Trading to Win's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.comuser/294479/comments http://seekingalpha.com/article/136716-a-bull-market-that-few-are-buying?source=feed#comment-497394 497394
1. Obamarama- campaign and election.

2. Obamanomics - summers, geithner, stimulus and budget. A blend of Statism and Socialism.

3. Obamageddon - 2011?]]> Sun, 10 May 2009 06:22:49 -0400
1. Obamarama- campaign and election.

2. Obamanomics - summers, geithner, stimulus and budget. A blend of Statism and Socialism.

3. Obamageddon - 2011?]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/130514-the-great-depression-are-we-fearing-the-wrong-thing?source=feed#comment-460611 460611
"Yet there is another, perhaps no less gloomy, way to draw parallels between the present crisis and the Great Depression. From this perspective, we are not at the start of the crisis but several years into it. The analogue of the 1929 Wall Street crash is not the 2007 credit crunch, but the bursting of the New Economy bubble in 2000. The follies of the 1990s resembled those of the 1920s, as Galbraith’s readers know. The underlying structural weaknesses of the world economy – US budget and trade deficits financed by Asian surpluses – re-emerged in 2000 after being disguised by the imaginary wealth of the New Economy.

The difference between the years after 1929 and the years after 2000 is that the policy mistakes were almost opposite. This time monetary and fiscal policies were strongly expansionary from the outset. These measures led to a wide boom in asset prices, extended unsustainable credit levels and induced further growth of the fundamentally flawed financial infrastructure on which the 1990s boom had been based.

In 1937-38, markets and business leaders came to doubt the durability of the business foundations on which partial recovery from the Great Depression had been built. In 2007-08, markets and business leaders came to doubt the durability of the financial foundations that had supported consumption and asset price growth after the New Economy fiasco.

Our capacity to learn from the Great Depression is limited because we do not know how economies would have evolved after 1938 if politics had not supervened. Life, said Kierkegaard, is understood backwards but must be lived forwards."]]> Sun, 12 Apr 2009 13:04:08 -0400
"Yet there is another, perhaps no less gloomy, way to draw parallels between the present crisis and the Great Depression. From this perspective, we are not at the start of the crisis but several years into it. The analogue of the 1929 Wall Street crash is not the 2007 credit crunch, but the bursting of the New Economy bubble in 2000. The follies of the 1990s resembled those of the 1920s, as Galbraith’s readers know. The underlying structural weaknesses of the world economy – US budget and trade deficits financed by Asian surpluses – re-emerged in 2000 after being disguised by the imaginary wealth of the New Economy.

The difference between the years after 1929 and the years after 2000 is that the policy mistakes were almost opposite. This time monetary and fiscal policies were strongly expansionary from the outset. These measures led to a wide boom in asset prices, extended unsustainable credit levels and induced further growth of the fundamentally flawed financial infrastructure on which the 1990s boom had been based.

In 1937-38, markets and business leaders came to doubt the durability of the business foundations on which partial recovery from the Great Depression had been built. In 2007-08, markets and business leaders came to doubt the durability of the financial foundations that had supported consumption and asset price growth after the New Economy fiasco.

Our capacity to learn from the Great Depression is limited because we do not know how economies would have evolved after 1938 if politics had not supervened. Life, said Kierkegaard, is understood backwards but must be lived forwards."]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/126163-the-global-economy-is-like-a-torn-acl?source=feed#comment-427601 427601
My brother did his ACL in martial arts. He elected to exercise and strenghten his muscles rather than have an op. He went via the NHS and thus got incredibly poor treatment. I implored him to go private and see the best but he refused. He saved himself a few quid but wasted much time and took too much risk for little reward. He has not gone back to Marital Arts but he does ski with a brace. When he gets older he will probably get arthritis.

If HeliBen was serious he would start QE and flatten the yield curve so as to help mortgage refinancing, get cash to struggling homeowners and pump up the feelgood factor.

I have braced myself for this and gone long TLT.

Good luck with the knee and always get a second and third opinion, if in doubt!!!]]> Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:06:19 -0400
My brother did his ACL in martial arts. He elected to exercise and strenghten his muscles rather than have an op. He went via the NHS and thus got incredibly poor treatment. I implored him to go private and see the best but he refused. He saved himself a few quid but wasted much time and took too much risk for little reward. He has not gone back to Marital Arts but he does ski with a brace. When he gets older he will probably get arthritis.

If HeliBen was serious he would start QE and flatten the yield curve so as to help mortgage refinancing, get cash to struggling homeowners and pump up the feelgood factor.

I have braced myself for this and gone long TLT.

Good luck with the knee and always get a second and third opinion, if in doubt!!!]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/123835-gordon-brown-not-my-fault?source=feed#comment-411597 411597 Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:41:08 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/123629-what-should-obama-and-brown-discuss?source=feed#comment-410007 410007 Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:30:26 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/122516-the-stress-test-challenge-transparency-and-intellectual-integrity?source=feed#comment-402463 402463
Any chance you could do a piece critiquing the UK's policy of insuring c.£500 billion of rubbish assets - will it work or fail?

Thank you]]> Wed, 25 Feb 2009 05:30:44 -0500
Any chance you could do a piece critiquing the UK's policy of insuring c.£500 billion of rubbish assets - will it work or fail?

Thank you]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/119936-the-great-awakening-boomers-your-crisis-has-arrived-part-3-of-3?source=feed#comment-384123 384123 Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:35:43 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/119643-roubini-and-taleb-together-again?source=feed#comment-382281 382281 Tue, 10 Feb 2009 10:22:32 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/117310-bonus-scandals-begin-to-emerge?source=feed#comment-369740 369740
A portmanteau or blend word derived from combining "banker" and "gangster."
]]> Thu, 29 Jan 2009 09:30:14 -0500
A portmanteau or blend word derived from combining "banker" and "gangster."
]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/116724-japan-s-grim-and-bear-it-2009-outlook?source=feed#comment-368029 368029
I am really enjoying your excellent analysis.

I hope one day you can turn your analytical mind toward Britain. There is a raging debate going on, as to whether the country is heading for an IMF bailout.

I wonder if we are heading toward an 'event horizon' were our debts are too large to roll over and service.

Thank you]]> Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:43:38 -0500
I am really enjoying your excellent analysis.

I hope one day you can turn your analytical mind toward Britain. There is a raging debate going on, as to whether the country is heading for an IMF bailout.

I wonder if we are heading toward an 'event horizon' were our debts are too large to roll over and service.

Thank you]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/115487-is-the-u-k-finished?source=feed#comment-360897 360897
In excess of five million workers (roughly 22% of all employees in the U.K.) earn less than $10 a day.

Do you mean $10 per hour?]]> Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:17:44 -0500
In excess of five million workers (roughly 22% of all employees in the U.K.) earn less than $10 a day.

Do you mean $10 per hour?]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/115341-will-gordon-brown-s-new-bailout-save-u-k-banks?source=feed#comment-359716 359716
I think you are being a tad optimistic. My reasoning:

A or L

A = Argentina = Depflation.

L = Japan = Deflation.

As we enter a depression there seem to be one of two paths that we can travel. One path accepts that there has been a debt bubble, that this is the cause of the depression. The other path does not accept there was a debt bubble and that it will be policy responses that will stop a depression: Bernanke Panky is a master of the 30s and Japan’s slump, his wisdom will save us from a depression.

If you accept the L then you accept that it is better to let the market find it is price and not bailout the badly run businesses. You go cold turkey. You do not run up massive debts on the State’s balance sheet, which only leads to higher taxes. You want people to save. You want the State to cut it’s cloth, to face the new reality that the high tax take from the debt bubble is not coming back. The delusion is dead. You want the State to cut business regulations and taxes. You want all your focus on nurturing wealth creating industries that can sell their goods and services globally. You give grants to such companies.

If you accept the A then you accept that you can manipulate the price in the market and bailout badly run businesses. You put off the day of reckoning. You run massive debts on the State’s balance sheet. You want people to borrow and spend. You want the State to expand and you expect the pre-bubble days to reappear like magic. The delusion lives on. You continue to over regulate and tax business. You want all your focus on spending and piling up debt. You give money to the profligate who ran up too much debt, you start printing money.

Life in the L is like hell. Many lose their jobs and GDP collapses.

Life in the A is horrible. Many lose their jobs and GDP collapses.

L lasts three to ten years as the economy is re-engineered to sustainable wealth creating industries. House prices fall 50%+ from peak to trough, with little chance of rising for many, many, years. People start saving. Money is sound and the Pound holds up relatively well, considering the situation. With sound money the populace is able to clothe and feed themselves, the lights stay on. The State supports those in trouble. It invests in retraining.

A leads to a collapse in the Pound as the markets realise that the country can never repay interest and principal. This leads to unsound money and rising inflation as import prices explode. Interest rates need to rise but this will gut the debtors. Wage policies are enacted and a spiral of inflation takes hold. This leads to hardcore poverty for millions as the Middle Class sees it’s wealth vanish. With a collapsed currency few are able to holiday abroad. The IMF are called in and State spending is slashed.

Both A and L lead to a drop in living standards for the populace. The key plus for L is that once the pain is out of the way a new base for growth and prosperity can be engineered. The balance sheet is strong enough.

With A the balance sheet is wrecked and the Middle Class has been devastated. Argentina is a prime example of what happens when the wealth of the Middle Class is squandered.

In the L one gets a sharp painful deflationary depression.

In the A one gets a multi decade long depression that could lead to inflation = Depflation. The country becomes an Undeveloping Nation.

Our ruling elite and most of the punditocracy are taking us to A.]]> Mon, 19 Jan 2009 09:42:38 -0500
I think you are being a tad optimistic. My reasoning:

A or L

A = Argentina = Depflation.

L = Japan = Deflation.

As we enter a depression there seem to be one of two paths that we can travel. One path accepts that there has been a debt bubble, that this is the cause of the depression. The other path does not accept there was a debt bubble and that it will be policy responses that will stop a depression: Bernanke Panky is a master of the 30s and Japan’s slump, his wisdom will save us from a depression.

If you accept the L then you accept that it is better to let the market find it is price and not bailout the badly run businesses. You go cold turkey. You do not run up massive debts on the State’s balance sheet, which only leads to higher taxes. You want people to save. You want the State to cut it’s cloth, to face the new reality that the high tax take from the debt bubble is not coming back. The delusion is dead. You want the State to cut business regulations and taxes. You want all your focus on nurturing wealth creating industries that can sell their goods and services globally. You give grants to such companies.

If you accept the A then you accept that you can manipulate the price in the market and bailout badly run businesses. You put off the day of reckoning. You run massive debts on the State’s balance sheet. You want people to borrow and spend. You want the State to expand and you expect the pre-bubble days to reappear like magic. The delusion lives on. You continue to over regulate and tax business. You want all your focus on spending and piling up debt. You give money to the profligate who ran up too much debt, you start printing money.

Life in the L is like hell. Many lose their jobs and GDP collapses.

Life in the A is horrible. Many lose their jobs and GDP collapses.

L lasts three to ten years as the economy is re-engineered to sustainable wealth creating industries. House prices fall 50%+ from peak to trough, with little chance of rising for many, many, years. People start saving. Money is sound and the Pound holds up relatively well, considering the situation. With sound money the populace is able to clothe and feed themselves, the lights stay on. The State supports those in trouble. It invests in retraining.

A leads to a collapse in the Pound as the markets realise that the country can never repay interest and principal. This leads to unsound money and rising inflation as import prices explode. Interest rates need to rise but this will gut the debtors. Wage policies are enacted and a spiral of inflation takes hold. This leads to hardcore poverty for millions as the Middle Class sees it’s wealth vanish. With a collapsed currency few are able to holiday abroad. The IMF are called in and State spending is slashed.

Both A and L lead to a drop in living standards for the populace. The key plus for L is that once the pain is out of the way a new base for growth and prosperity can be engineered. The balance sheet is strong enough.

With A the balance sheet is wrecked and the Middle Class has been devastated. Argentina is a prime example of what happens when the wealth of the Middle Class is squandered.

In the L one gets a sharp painful deflationary depression.

In the A one gets a multi decade long depression that could lead to inflation = Depflation. The country becomes an Undeveloping Nation.

Our ruling elite and most of the punditocracy are taking us to A.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/114567-imf-on-lending-spree-needs-150b-at-least?source=feed#comment-356691 356691
Spot-on.

The UK could become an Undeveloping Nation, a al Argentina.]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:21:37 -0500
Spot-on.

The UK could become an Undeveloping Nation, a al Argentina.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/114567-imf-on-lending-spree-needs-150b-at-least?source=feed#comment-354373 354373
A few smart cookies in the UK think that the UK will end needing an IMF bailout. What are your thoughts on this happening?]]> Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:26:21 -0500
A few smart cookies in the UK think that the UK will end needing an IMF bailout. What are your thoughts on this happening?]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/114383-ben-stein-watch-january-11-2009?source=feed#comment-353519 353519
Could you please do an Anatole Kaletsky Watch, I'm sure the readers will find it very amusing?

Thank you]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:04:14 -0500
Could you please do an Anatole Kaletsky Watch, I'm sure the readers will find it very amusing?

Thank you]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/114061-can-we-really-guide-the-economy?source=feed#comment-351043 351043
Humans have a strong tendency toward optimism. One could say Hedonism.

Skepticism is, alas, a dying creed - especially in the mainstream media. Bulls always greatly outnumber bears. Bears are made to look slightly wacky. They are accused of being doom-mongers. Dr. Doom. How about Dr. Boom.]]> Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:51:54 -0500
Humans have a strong tendency toward optimism. One could say Hedonism.

Skepticism is, alas, a dying creed - especially in the mainstream media. Bulls always greatly outnumber bears. Bears are made to look slightly wacky. They are accused of being doom-mongers. Dr. Doom. How about Dr. Boom.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/113889-google-and-newspapers?source=feed#comment-349874 349874 Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:04:23 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/113829-why-spain-s-economic-crisis-is-more-than-just-a-housing-slump?source=feed#comment-349436 349436
Great stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your essay.

Thank you]]> Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:21:48 -0500
Great stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your essay.

Thank you]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/113681-the-ultimate-game-changer-why-2009-will-be-worse-than-2008-part-1?source=feed#comment-348667 348667
Thank you]]> Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:56:06 -0500
Thank you]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/113627-great-depression-ominous-political-headwinds-and-the-s-p-500?source=feed#comment-348419 348419 Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:21:56 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/113457-line-u-6-a-sell-signal-for-bulls-and-bears?source=feed#comment-347350 347350
Thought you might be interested in this:

Sprott have called this meltdown with aplomb.

Here is their 2009 outlook:

SURVIVING THE DEPRSSION

If Q4 2007 was the start of the recession, then Q4 of 2008 is the start of the Depression. It’s only getting worse. We’re not aware of a single bright spot in the economic data that would even remotely hint at things getting better anytime soon. We are in the midst of an unprecedented global economic contraction, with no prospect for one region to ‘save’ the others. This depression is global, pervasive, and deep. Some may point to plunging interest rates, already at zero in the US, as a ‘data point’ indicative that things are about to turn around soon. We believe the opposite to be the case. Zero percent interest rates are an ominous symptom, not the cure. In a recession, zero interest rates are highly stimulative. In a depression, they are not. Monetary policy has been little more than a sugar-coated placebo. Credit is neither cheap nor plentiful. Just ask the Bank of Montreal, one of the big banks in the highly admired Canadian banking system, that recently did a bond issue (not stock, not preferred, but straight-up plain-vanilla bond) at a 10% interest rate. Central bank interest rate policies have become irrelevant. Once again, this is highly indicative that we are in a depression. Corporate spreads have gone through the roof. Not just for junk bonds, but all bonds , even AA rated.


Any belief that this will be a short and shallow recession, or even a relatively long and deep recession (but still a recession), is, in our opinion, woefully misguided wishful thinking. This is a depression – one that has only just begun. One that the vast majority of us (the sole exception being those over 80 years of age) have never experienced in our lifetimes.

Link to full article:

www.sprott.com/pdf/mar...

]]> Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:57:23 -0500
Thought you might be interested in this:

Sprott have called this meltdown with aplomb.

Here is their 2009 outlook:

SURVIVING THE DEPRSSION

If Q4 2007 was the start of the recession, then Q4 of 2008 is the start of the Depression. It’s only getting worse. We’re not aware of a single bright spot in the economic data that would even remotely hint at things getting better anytime soon. We are in the midst of an unprecedented global economic contraction, with no prospect for one region to ‘save’ the others. This depression is global, pervasive, and deep. Some may point to plunging interest rates, already at zero in the US, as a ‘data point’ indicative that things are about to turn around soon. We believe the opposite to be the case. Zero percent interest rates are an ominous symptom, not the cure. In a recession, zero interest rates are highly stimulative. In a depression, they are not. Monetary policy has been little more than a sugar-coated placebo. Credit is neither cheap nor plentiful. Just ask the Bank of Montreal, one of the big banks in the highly admired Canadian banking system, that recently did a bond issue (not stock, not preferred, but straight-up plain-vanilla bond) at a 10% interest rate. Central bank interest rate policies have become irrelevant. Once again, this is highly indicative that we are in a depression. Corporate spreads have gone through the roof. Not just for junk bonds, but all bonds , even AA rated.


Any belief that this will be a short and shallow recession, or even a relatively long and deep recession (but still a recession), is, in our opinion, woefully misguided wishful thinking. This is a depression – one that has only just begun. One that the vast majority of us (the sole exception being those over 80 years of age) have never experienced in our lifetimes.

Link to full article:

www.sprott.com/pdf/mar...

]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/112708-wrong-great-depression-lessons-will-haunt-equities-in-2009?source=feed#comment-342702 342702
Have you read the book The Final Crash?

Here are a few choice quotes:

'It appears that we may be facing a meltdown rather than just a temporary slowdown, perhaps the greatest since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.'

'Debt is utterly endemic throughout western economies: not just at government level but for individuals, corporations and financial markets alike.'

'It could prove to be the final crash for western stock markets as they wither in proportion to the deflating economies they represent.'

'The bursting of the 1980s property bubble hamstrung the Japanese financial system as banks became completely risk averse and ceased to lend money: activity ground to a halt. This is they key weakness of a debt-driven economy where constant new loans are required to continue the charade whereby growth is not organic but artificial.'

'A catch-22 situation exists whereby consumer spending is supported by consumer confidence which is supported in turn by higher house prices and home equity extraction.'

'The knock-on effect of a generational low in interest rates has inflated every asset to the hilt: there is now nothing left to pump. When the final crash comes, every active participant in the primary and secondary bubble areas will be blown away. A deflationary pin-prick now looms large.'

Happy New Year to you!!!]]> Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:02:01 -0500
Have you read the book The Final Crash?

Here are a few choice quotes:

'It appears that we may be facing a meltdown rather than just a temporary slowdown, perhaps the greatest since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.'

'Debt is utterly endemic throughout western economies: not just at government level but for individuals, corporations and financial markets alike.'

'It could prove to be the final crash for western stock markets as they wither in proportion to the deflating economies they represent.'

'The bursting of the 1980s property bubble hamstrung the Japanese financial system as banks became completely risk averse and ceased to lend money: activity ground to a halt. This is they key weakness of a debt-driven economy where constant new loans are required to continue the charade whereby growth is not organic but artificial.'

'A catch-22 situation exists whereby consumer spending is supported by consumer confidence which is supported in turn by higher house prices and home equity extraction.'

'The knock-on effect of a generational low in interest rates has inflated every asset to the hilt: there is now nothing left to pump. When the final crash comes, every active participant in the primary and secondary bubble areas will be blown away. A deflationary pin-prick now looms large.'

Happy New Year to you!!!]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/112406-the-banker-s-dilemma?source=feed#comment-339878 339878
www.theglobeandmail.co...

'A second myth is that Japan suffered more than the United States and other countries will today because its bubble was so much bigger. In reality, the credit and asset bubble that built up in the United States was the biggest in history. At the peak of Japan's bubble, it needed three yen of credit to make one yen of national income. The United States needed eight dollars of credit for every dollar of income. In Japan, the bubble grew for only about five years in the high-flying late 1980s. In the United States, the credit binge has been going on for a couple of decades.']]> Sun, 28 Dec 2008 14:55:13 -0500
www.theglobeandmail.co...

'A second myth is that Japan suffered more than the United States and other countries will today because its bubble was so much bigger. In reality, the credit and asset bubble that built up in the United States was the biggest in history. At the peak of Japan's bubble, it needed three yen of credit to make one yen of national income. The United States needed eight dollars of credit for every dollar of income. In Japan, the bubble grew for only about five years in the high-flying late 1980s. In the United States, the credit binge has been going on for a couple of decades.']]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/112091-the-best-investor-you-never-heard-of?source=feed#comment-337409 337409 Wed, 24 Dec 2008 09:13:12 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/111631-blogonomics-grey-lady-edition?source=feed#comment-334121 334121
The Telegraph in London is outstanding. It knocks the NYT out.

It should get more kudos.

It is brilliant.]]> Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:27:30 -0500
The Telegraph in London is outstanding. It knocks the NYT out.

It should get more kudos.

It is brilliant.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/111026-did-geithner-bail-out-goldman-sachs?source=feed#comment-331702 331702 Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:24:14 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/110670-we-can-t-spend-and-save-our-way-out-of-this-recession?source=feed#comment-330267 330267
Good fortune.]]> Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:56:49 -0500
Good fortune.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/110643-the-noble-lie?source=feed#comment-329630 329630
'The dynamics of value expansion and contraction explain why a bear market can bankrupt millions of people. At the peak of a credit expansion or a bull market, assets have been valued upward, and all participants are wealthy - both the people who sold the assets and the people who hold the assets. The latter group is far larger than the former, because the total supply of money has been relatively stable while the total value of financial assets has ballooned. When the market turns down, the dynamic goes into reverse. Only a very few owners of a collapsing financial asset trade it for money at 90 percent of peak value. Some others may get out at 80 percent, 50 percent or 30 percent of peak value. In each case, sellers are simply transforming the remaining future value losses to someone else. In a bear market, the vast, vast majority does nothing and gets stuck holding assets with low or non-existent valuations. The "million dollars" that a wealthy investor might have thought he had in his bond portfolio or at a stock's peak value can quite rapidly become $50,000 or $5000 or $50. The rest of it just disappears. You see, he never really had a million dollars; all he had was IOUs or stock certificates. The idea that it had a certain financial value was in his head and the heads of others who agreed. When the point of agreement changed, so did the value. Poof! Gone in a flash of aggregated neurons. This is exactly what happens to most investment assets in a period of deflation.']]> Mon, 15 Dec 2008 05:30:18 -0500
'The dynamics of value expansion and contraction explain why a bear market can bankrupt millions of people. At the peak of a credit expansion or a bull market, assets have been valued upward, and all participants are wealthy - both the people who sold the assets and the people who hold the assets. The latter group is far larger than the former, because the total supply of money has been relatively stable while the total value of financial assets has ballooned. When the market turns down, the dynamic goes into reverse. Only a very few owners of a collapsing financial asset trade it for money at 90 percent of peak value. Some others may get out at 80 percent, 50 percent or 30 percent of peak value. In each case, sellers are simply transforming the remaining future value losses to someone else. In a bear market, the vast, vast majority does nothing and gets stuck holding assets with low or non-existent valuations. The "million dollars" that a wealthy investor might have thought he had in his bond portfolio or at a stock's peak value can quite rapidly become $50,000 or $5000 or $50. The rest of it just disappears. You see, he never really had a million dollars; all he had was IOUs or stock certificates. The idea that it had a certain financial value was in his head and the heads of others who agreed. When the point of agreement changed, so did the value. Poof! Gone in a flash of aggregated neurons. This is exactly what happens to most investment assets in a period of deflation.']]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/110644-ben-stein-watch-december-14-2008?source=feed#comment-329627 329627
Britain has Anatole Kaletsky - who is taken seriously by many people. I think his columns are even more absurd than Ben Stein's.

]]> Mon, 15 Dec 2008 05:28:22 -0500
Britain has Anatole Kaletsky - who is taken seriously by many people. I think his columns are even more absurd than Ben Stein's.

]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/110391-automaker-bailout-fails-this-is-not-good?source=feed#comment-327039 327039
The communist command economy.

I say good on the Republicans.

Is there any else who believes in a free market?]]> Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:25:32 -0500
The communist command economy.

I say good on the Republicans.

Is there any else who believes in a free market?]]>