More fun Graphs

I sincerely hope no one interprets my skewering of the Obama administration as an endorsement for Republicans. The only thing keeping Republicans from being the slimiest creatures on the planet is Democrats.

The REALLY fun part about all this is that the government has under-reported unemployment for more than two decades. John Williams at Shadow Government Statistics uses the government's pre-1982 formulas for calculating things like CPI and unemployment. He says the true unemployment rate, using the government'e earlier formula, is likely over 20%.

Now that's what I call "change we can believe in."

Too True to be Funny, Too Funny not to Share

I found this on Charles Goyette's website.

Rest in Peace - Ken Jessup

I lost an old friend today and don't much feel like talking about finance.

Rest in Peace, Ken.

Is Your Bank Doomed?

This list will tell you. Any number greater than 100 in the column labeled "Texas Ratio" means the bank is --uhm-- "less than healthy". How's that for politically correct?

If you consent to it, its not a crime

Interesting juxtaposition of headlines in the WSJ yesterday:

States Post Widespread Job Losses
Morgan Stanley Breaks a String of Losses
Wells Net Rises Despite Loan Losses

Rising unemployment. Big banks making tons of money and paying huge bonuses. Does this make any sense?

The U.S. Government is bought and paid for by the NY bankers. The government operates for the benefit of these banks. The bankers are raping us, and the government is the one providing the rope and duct tape.

The most profound insight on the nature of government comes from the Declaration of Independence: ...all government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed.

If you continue to consent to this type of government, then it is not rape, it is merely kinky, consensual sex.

Why the SEC will never rein in Goldman Sachs

Seriously, do you still believe this is a government "of the people, by the people, blah blah blah"?

From Bloomberg: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission hired Adam Storch, a 29-year-old former employee in Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s business intelligence unit, as the enforcement division’s first chief operating officer, according to people familiar with the decision. The COO, who started Oct. 13, has “a great deal of background” in technology and managing processes and the pace of work, Robert Khuzami, head of enforcement, said yesterday in Washington. Storch, who worked since 2004 in a unit at Goldman Sachs that reviewed contracts and transactions for signs of fraud, will be charged with making the unit more efficient. Storch, reached by telephone at the SEC, declined to comment.

That's right - the chief enforcer for the SEC is a wet-behind-the-ears Goldman Sachs puppy. He worked at G-S since 1984 which means "since they hired him out of college." Yeah, that is some serious experience there.

I continue to assert that Goldman Sachs owns the government and runs things for their own benefit. How else to explain the fact that this time last year, the big banks - led by G-S - were begging for a government bailout and this year G-S is set to pay their biggest bonuses ever?

Remember: government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed. As long as "We the People" continue to assent to this government, then the crime syndicate that runs the biggest banks and by proxy the government will continue stealing from us and say it is for our own good.

What Happened to Global Warming?

That bastion of reactionary, luddite, head-in-the-sand hyperconservatism - the British Broadcasting Company, (yes, I am attempting to be sarcastic) - wants to know what happened to Global Warming.  Good story and worth your time.

Have you noticed that the Do-Gooders who always worry about things that cannot be changed have switched the object of their worry to Climate Change and away from Global Warming? Back in the mid 70s, the same nincompoops were up in arms about the coming New Ice Age but they had to change their tune in the late 80s because the Ice Age they predicted with such confident certainty was manifestly failing to... well, manifest.

That's when they changed to worrying about Global Warming.

I suppose after another 20 years of the Climate not Changing, they'll worry about The Sky Falling, or something equally unlikely and unpreventable. These people would be objects of pity and derision if they didn't wield so much power to harm the rest of us with their baseless schemes.

DOW at 10000? Whoop Tee Doo

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 10,000 today for the first time in a while. It first crossed the 10,000 in 2000.

What does "Dow 10000" mean today?

In 2000, you'd need more than 30 ounces of gold to buy the Dow. Today, you'd need less than 10 ounces.

In 2000, your dollar would buy almost 30% more than it will today. (Check out the Bureau of Labor Statistics Inflation Calculator linked here on my site.) That's what inflation does to you.

In other words, the Dow at 10,000 today is equivalent to the Dow at about 7500 in 2000.

Whoop Tee Freakin' Doo.

Imagine how bad it would be if STUPID people were in charge..

The date is July, 2005. Can you guess who is answering the questions?

Q. "Can you give us your view of whether there is a housing bubble out there?"
A. "I don't know whether prices are exactly where they should be but I think they are supported by the strength of the economy."

Q. "So tell me, what is the worst case scenario, if in fact we were to see prices come down substantially across the country? "
A. "I don't buy your premise. It is a pretty unlikely possibility. We've never had a decline in house prices on a nationwide basis. I'm confident in the fact that the bank regulators will pay close attention to the kinds of loans that are being made, making sure that underwriting is being done right... I do think this is mostly a localized problem and not something that impacts the national economy."

In hindsight, it sounds like this person was not very well informed, doesn't it? But who could blame him?

You'd need to actually know what was going on inside the banks to realize that they were making loans they knew couldn't be repaid - and the only people who knew that were the bankers themselves.

And you'd need to know what was going on with the bank regulators to realize they weren't doing a thing about it - and the only people who knew that were the Bankers responsible for watching over the banks. No, the only possible way you could expect someone to know what was really happening with the banks would be the people in charge of the Federal Reserve. They were really the only ones who could possibly know, right?

So you could hardly blame this guy for being so completely clueless.

Good thing we have really well informed, intelligent and ethical individuals deciding how to save the economy.

/sarcasm