As I’ve been listening to and contemplating the whole discussion around “spreading the wealth”, it’s occurred to me that when the wealth is being spread, there’s more than just wealth that gets spread.

That’s right, the poverty gets spread too.

Of course, calling it “spreading the poverty” might seem too severe, but here’s the thing: people have poverty, wealth, or something in between. If you spread one, you spread it all.

My preference now is to think of it as “spreading the mediocrity”. As we discussed in the past, providing equal access to economic resources (”spreading the wealth”, or “wealth redistribution”) is going to lead to a society that is motivated to meet the status quo, to do just enough to get by, to even lower itself to ensure that there is just enough work to either[...]

The Dow had it’s record highest point gain today up almost 940. Although it was up a bit today, Oil prices have been retreating and have been steadily below $90/bbl for several days. And have you noticed the price of gasoline has also been declining?

Of course, we all know it’s not over yet, but it’s good to see some positive signs. Unfortunately, the price of diesel fuel has not come down with trhe price of gasoline, apparently due to supply issues worldwide. And this will keep the price of consumer goods general higher. Seems like[...]

My mother called me this morning.  “I’ve been worried about you.  Are you okay?”, she asked.
I told her that I was fine; that you only lose when you sell.  Which got me thinking…What rules should investors employ in this market?

You only lose when you sell.  The same fundamental reasons for investing in the first place [...]

All right, perhaps panic is too strong a word, but my goodness, it certainly does feel like one. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5% today and is now down 30% since January 1. The S&P 500 is down 33.7% year to date and the NASDAQ is off 35.6%. This is indeed a bear market, but there is nothing rational about it whatsoever.

The sell off appears to be about nervousness investors are feeling about the future, the global economy, the bailout, corporate earnings. I try to keep a cool head, but the Dow is down 800 points in two days and even I wonder where it’s going to end. Then I remember what Warren Buffet said…

Talking Heads:
No visible means of support and you have not seen nuthin yet
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The House of Representatives today passed the Senate version of the $700 Billion Bail-out.  For now, it’s over.  Bush signed the bill shortly after the vote, and we have not seen nuthin yet.
In case you haven’t noticed yet, the [...]

Our US Senators have approved a version of the $700 Billion Bail-out Bill that provides some new features:

New tax breaks for businesses
Raising the FDIC deposit insurance limit from $100,000 to $250,000

Normally, I am all about tax breaks for businesses.  I think that is one of the best ways to stimulate growth.
And without a doubt, raising [...]

Today’s Wall Street Journal contains an op/ed by Brian Wesbury, one of the more level-headed and highly respected economists in the country.  His recommendation is that Congress suspend mark-to-market accounting rules, because investors refuse to put money into companies that may not be around because of phantom valuations of their securities portfolios.
He’s right, and this [...]

My cohort DJ is going to disagree with me.  Just you wait and see.
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Today did not scare me.  It did surprise me, because I didn’t think that Congress had the ability to face down the President, Treasury Secretary and their own part leaders all at the same time.  (For the votes [...]

From the New York Times late last night:
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders and the Bush administration reached a tentative agreement early Sunday on what may become the largest financial bailout in American history, authorizing the Treasury to purchase $700 billion in troubled debt from ailing firms in an extraordinary intervention to prevent widespread economic collapse.
Officials said [...]

Does it not bother anyone that Senator Obama’s response to the biggest financial crisis in the world in nearly 80 years is to say “If I can be helpful, I’m available”???  Is that what someone who wants to be the leader of the free world should be saying?
Barack’s still has a responsibility as a Senator [...]