THE BIG PICTURE Written Monday, September 29th, 2008: 6:30 a.m.. What happened in Congress last Friday – House Republicans refusing to go along with the government’s rescue plan – was caused by political/economic ideology combined with Americans not wanting to bail out Wall Street....
THE FIRST INFLATION SURGE IN 25 YEARS IS OVER. So, what now? First, let me give credit when credit is due. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and the Fed finally got one right. They’ve been promising us moderating inflation for a year or more and now with -30% lower crude oil prices and a big...
UPDATE ON THE STOCK MARKET . Written Wednesday, June 11th, 2008: 6:30 a.m. Today’s stock market has no real leadership. The Dow’s up, the Dow’s down, all day long. Yesterday it was more of the same. No real trend except for in ENERGY and GOLD , both selling off big time, sort of reversing...
The Principle of Understanding History (one of my seven stock market principles). The 1930s Vs. Today . I just started reading another stock market book. This time it’s 100 YEARS OF WALL STREET (2000) by Charles R. Geisst. Turns out it’s a fast and easy read. Thank goodness because that other book on...
THE BANK PANIC OF 1907 . A Historical Guideline For Today . I’ve seen a couple articles comparing the ‘Panic of 1907’ to today’s ongoing financial crisis. Made sense to me especially after I read the following passage by John Spence of www.MarketWatch.com about 1907 “… the financial panic of 1907, which...
CHAIRMAN BERNANKE: “HOLD INTEREST RATES STEADY ON TUESDAY!” Hey, why not? What have we got to lose? Cutting interest rates sure isn’t working, right? Along with setting interest rate policy, the Fed has another role, that is being the “lender of last resort.” They’ve sure done that this past Tuesday...
THROWING GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD . Let’s think back some so as not to lose perspective. Where to start? Yep, right at the top of the five year bull market and the top of the private equity boom. June 21 st , 2007: CHINA backed Blackstone Group’s IPO at $31 back with $3 billion last June. Yesterday BX closed...