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| BRAIN-TRUST BUST | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Thu Mar 5th, 2009 09:39 pm |
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1st Post |
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Neo Head Loon - Original M.A.I.M. 
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http://www.nypost.com/seven/03052009/postopinion/opedcolumnists/brain_trust_bust_158067.htm?page=0 BRAIN-TRUST BUST WHAT'S REALLY SCARING WALL ST. By CHARLES GASPARINO Last updated: 3:46 am March 5, 2009 Posted: 3:01 am March 5, 2009 ON Wall Street, they're call ing the Obama economic team "the gang that couldn't shoot straight," after Jimmy Breslin's novel about a bunch of moronic mobsters. If you really want to understand why the markets have been tanking, why the smart money is sitting in cash and gold - well, just study the policy, or lack of it, that these guys have come up with to address economic ills not seen since the Great Depression. The sad thing is, the "gang" took office with high hopes on Wall Street. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, the former New York Fed chief, was supposed to have the experience needed to handle the banking crisis. Larry Summers, the head of the president's National Economic Council, was part of the brains behind the Clinton-era recovery. And Paul Volcker, chairman of Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, helped save the free world back in the late 1970s and early '80s as chairman of the Federal Reserve when he squeezed inflation out of the economy and (along with President Ronald Reagan) helped return us to prosperity. Wall Street loved this team. That's why the market rallied around the time Obama took office, even as he was promising tax hikes for "the wealthy." But what looks good on paper doesn't always translate into success (sorry, Mets fans). The disappointment on Geithner starts with the fact that, since taking the job at Treasury, he's failed to articulate a way to bail out the imploding banking system - even though knowledge of the banking system's ills was supposed to be his strong suit. Worse, the word is that Geithner is still having trouble putting together a senior staff so he can come up with a bailout plan. Thanks to all the class warfare produced by his boss, I'm told, Geithner can't find qualified people from Wall Street (the folks who know markets better than anyone else) to help solve the crisis. Instead, one saddened Obama supporter from Wall Street told me, "He's looking at a combination of bureaucrats and academics for these jobs." Larry Summers? Everyone knows he's smart, but the word from Wall Streeters who are trying to pass him ideas for solving the banking crisis is that his ego's as large as his intellect. That is, they're finding him impossible to deal with. Perhaps the biggest disappointment is Volcker, a true American hero who as Fed chairman tamed the stagflation of the '70s - but seems to be muzzled at a time when the country needs him most. Volcker, possibly the world's most experienced economist, is being treated like the crazy aunt in the attic. He's around, wandering the halls - but no one in the administration seems to care what he thinks. He's said almost nothing publicly about how to solve the current economic crisis. Worse, people with knowledge of the Obama economic team say Volcker's been blunted behind the scenes - caught in the dysfunction between Geithner and Summers. Here's how one top Wall Street exec, who has tried passing along ideas to the Obama team, put it: "Geithner thinks he's in charge, but he has no staff to get anything done. Summers sits there and likes to remind everyone he's in charge - and Volcker, probably the only adult in the room, has his nose out of joint because no one is listening to him." I know what you're thinking: It's too early to write these guys off - it took the Clinton eco nomic team more than a few weeks to get its act together. Problem is, Clinton's guys did less damage to the economy coming out of the gate. To be sure, the tax hikes of the early Clinton years slowed down the economy - but economic czar Bob Rubin made sure they went for deficit-reduction. The Obama budget and the so-called stimulus package don't just expand the deficit (as we should during a downturn), they do so in the most irresponsible ways, with pork and programs pulled from old liberal wish lists. On top of that, we get fresh threats of higher taxes on the most productive people in the country and a bank bailout that remains a mystery. Plus policy measures that contradict each other - like vows to unclog the banking system of toxic mortgage debt, along with a mortgage "cram down" that would make that debt more toxic. It all has Wall Street's collective head spinning - and Obama's most ardent financial-industry fans deserting him. During the campaign, Obama won over the street even as he was bashing the financiers who'd plunged the country into crisis through their bad bets on risky bonds. Sources tell me Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan, Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, John Mack of Morgan Stanley and Dick Fuld of Lehman Bros. (when there was a Lehman Bros.) all became supporters, as did Larry Fink, the head of money-management powerhouse BlackRock, and senior executives at Merrill Lynch (though then-CEO John Thain supported John McCain). I've been doing some unofficial polling of these same people in the last couple of weeks, and the sentiment has shifted dramatically. Maybe that's why, as the president on Tuesday urged people to buy stocks because a bottom was near, the market kept going down all day. Charles Gasparino is on-air ed itor at CNBC; his next book, "The Sellout," is on the financial crisis.
____________________ (Avatar created by OMNT.) “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.” Winston Churhill |
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| Posted: Thu Mar 5th, 2009 10:04 pm |
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2nd Post |
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Neo Head Loon - Original M.A.I.M.
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Oh boy! It's really getting better now that we have "Change We Can Count On"! By the time this moronic chimp is finished, pocket change is all any of us will have left. http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/05/markets/markets_newyork/index.htm?postversion=2009030515 Wall Street: Ugly is back Nasdaq ends at a 6-year low, and Dow and S&P 500 fall to fresh 12-year lows as investors fret about GM, Citigroup and the global economy. By Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com senior writer Last Updated: March 5, 2009: 4:21 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks plunged to fresh 12-year lows Thursday as investors waded through more grim news: GM said its survival is in doubt, bank shares took a beating, and Citigroup fell below a buck. Adding to the global woes: China defied expectations by failing to boost its economic stimulus program. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 281 points, or 4.1%, to close at 6,594.44, according to early tallies, ending at the lowest point since April 15, 1997. The Dow fell as low as 6,544.10 during the session. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) fell 54 points, or 4% to close at 1,299.59, ending at the lowest point since 1279.24 on March 12, 2003, at the bottom of the previous bear market. The Nasdaq fell as low as 1,298.33 during the session. The S&P 500 (SPX) index lost 30 points, or 4.3%, closing at 682.55, the lowest finish since Sept. 18, 1996. It fell as low as 677.93 during the session. Stocks slipped at the open and kept falling from there, with the selling accelerating as the major gauges failed to hang on to key technical levels that traders watch. "Once we broke through that 700 level on the S&P, which has been intact since 1996, all the people who were watching it left the building," said Joe Clark, market analyst at Financial Enhancement Group. He said that with the major gauges at these levels, market pros have even less of a sense of where the so-called bottom is. Stocks have been sliding on and off since peaking in October 2007 amid the housing and credit market collapse and the onset of the recession - which technically began in December 2007. But the declines have picked up the pace year-to-date in response to growing pessimism about the economy. As of Wednesday's close, the Dow is down 21.6% this year, the worst start in the 113-year history of the Dow. Since hitting an all-time closing high of 14,164.53 on Oct. 9, 2007, the Dow has fallen 51.5% as of Wednesday's close. Since hitting an all-time closing high of 1,565.15 on Oct. 9, 2007, the S&P 500 has fallen 54.5% as of Wednesday's close. Since hitting a bull-market high of 2,859.12 on Oct. 31, 2007, the Nasdaq has stumbled 52.5%. But the Nasdaq has never come near its all-time high of 5,048.62 hit on March 10, 2000, at the height of the Internet boom. Financials: Among the big losers, financials were hit especially hard. Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) and Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500) were among the losers. The KBW Bank (BKX) index lost 10%. Citigroup fell for a time below $1 a share, to its lowest level ever at 97 cents, before ending at $1.02. A variety of insurers slipped including Allstate (ALL, Fortune 500), MetLife (MET, Fortune 500), Chubb (CB, Fortune 500), Progressive (PGR, Fortune 500) and Hartford Financial Services (HIG, Fortune 500). Failed insurance giant AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) slumped 16% as U.S. regulators discussed the company's $180 billion bailout in a Senate hearing. "It's the same old story, with the financial sector continuing to hammer the market," said Steven Goldman, market strategist at Weeden & Co. "Everybody is so bearish right now that you would expect to be in the midst of a counter-trend rally," he said. "But the implosion in the banking and insurance sectors is just overwhelming." Stocks managed to snap back from 12-year lows Wednesday on hopes that China would announce that it was increasing the size of its stimulus plan. But the Chinese premier did not announce any boost to the $586 billion plan at a key political meeting in Beijing Thursday. (Full story) GM: Concerns about the outlook for General Motors also weighed on stocks Thursday. GM said in its annual filing that there is substantial doubt about the automaker's ability to survive. The company has sustained huge losses over the course of the recession and has already received $13.4 billion in federal loans. GM has said it needs additional federal money to stay afloat. GM (GM, Fortune 500) shares fell 17%. Wal-Mart Stores: The world's No. 1 retailer reported a bigger-than-expected jump in February sales, thanks in part to lower gas prices. Wal-Mart said that sales at stores open a year or more, a retail metric known as same-store sales, rose 5.1% in February versus forecasts for a rise of 2.4%. Separately, the company said it is boosting its annual dividend by 15% to $1.09 from 95 cents per share. Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) shares rose 4%. As a result of Wal-Mart, the overall retail sector posted a slight rise in February same-store sales, versus previous forecasts for a decline, according to Thomson Reuters. Nonetheless, many retailers continued to see weaker sales, due to the impact of the slowing economy and growing joblessness. Wal-Mart rival Target (TGT, Fortune 500) said sales fell 4.1%, sending shares 2% lower. Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) said same-store sales plunged 30% in the month, sending shares of the clothing retailer down 14.5%. Nordstrom (JWN, Fortune 500) said sales fell 15.4%, sending shares of the department store chain down more than 8.5%. Gymboree (GYMB) warned late Wednesday that first-quarter profit will miss forecasts and same-store sales in the quarter will slide 20% to 25%. Shares of the children's clothing retailer plunged 27% Thursday morning. Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners 11 to 1 on volume of 900 million shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers four to one on volume of 1.21 billion shares. Economy: January factory orders fell 1.9% after dropping 4.9% in the previous month. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought orders would fall 3.5%. The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment fell to 639,000 last week from 670,000 in the previous week, versus economists' forecasts for a drop to 650,000. Another report showed that fourth-quarter business productivity was weaker than initially reported, falling at a revised 0.4% annual rate versus the initially reported 3.2% annual rate. Economists thought it would grow at a 1.1% annual rate. Bonds: Treasury prices rallied, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 2.82% from 2.98% Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Lending rates were little changed. The 3-month Libor rate held steady at 1.28%, unchanged from Wednesday, while the overnight Libor rate rose to 0.32% from 0.31%, according to Bloomberg.com. Libor is a bank-to-bank lending rate. Other markets: In global trading, most Asian markets ended lower with the exception of the Japanese Nikkei. European markets tumbled. In currency trading, the dollar gained versus the euro and fell against the yen. U.S. light crude oil for April delivery fell $1.77 to settle at $43.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. COMEX gold for April delivery rose $21.10 to settle at $927.80 an ounce. Talkback: Are you living on your unemployment check? How are you making ends meet? What bills are you paying - and which ones are sliding? E-mail your story to realstories@cnnmoney.com and you could be part of an upcoming article. 
____________________ (Avatar created by OMNT.) “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.” Winston Churhill |
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| Posted: Thu Mar 5th, 2009 10:10 pm |
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3rd Post |
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YOGI Member 
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DAYUMED dangerous Folks!
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| Posted: Thu Mar 5th, 2009 11:50 pm |
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4th Post |
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Neo Head Loon - Original M.A.I.M.
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YOGI wrote: DAYUMED dangerous Folks! Yeah they are Mr. YOGI! It will get worse long before it gets better. The reason nobody can figure out where bottom is right now is because Chimp-In-Chief keeps opening his piehole and everytime he does, it drives the bottom further down. I've TOLD you people he's an empty suit. He has never distinguished himself at ANY level of endeavor, be it an attorney, State Senator, or U.S. Senator. I DARE ANY LIBERAL to show me ONE piece of legislation this pinhead has ever sponsored, successfully or not. Good luck with THAT job. The only success he's ever apparantly had is in stirring the mud up from the bottom of the "Hood" by"agitating". It's real easy to bitch about "Da Man", it's quite a different thing to be "Da Man" and fix things. As I've said before, this man will be the ruination of this nation and it won't take longer than another 8 months-12 tops!
____________________ (Avatar created by OMNT.) “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.” Winston Churhill |
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| Posted: Fri Mar 6th, 2009 02:00 am |
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5th Post |
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AgentOregon Lead Administrator 
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Neo wrote:
You might be right...
____________________ Youth is fleeting but immaturity can last a lifetime. AO Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard. H.L.Mencken |
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| Posted: Fri Mar 6th, 2009 02:46 am |
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6th Post |
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YOGI Member
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Neo wrote: YOGI wrote:DAYUMED dangerous Folks! Really? Hell, a year ago I declared Obama da WINNER! What confuses me is what DIFFERENCE the election of our MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, McCain, would have made! YOGI...don't blame me! I voted for RON PAUL!
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| Posted: Fri Mar 6th, 2009 03:55 am |
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7th Post |
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Neo Head Loon - Original M.A.I.M.
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YOGI wrote: Neo wrote:YOGI wrote:DAYUMED dangerous Folks! Funny you should say that amigo. No less than Mr. Rush Limbaugh paid Mr. Paul kudo's today. Imagine that? I'd vote for the guy today knowing what I know now, regardless of his viability. We all make mistakes. I won't make the same one yet again. Neo
____________________ (Avatar created by OMNT.) “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.” Winston Churhill |
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| Posted: Fri Mar 6th, 2009 04:29 am |
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8th Post |
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YOGI Member
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NEO...I know. RON PAUL's "electibility" seemingly outweighed his and advisor Peter Schiff's common sense they attempted to spread around! Both men were ridiculed over the past years, weren't they? YOGI...looking fer a bailout
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| Posted: Fri Mar 6th, 2009 04:38 am |
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9th Post |
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Neo Head Loon - Original M.A.I.M.
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YOGI wrote: NEO...I know. RON PAUL's "electibility" seemingly outweighed his and advisor Peter Schiff's common sense they attempted to spread around! Both men were ridiculed over the past years, weren't they? Neo looking for a revolution in the Republican Party! 
____________________ (Avatar created by OMNT.) “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.” Winston Churhill |
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