offices to the public and has sent truckloads of supplies according to NewsonJapan.com. Suniyosi-kai has offered refuge to foreigners, and Inagawa-kai has sent twenty-five 4-ton trucks filled with paper diapers, instant ramen, batteries, drinks, flashlights, and other daily essentials.

Friday Night Frights

An evening on the town is always fun, more so at the end of a week of nail-biting and tough gyrations in the stock market. So, I loaded up the family and we hit the road, finishing at the mall. There were three separate observations, all of which unnerved me. It's (still) tough out there.

Business Combinations Doomed for Failure

The drive to the mall sees more empty stores along the way, some like furniture stores have been shuttered for a while now, but there are more in different businesses. In the mall, there were more and more closed stores, too. Each closed store told a story of economics.

Great staff + Outdated business model = Coconuts. The store is closed and boarded up now after a three month "going out of business" sale concluded. The people that worked there were fantastic, but only old folks and nostalgia feelers like me still buy CDs and DVDs.

Great stuff + Terrible staff = Restoration Hardware, which hit the retail world like a bullet a decade ago, seems to be fading into a catalogue-only business. I spied a sofa there that was amazing, giant, worn leather look and a beautiful color. I stood next to the sofa for 15 minutes and still the not-so-busy staff ignored me. I sent my wife the next day and her experience was worse. The store is gone now.

High prices + Outdated business model + Mediocre service = Borders Books. The bankrupt bookseller is selling everything at several locations, including the mall where we go to watch movies. Even as the situation is desperate the company thinks "30% off" on already overpriced books is going to do the trick. Some companies never learn.

It really is remarkable how bad things remain in this country after trillions of dollars were wasted on ideology and tainted programs. Heck, it would seem that some of the money would have found real uses that help the economy.

For the Privileged

I bought a couple pairs of glasses at the mall, and they are a hefty investment. I'm actually nervous because I broke my first pair in a week and am still not used to wearing them. I was told it would cost $150.00 to keep the logo of the company on my prescription glasses. I was flabbergasted because I was going to charge them $150.00. Imagine paying to advertise some company's logo! Has the country become that jaded? I'm not a label guy; the glasses are great but I almost didn't buy them. In the end, Cartier will get a big chunk of money from me but it is $150.00 less than they wanted.

Paul, No Apostle

We saw the new flick "Paul." It was okay, but tried too hard to be vulgar and distasteful. That wasn't the big sin of the movie, however. The assault on people that believe in God was more vigorous than most Hollywood fare these days. A very well known reverend and his son sat in front of us at the movie and they got up and left 2/3 through the movie. I'm surprised they lasted that long.

Today's Session

Stocks are poised to come out of the gate with some gusto today after AT&T (T) announced its intentions to buy T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom for $39.0 billion. This is a high stakes gambit that could merge the number two and number four mobile phone companies in the country. The first thing that pops into your mind is anti-trust, but I think it could counter that potential objection by pointing out the combined company would have the capability to provide the Long Term Evolution (4G) network to 294 million people, which includes rural areas and small towns the Administration says is one of its major goals.

The Street likes this deal a lot even though T-Mobile is on the hook with a $3.0 billion breakup fee plus some of its spectrum if the deal doesn't go through; its shares are higher in pre-opening action.