OhioNative

First Solar: Expecting a Sell-Off

The Solar industry may very well benefit from stimulus, but that doest mean First Solar, the company, will. Be mindful of that while investing. There are differences between industries (the macro) and companies (the micro), they are closely tied, but are not the same.

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

I dont know, There is a lot of blame to spread around. Its not like Bernake loves bankers or something. Being a student of the depression, he (correctly) understood that a large part of that was monetary contraction because of bank failures (of course, the real issue is monetary expansion in the first place...). This mess we are in is because of the borrowing spree the American people went on, banks were a part of that, but those who live in glass houses should not throw stones....

60 Minutes on Oil: Did Anyone Verify Anything?

This is pretty sad, I am surprised people really think it was speculators faults. Speculators (as it seems people call investors now adays....we are all "speculators" btw whether it be currency, job availability, etc, just depends on risk/reward perceptions).

These low prices cant support the industry. Exxon was very smart, they didnt try to go for more capacity to capture more profit from the high prices, and now they are in an amazing position going foward. Most other companies over committed and lots of exploratory activity is being cut, companies are going bust. We are loosing supply like crazy at current prices. I cant wait to hear oil companies asking for bailouts...

Meanwhile, We are being set up for a super spike in the near future (probably within 12-36 months). Once the Recessions is perceived to be over (Recessions normally dont last for more that 2 years), lots of this floating liquidity created by the Fed will end up back in oil (and other commodities, equities..heck even goods), as contracts are future oriented. the spike may not hit $140, but it will probably be a 100%-190% jump in a few weeks time.

What If the Economic Model Is Wrong?

There is not been a change. I was just like you, thought there has been this massive shift, that things have "changed" and are different. This is not the case, when it comes to economics.

Globalization has existed for a very long time, Read "America's Great Depression" and "The Ascent of Money". You'll be shocked at what has existed and how advanced they were. The Ascent of Money has an excellent chapter on the first major stock market bubble (in the early 1700s) that stemmed from the louisiana territories (in the Americas) and bankrupted France. The Austrian school is pretty sound in its theories.

The Obama Fiscal Boost: Good First Bid, But Can the Administration Do More?

Quote:"We became the world's largest economy by pursuing greater market freedom than others. Countries with socialist "central planning" have failed. "

yes, countries with socialist "central planning" to the extreme, like say the USSR, etc have failed. But there are socialist countries that do just fine, they may not be at 5% or 8% growth, but they are at 2% to 3% growth (Say France, Germany or even the UK). No one is talking about creating a communist country in america. So this "Oh my god its the end of the free market" because Obama wants to spend is a little silly (though the bailout of companies DID impede free market liquidation, which wasnt an Obama thing...though obama and mccain voted for it).

The true issue is Obama wants to spend AND cut taxes AND rely on foreign creditors to finance "public works". This is very dangerous and could very well end up debasing our country's currency (and even hyper-inflation). We as Americans need to finance whatever it is we want to do (like we did coming out of the depression, we paid for all that with high taxation). If we cant pay for this spending with high taxation, then the government needs to shrink and become less of a burdeon, so then taxes can be lowered. There are no free lunches.


Quote: "We became the world's largest economy by pursuing greater market freedom than others. Countries with socialist "central planning" have failed."
We havent pursued "free market freedom" since the 1920s, Regan attempted to change some things, but then he spent up a storm and distorted the market flooding it with money (does a little deregulation here and some tax cuts there count as pursuing free market freedoms when you spend more and make the government bigger?). And every president since then has done the same.

Detroit: Please Bring Back the Stripped Car

Not to contradict you (because you actually have good points) but the Model T lost ford his marketshare because he wouldnt change it, he wouldnt add colors, he wouldnt add extras. He was the market leader, and because he didnt change with the times, he lost that position and never regained it. Its not all about price, but also about choice.

And also the chevette was made up until1987 (not 1994...it was produced in brazil until 1994), it cost $5k. which is just about $9k today. the price point where Nissan and Hyundia are at the moment.

Keynes vs. Von Mises

Great Article!

@donzelion: I dont know, people throw fascism (among other labels) around and i havent seen a very good definition (sorta like people throwing "liberty" and "democracy" around). I've seen it written that Roosevelt and the New Deal was fascist (wiki has some cliffs notes on the controversy; folks forget about the NRA, etc). <shrug> i think the institutions speak for themselves regardless of how you want to label them. Social Security was a very badly thought out institution. Its a "ponsey" scheme and its a few steps away from the government telling everyone to have more children for the state.

I suggest folks do some homework. Go read "Economics in one Lesson","America's Great Depression" and to round things out "SuperCapitalism", they are even in audio book format.