User 328725

What to Buy and Why: Barron's 2009 Roundtable, Part II

You really want to know what to buy? Supplies. Guns, ammo, vitamins, first aid kits, all that survival stuff. get a Chinese dictionary too while you're at it.

The Bull Run Begins This Week

Another great call from another so-called "expert"

Insuring U.S. Government Debt: A Terrific Paradox

Aside from that, if the U.S. defaults, a ton of the paper the Fed prints won't be worth a knee-high pile of 3 day old dog doo-doo

Insuring U.S. Government Debt: A Terrific Paradox

I've always wondered the same thing. I can't see why anyone would buy this type of protection because if the U.S. defaults it's game over, welcome to Mad Max, bend over and kiss your butt goodbye time.

If you really want to buy insurance on U.S. debt, get some weapons and learn how to use 'em! That's the insurance you're going to need.

November Lows: Back So Soon?

I think you're making an excellent point with your article, but let me pose something to you since this was obviously published before the market closed today.

It looks like the major indexes found major support at the lows from early December, which tells me that at least for the near term, we're likely to see things continue to bounce higher.

I would also venture to say that with the release of the second half of the TARP funds, some bullish momentum is likely ot be maintained as we go into the inauguration next week. Any thoughts?

The Fed Needs to Create a Local Government Lending Facility

I can understand why you might think a swimming pool and tennis courts would have an elitist image, but in this case you're mistaken.

If you go to a NYC public pool, you will only working class families using the facilities. The same with tennis courts; it's the people in lower income brackets that use the public ones.

The facilities are far from fancy.

Bur very little of the spending goes there anyway. The really important quality of life issues have to do with education, healthcare, police, sanitation etc. We can't afford to cut back on essential services so local governments need properly working credit markets.

The Fed Needs to Create a Local Government Lending Facility

You will not find an economist that agrees with the idea of cutting back government spending in the middle of a huge contraction.

At this time "pork" will provide needed nourishment. And who exactly is the arbiter of what is needed? My kids can enjoy the swimming pool at the park while I play tennis so to me these are quality of life issues.

Is Buying Bonds Really a Good Idea?

There are plenty of areas in fixed income that have record spreads available.

Aside from that, during periods of deflation (like now) the real rate of interest rises, sometimes dramatically as it is now.

For example, in the 3 months to November, CPI fell at a 10.4% annualized rate. So if your AAA corporate paper earned 5.5%, your real rate of return over the period was 15.4% annualized.

The Fed Needs to Create a Local Government Lending Facility

The market for state and local borrowing is not functioning properly. These entities need to borrow and the costs must be brought down.

The Fed Needs to Create a Local Government Lending Facility

Cutting out some of the fat is a good idea when an economy is going well. Cutting spending in the midst of the present circumstances is a recipe for disaster.