Alan von Altendorf

196 Comments

    • Weighing the Government Action Options [view article]
      I'm with Smarty Pants. Every atom of government distortion is both ineffective in achieving its stated purpose and has unintended adverse consequences. For instance, Cheney's program of 'liberating' Iraq to get oil. No one was freed, tens of thousands of Iraqis were killed and imprisoned, tens of thousands of US troops grievously mutilated, and Iraqi oil production collapsed, at a cost roughly 50X the advertised project cost. In the present situation, the Fed and Treasury have poured $2 trillion into a broken sewer that leaked money all over the planet. Now they propose to seize the sewer. Brilliant. Oct 10 08:43 PM
    • Apocalypse Dow: The Search for Scapegoats [view article]
      Pretty sad. Deleting you from my Watchlist. Oct 10 08:28 PM
    • Friday's Bond Outlook: Bursting of the Treasury Security Bubble? (Update) [view article]
      I think Jim Rogers has the right idea, moving slowly into agricultural assets and commodities. We all have to eat. Swiss francs and physical gold make sense to me. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in other currencies like the rest of you, and will have to take losses. USD and Euro should be used to buy equity after capitulation, strong profitable companies that survived the crash. 1932 was the best time in history to invest. Oct 10 09:23 AM
    • What Just Happened? [view article]
      Felix Salmon doesn't deserve top of page attention. Oct 10 08:32 AM
    • Who We Should Blame for This Crisis [view article]
      Global warming/Earth First fools. Oct 10 08:16 AM
    • Rearranging an Energy Portfolio Geographically [view article]
      I agree with X-15 on dividends and multinationals. Avoid Canadian tar sands and small cap Bakken crap. Actually, there's no reason to invest or remain invested in oil for the foreseeable future. Oct 10 04:37 AM
    • Bond Expert: Thursday Wrap [view article]
      Certainly. Step one is put handcuffs on the Treasury and NY Fed, stop all this fire bucket nonsense. Step two is NY state regulation or fast track legislation to wind up credit default swaps, preferably by shredding them. Step three is bring troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan, all of them, immediately. Abandon the imperial project. Step four, cut taxes, all of them. Step five, legalize oil exploration. Oct 09 08:05 PM
    • Next Up, an Ownership Share in Banks [view article]
      Er, 58, no one wants them to thrive. AIG was nationalized. Have to live on minimum wage plus annual bonus of $100 for perfect attendance, eat bologna sandwiches at their desks, punch a time clock, etc.

      Mish, about fractional reserves. Grandpa Milton argued for privately-issued competing currencies, which I think is correct, however there's no reason to fear fractional reserves. Pretty basic to the concept of deposit taking. Competition keeps good institutions strong, tempts the cowboys to fail and lose everything.

      Lastly, I wanted to mention gold. What we need most is gold lending at gold-priced interest. Have to repeal the "legal tender" doctrine.
      Oct 09 07:59 AM
    • So Much for Stability: The Euro Cash Flood [view article]
      ?? - How do we recover liberty, free market capitalism, private property, enforcibility of contracts after they've been ridiculed and abolished? Oct 08 07:47 PM
    • Economic Indicators Signal a Major Collapse Ahead [view article]
      "freebies they give to prisoners and welfare recipients which are currently the two largest costs in state budgets"

      Ahem. Education is #1 in all 50 states. Health care is #2.
      Oct 08 10:25 AM
    • Two Exciting Brazilian Oil Stocks [view article]
      "a million barrels a day from the ten platforms PBR has ordered"

      Can't and won't happen, for several reasons. It's misleading to talk about barrels of oil. Think BOE barrels of oil equivalent, because it's going to be mostly sour gas and condensate loaded with sulphur and CO2. Consider that Petrobras has very little free cash flow, so they need Lula to finance construction, and Lula decreed 80% new local employment, new shipyards, new drydocks, newly trained electricians and welders, green rig workers, all unionized. Expect surprises when they try to launch and operate those homemade pipebombs after a long string of delays. But really the meat of the story is nonexistent reserves and BG's political involvement in Brazil.

      I get tired of pointing out the obvious.
      Oct 07 07:50 PM
    • Consumers and the Economy Are Down and Out [view article]
      I liked the way Toro explains it: "The market is like the pretty girl at the bar who has been cooing into your ear all night. When the night is over and she has given you her phone number, you find out your wallet is gone. And the phone number she gave you isn't hers."

      Oct 07 11:03 AM
    • Inflate, Deflate or Default [view article]
      Justice wanted something from Microsoft. Ask yourself what.

      A splendid history, solid reasoning. Thank you. Stagflation ahead.
      Oct 02 10:26 AM
    • The Cost of Putting Expedience Before Justice [view article]
      Steve said: "the government must continue" (??)

      Kinabalu: "government investment in buildings, equipment and social projects far exceeds our net borrowing." (in Iraq?)
      Oct 01 08:03 PM
    • Speculating on the Future [view article]
      My plan is to sit tight on the sidelines in cash and gold. I don't care what happens tomorrow or next week or next year. Maximize income and FDIC insured savings. If the markets are open in 2010, there will be plenty of time to reconsider what to do. Oct 01 08:20 AM
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