On The Economic Front
December 13, 2006
For the fourth month in a row the Federal Reserve decided to not raise interest rates. Well DUH!
The benchmark interest rate remains at 5.25%. So, go put some mileage on those credit cards between now and Christmas. But be sure and pay on time otherwise you’ll get your rate bumped regardless of what the Fed did or does. So, in spite of the fact that the world is awash in money, the market continues to float higher. Because of massive liquidity and the possibility of slowing business ahead, interest rates remain historically low. Wall Street loves the abundant funds and low rates. But what lurks just beyond the new year? Continue Reading »
The Polonium 210 Mystery Continues
December 12, 2006
I wonder where this is going to lead. Has there been a massive plot underway for months or even years and we’ ve just now discovered it, or are discovering it accidently? We all know about the Alexander Litvinenko story. His quick and well photographed death amazed and caught the attention of many. The before & after pictures were startling. But where is this mystery leading us now? Continue Reading »
Book Wars
December 11, 2006
Barack Obama is making headlines all across the United States during his nationwide book tour. Yesterday he went to new Hampshire and he drew 1,500 Democrats to a fundraiser and several hundred more at a book signing in Portsmouth. Organizers of both events had to turn away many others who wanted to get in. The media contingent was so large it crowded into a Portsmouth coffee shop with the senator and knocked into tables and chairs as he tried to shake hands with the customers. Continue Reading »
Winning Politically?
December 11, 2006
Don’t you just love the academics and intellectuals? What we’re seeing played out on the international scene these days are pramatists vs. idealists. I’ve described myself, for as long as I can remember, as a pragmatic idealist. Not Either-Or but And-Also! Like his policies in Iraq or not, and most evidently do not, Bush is being far more practical and realistic than are the intellectuals who fashioned the recent report on Iraq. Continue Reading »
The Economic Tea Leaves
December 8, 2006
I can’t help but ask myself if the jobless report that came out this morning isn’t the first “sign” for those that understand semiotics, especailly the economic kind. On the surface the jobless reprot looked good: on the surface mind you. Employers boosted payrolls by a respectable 132,000 in November. But, here’s what I’ reading into our economic future; here’s the interpretation of the tea leaves I’m reading. Continue Reading »
The SKIL Act?
December 7, 2006
John Cornyn (R-TX) and a swarm of Microsoft and other industry lobbyists are working the Senate overtime to push through a measure called the SKIL Act that would almost double H-1B 3-year work visas and permanent employment-based greencards next year. Continue Reading »
A One Month Difference!
December 7, 2006
America went to the polls to vot thirty days ago. Thirty days ago Bush was saying the we would stay the course in Iraq. There would be no “cut-n-run“, no “withdrawal timetable“. Have you read the recent newspapers or internet news reports? The new Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, the man recommended by George Bush of course, won confirmation on a 95-2 vote. Could it be because Gates said at the Senate hearing he did not think the U.S. was winning the war and that all options for changing the administration’s approach must remain on the table? Continue Reading »
Be More Optimistic!
December 6, 2006
There are basically two ways to live this life: happy or sad. Why would one choose, on purpose, to be sad or pessimistic when just by exercising our will, one could be happy and or optimistic? And yet, every day people choose to be despondent, sad, and pessimistic in their outlook of life thereby by self fulfilling prophecy, sealing their fate. “The EVENT is not important, but the RESPONSE to the event is every- thing.” I Ching Continue Reading »
Consumer vs. Producer
December 5, 2006
Once upona time in decades far far away, America used to be the producer of goods and services for much of the world. Today the world producer, and the could literally manufacture ALL the products that the world needs is China. And the big consumer is of course the good old US of A! All of the major investors have been shorting the US$- betting it would go down, be devalued (Warren Buffett to name the biggest and smartest). While the US$ has tanked big time last week (allowing gold to rise as they are in reverse positions), there are two major forces at work that seem to be voided each other. Continue Reading »
Start Your Engines – For 2008!
December 3, 2006
Gentlemen and ladies (can you say Hillary?), it’s time to rev up those campaign engines for 2008. Let the two year campaign for U.S. president begin! Democratic jockeying for the White House in 2008 intensified on Sunday with Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh taking the first official step toward a run and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton gauging support among fellow New York lawmakers. Continue Reading »
Saying Goodbye and Saying Hello
December 3, 2006
Saturday was the day to officially celebrate Castros birthday though he turned 80 last August the 13th. His surgery changed all of that. It was felt that he would be well enough to celebrate on December 2nd in memory of 50 years to the day since Fidel and Raul Castro, along with Che Guevara and 79 other comrades, came ashore in Cuba to launch their revolution against dictator Fulgencio Batista. The Comandante’s absence strongly suggested that his illness was serious, possibly even terminal, and that he was unlikely to grasp the reins of power again. But as Decemebr 2nd might hav e been a farewell to Casto, December 3rd will most probably be a welcome for his replacement- Hugo Chavez. Continue Reading »
Now I Remember!
December 1, 2006
Summer after dreary summer, I labor through not just the heat but the staggering heat and humidity. I question why the early settlers thought building a city in a swamp where billions of mosquitos lived lived and called home was a good idea. It was a bit smarter though than building a city (can you say New Orleans) on the gulf, below sea level! And then I get reminded! Continue Reading »
Lighten Up A Little!
December 1, 2006
If you want to move along and get a long, you need to have a sense of humor. “Good humor makes all things tolerable” said Henry Ward Beecher. Scientists tell us that it takes five times as many muscles to frown as it does to smile. Sociologists tell us that peaceful societies have longer life spans. The Bible tells us that a happy personality is like medicine. With so much backing, you’d think people would get the fact that we need to “loosen up” and enjoy life a little more, but unfortunately too many people take life too seriously. Continue Reading »
It’s December Time!
December 1, 2006
Gold closed out November in strong fashion with spot gold up another $11.50 in lieu of a crashing dollar and rising crude oil prices. Gold is now firmly over the $650 level and so it is positioned to make a run through the end of the year that could potentially have it test the earlier year highs. Continue Reading »
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