axelrod608

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

Ominous overtones to the breakfast menu this morning. It appears that the true nature of the US automakers is finally sinking in. The Chinese who've invested heavily everywhere are getting more aggressive in their demands to safeguard their investments - Rio can ill afford to lose Leng. The usually conservative Swiss banks are hemmoraging along with the rest. And the federales want to stuff mortgage losses down the throats of already weakened financials that desperately need the earnings to stay afloat.

Ben Franklin ( I believe) said, "A stitch in time saves nine". Oh how we wish our Congress and regulators weren't all asleep at the controls while this mess was brewing.

And Oh how we wish they'd fix the holes before pouring in more money. The talking heads all keep saying we need more confidence. And I agree. But just how confident can we be in a system unchanged from how it got here and the folks in charge wanting to throw money around recklessly rather than analyze the problem and fix it first ?

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

JasonR - While the mall parking lots are full, perhaps you haven't seen the customers' shopping carts. They are NOT full. There are a lot of people "shopping the sales" and looking for this or that specific bargain.

It's a lot like the economy in general - it's the same, but it's different. If you REALLY want to see what's happening go talk to the good folks who prepare and serve free meals in the nation's churches and NGO's. They will give you an earful of the increase in demand and the decrease in food contributions. Many have double the diners.

Looking at the malls for evidence of financial hardship is like looking for poverty on Wall Street.