AndrewBaker

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

The dollar won't slide catastrophically because there is no other currency to replace it right now, not because it's intrinsically worth holding more than other currencies, but it will decline over time, just as the British pound did from the beginning of the last century and for most of it.

A weaker dollar helps exporters and tourism, which is good, but hinders the growth of emerging economies, which may slow them down a little, but won't stop the trend.

On balance, the US needs a weaker currency to support trade which will help real businesses recover. Not so many people will currently be insistent on spending money on foreign goods or looking to increase their overseas vacationing, so any extra cost there won't hurt much. Imports will be more costly, but the US has a wide internal market that can supply most needs anyway.

Overall, a drop in the dollar will likely be beneficial. Better that than rampant inflation which will destroy value over many years to come, and which worries me will be the result of quantitative easing. If a weaker dollar reduces that process, I will be satisfied.

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

Shakespear couldn't have written a better drama nor Neil Simon a better comedy than the story that's been woven around the banks and their financial stability: they are bust but for our tax dollars, and no amount of spin can change this fact, which by definition is true.

So the powers-that-be have decided that we can't be given or trusted with the truth, and have to be lied to to make us believe it's all getting better and that big nanny State will kiss and make it all come good.

However, truth will always out in the end, so watch out for the big bad bear coming back out of the woods to bite us one more time.

Cramer's Stop Trading! Oil Is Bottoming (3/4/09)

Yes, oil may be bottoming, but who is to say how long before that happens? This is a long and bad depression, and buying in now could see your stake drop a lot more before it starts to rise. I'm sitting this out for now (or going short!)

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

Well ... no-one likes it, the market's selling off, and billions of dollars are going to be thrown around and wasted. Our dollars! I tried to like things, and even went long financials (foolish, I know): my answer now is to short, short and short again until I get back the good money of my own I tried to use to support the "recovery." With dishonest bankers and incompetant politicians (regardless of creed), we best look out for ourselves 'cos sure as anything, they won't do it for us.