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bbowen7 » Comments » AAPL

  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    Buy John Galt Motors. Read Atlas Shrugged.
    Nov 16 16:01 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    Control of executive pay is a complex subject, of obvious populist attraction as a reaction to the abuses on Wall Street and in concert with the rapidly growing reach of government. Companies that the government owns - OK; companies that pose a systemic risk - why not Glass-Steagul or some other free market answer; companies that are just obscenely profitable; what about individuals? Why banks and not A-Rod, Steven Speilberg, or George Soros? But then, this is change that we can believe in.
    Oct 23 14:14 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    If there are two or three heroes/heroines in the government in the Wall Street mess, Sheila Bair is one of them. Maybe if they ever get around to reform of the financial system, they'll listen to her.
    Oct 20 14:41 pm |Rating: +1 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    Ben will raise rates when a majority in Washington and on Wall Street will benefit, not before.
    Oct 19 16:47 pm |Rating: +1 -1 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    Zoellick seems to be a rare clear thinker, uncompromised by politics. More important than the obvious dollar decline comment is the position on the regulatory role of the Fed. If the primary role of the central banker is to maintain the integrity of the currency, with an eye toward full employment, it is a distraction and a potential conflict of interest to make them the uber-regulator as well. Let the Treasury regulate; let the Fed protect the dollar. Clarity of roles and responsibilities is very important.
    Sep 29 13:24 pm |Rating: +1 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    Please tell me again how this independent central bank thing works. When Obama goes off to the G 20, how can he commit to anything other than an effort to get spending under control (or to continue stimulus packages.) Much of the question is monetary policy - Ben Bernanke's domain.
    Sep 24 13:15 pm |Rating: +1 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    It would be nice if the Commerce Department's levies on Chinese steel were a part of a broader re-industrialization strategy. Within the past week there have been major cross-currents on what is allowed - automotive subsidies, aircraft (airbus), and steel. Before we lose all of our manufacturing, we need a national strategy that includes tariffs, education, taxes, union rules, energy, healthcare, and everything needed to support competitive basic industries with good-paying jobs.
    Sep 10 14:05 pm |Rating: 0 -1 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    Why are the rating agencies allowed to exist? Their central (only?) purpose is to evaluate securities so that purchasers can know how much risk they are taking. They totally blew it on mortgage backed securities, yet the administration's regulatory reform proposals ignore them. The solution is easy - just return to the practice prior to the 90s of having those buying the securities add a small fee for the rating agencies, putting the cost where the benefit goes rather than having the sellers shop for a good rating. If the government won't force change in this swamp, perhaps class action law suits will. (That said by a guy who hates attorneys.)
    Sep 03 12:11 pm |Rating: +2 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    A tale of two financial markets. The big banks got all of the money that they could use, made huge bonuses, paid back the loans, and moved on. The small banks got nada, and are now facing increasing commercial loan defaults and increasing FDIC fees as failures mount. Looks like the Wall Street guys understood the value of political contributions and lobbyists, while Middle America thought that it would be enough to play by the rules.
    Sep 01 13:29 pm |Rating: +3 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    People make a difference. We can be grateful that at the moment of crisis we had Ben Bernanke, Hank Paulson, and Sheila Bair. There is room for criticism, but they were solid, and not moved by the critics.
    Aug 28 09:42 am |Rating: +1 -3 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    I am old enough to remember when US companies bought foreign companies. How quaint.
    Aug 24 13:28 pm |Rating: +1 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    The troublesome aspect of the Geithner outburst (other than the general reflection on civility in the new political order) is the inferrence that the regulators - apparently including the Fed - should give up their independence to the political will of the White House. Unfortunately, the Fed plays two roles - regulator, and keeper of the integrity of the currency, and a very strong backbone will be needed for the latter over the next couple of years. There may well be a bipartisan Senate swell of support for independence. Whether one is Republican or Democrat, Sheila Bair has lots of fans for her performance over the past year. She has lots more friends and admirers in Congress than does Geithner. I suspect the same for Bernanke.
    Aug 04 13:33 pm |Rating: +2 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    Re: Restricting speculators in commodity markets. There are three types of players in these markets:
    1. Businesses (producers and users) who want to stabilize their business and compete on the basis of production efficiency, marketing, or product design. They should come first.
    2. Arbitrageurs who recognize that the first group is not interested in maximizing profit in buying and selling, just taking out fluctuations. They provide the grease to make the system work and should also be supported.
    3. Speculators who serve little economic purpose. They add volatility to the market and defeat the objectives of the first group. Some is probably needed to round off large imbalances between the producers and users, but in recent years they have taken over some of the markets. Outside of Wall Street, it would be hard to find any fans.
    Jul 29 14:03 pm |Rating: +1 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    There are shoes yet to fall. State insolvencies; commercial loans; strong inflation from current and projected budget deficits. Not saving CIT would be like asking for another Lehman Brothers event.
    Jul 14 10:00 am |Rating: +2 -1 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    Another vote for the Axelrod recommendation. Hopefully the editors track readership and can detect any trend changes. I like the site enough to continue on, but any marginal readers could defect.
    Jul 08 09:17 am |Rating: +2 0 |Link to Comment
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