SeekingTruth

More Goldman Outrage

Outrage? Yes, some, but no where near enough and totally ineffective.
This and even worse past behavior is the reason America is facing a margin call that it cannot meet or cover.

Sobering Stat: ARMS Index Indicates Market Is at Peak, Not Bottom

The current market is like trying to catch and surf a big wave without being caught and eaten by the Golden Sharks (GS) somewhere during the process.
Have been aware of and watched TRIN for many years and found it to be a fair to middlin tech indicator. Too bad the originator flipped the indicator upside down and made it counterintuitive - an easily avoidable mistake. Also, as the author noted, the indicator is not symetrical which adds to the difficulty, at least until one becomes very familiar with it.
It used to be that one could watch TRIN, together with a lot of other volume related indicators and get some feel for the market direction. And one could watch the big market traders seperately for some indication also.
NOT ANYMORE. Why? Because the big traders are high speed flash TRADING using program trading (algorithmic trading), risk arbitrage with options combined with short selling, and other hedging techniques, etc. all at virtually the same instant with the aid of high speed massive computers and billions of dollars to apply which makes it all very moot and academic for the typical retail investor, who has none of this at his disposal..
This means, in part, because of the speed and power and the "offsets" in their trading that we have no idea really, of what the big guys are actually thinking and doing, or very little anyway.
Until things get straightened out and improved , honesty, fairness, and transparency- wise, the stock markets shall remain "The Big Casino in the Sky", and the world's largest rolling crap shoot.
It is now worse in this regard than I have ever witnessed it, and, without some honest improvements to level the playing field for the small citizen investor, the Golden Shark techniques can only improve and become even more ruthless and effective. Heads they win, tails we lose, except moreso.
And its usually (almost always) table stakes for the small players, meaning the small citizen investor can get squeezed out at just the wrong time - for him or her.
How anyone other than the unbelieveably wealthy and powerful movers and shakers of the markets thinks this is a good system, is far beyond me.

Generally agree with many of the comments relative to the economy, financials, markets, problems and difficulties etc. made by previous commenters.

Exit Strategy: An Argument Against Bernanke's Reappointment

All recent Republican administrations from Nixon forward have had serious banking crises' , including complete meltdowns , very bad recessions, weak economies with and without high inflation, etc. - so what makes having a Repub. Fed. Chairman so special?
Bernanke is no idiot, in fact , he is quite bright, and seems to be a decent guy, but this alone does not qualify him to keep his job if his performance has led to many cover ups of suspiciously used or badly used public funds.
Personally, I have absolutely no confidence in him , and I had even less in Greenspan.
Time for the old crowd to get a rest, they couldn't have done much worse.

A Summary of Q1 Bank Earnings: World, You Just Got Hustled

In previous comment , I failed to acknowledge author with thanks for a fine article.
The money laundering shell game and Ponzi scheme that has now reached conspiratorial levels with agencies of the Government and private enterprise will no doubt continue to wreak havoc for many years to come.
The author has given us much to research, chew on , and ponder, and my concerns are that much of it , and even much more hidden in the woodwork, will yet prove to be true.

A Summary of Q1 Bank Earnings: World, You Just Got Hustled

I agree with AV Altendorf about computer productivity if referring to the PC variety ,i.e..

Disastrously flawed software, a punitive learning curve, persistently bad hardware, esp. Hard Drives and latent flaws, (which continues to this day), outrageously high prices, and frequent replacements prevented productivity from being positive.
But it did get people to spend money and learn some skills, so it had some positive effects even back then . Also it advanced the state of the art faster than what it otherwise would have been.
Another plus was the incorporation of computer technology into a variety of products.
Did it increase net productivity in the early years, and "save us " from anything ?
Definitely NOT.

After Seven Months of This Mess, What's Going to Happen Next?

Yes, several years to recover, provided that we stop making so many serious blunders, and start doing more things better, else it will be even longer.

So far it's been a mixed bag, as in rattlesnakes.

We must filter and reject out of our system the greed and instability brought on by the suspect minds and motives of people like H. Paulson to have any chance of sustained recovery. There are still too many of them with us.

The AIG/Bank Counterparty Scandal Escalates

These underground tactics are part of the reason these theft and misconduct issues take so long to unfold .
As in the Madoff case, the strategy is:
"We'll hold the public off at the pass long enough for you to make it out through the back door. If you can't do that, then you 've been given ample time to pay off and silence all that are necessary to protect yourselves, and we have done more than our part to assist you. If you fail to do that, then you have no one to blame but yourselves."
For years , I have heard about the disproportionate power and influence of Goldman Sachs in all things financial and political, but did not know how to assess them, or whether to believe them.
NOT ANY MORE!!

10 Reasons Why We Still Haven't Hit Bottom

This question is tangential, but I think it is worth asking:

What industries, activities, projects, programs, goals, and all in total are going to produce and generate general prosperity in America in the coming years on the macro economic scale necessary to accomplish this for the majority of the American people, and esp. your children and mine?
While technology, medicine, information, alternative energy, etc. etc. will certainly play their part, they have demonstrated that they alone cannot carry the day to the depth and degree necessary and required for general prosperity.

It seems to me that we must reasses our entire framework and begin to adjust immediately to meet new requirements or we are going to plunge and condemn an entire generation into a plight of poverty, uncertainty, and undeserved misery.

Ultimately, the stock market will reflect whatever degree of success we have or don't have in this regard.
How have we performed in the last ten years?

Better that this had been forseen and prepared for a generation or more ago. Are we up to the task?

Political Will: Bernanke on the True Cost of Banking

Everyone knows the old quip by John Dillenger when he was asked, why do you rob banks?
His answer, "Because that's where the money is."

Now , ol' John would be out of style, because the banks are now robbed from the INSIDE, and it is accomplished with the strokes of pens, not with machine guns. And when they are caught, they are treated with mink lined kid gloves, and provided with all the ample public funds necessary to sustain them until they can have another go at it.

And how many times have you heard the phrase "The Insurance rackets " applied to describe that industry?

Anyone fighting against the application of subpoena power to these entities should come clean enough to reveal who is paying their salaries and what financial ties of all types they have to any and all of the suspect organizations.
Only then could their positions be judged objectively.

Until then, let's get on with those subpoena's. Time is of the essence.

Government Risk Rises: Credit Markets Face Structural Collapse

Back in the days when I was buying triple tax free Muni's paying 10%, and Us Treasuries paying 14%, and Zerocoupon bonds at enormous discounts, and High rated Corporates paying 12% +, I made sure I got the Weiss ratings on the non US Treas. issues , and pretty much ignored the other rating agencies.
What is the story today, as I have not purchased bonds in years, and do not know the quality ratings of the other agencies, except to be aware that a lot of them have been even more discredited than before?. Is Weiss still high rated and reliable, anyone?