Ages ago, when I was a young man, I used to watch 60 Minutes on Sunday nights. Then came 20 years of working weekends as an air traffic controller. But now I am once again watching 60 Minutes, and I am sad to say that you can't go home again.
In the olden days, 60 Minutes was famous for providing the best in hard-hitting investigative journalism. If you were a businessman back then, the last thing you wanted to see was a 60 Minutes camera crew waiting outside your office. Corporate executives used to whine that 60 Minutes was anti-business, but they had it wrong. 60 Minutes was anti-corrpution. Note that I used the past tense in that last sentence.
Things aren't the same any more. Last year, 60 Minutes did a puff-piece on Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, paying homage to him for preventing the financial system from melting down. In a way, 60 Minutes was correct in that we were indeed on the edge of a global financial cataclysm. But Paulson was one of the perpetrators who caused the disaster in the first place. Yet 60 Minutes never mentioned that, and went on to lionize him for his efforts to avert disaster.
OK, maybe 60 Minutes could slip up once. After all, I have bad days once in a while, too. But then 60 Minutes went on to do a puff-piece on Ken Lewis, the CEO of Bank of America, which had just finalized a deal to purchase Merrill Lynch. So there is 60 Minutes again, showing Bank of America as the clever bank that had avoided the pitfalls that snagged Citigroup and the other money center banks. And now BoA was going to acquire one of the venerable names of Wall Street.
Now the truth comes out. 1) Bank of America is only one or two steps behind Citigroup on the way to insolvency and bankruptcy, and 2) Merrill Lynch is a toxic mess, owning more worthless mortgage-backed securities than anyone had suspected. Certainly more than Ken Lewis suspected, and when he found out, he attempted to back out of the deal, invoking the "material adverse event" clause in the contract.
Here's where things REALLY get sticky. Henry the Hit-Man Paulson then told Lewis you will buy Merrill Lynch or I will fire you, your entire management team, and your board of directors. So Lewis said, "Where do I sign?" He bought Merrill Lynch, simultaneously saving his own job and throwing the BoA shareholders under the bus. Now Paulson pipes up that yes, he threatened to fire everyone, but only because Ben Bernanke ordered him to do so.
Well! That is certainly interesting, because Fed Chairman Bernanke has already denied through a spokesman that he did any such thing. You can bet that we have not heard the last of this. But that brings me back to 60 Minutes, which recently did yet another puff-piece on...Ben Bernanke! It was a wonderful story of how the smartest kid in town grew up to be the genius who is safeguarding our country's central bank.
More and more, 60 Minutes looks like Pravda, the old Soviet newspaper that told the people whatever the government wanted the people to know. It is one thing to try to imbue people with confidence that we will get through this economic mess and everything will be all right. It is quite another to praise the scoundrels who got us into this mess in the first place.
No one says 60 Minutes is anti-business any longer, and for that, the producers of 60 Minutes should be ashamed of themselves.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
New website: Goldmansachs666.com
The government's interference in the financial markets has become so blatant that references to it are finding their way into the mainstream media. I don't mean the various stimulus packages that President Obama is pushing: I mean the outright fraud and manipulation being practiced by Government...oops, Goldman Sachs. For a long time there has been a revolving door between the highest level of GSax and the Treasury and the world's central banks. The machinations of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets (aka Plunge Protection Team) has been well documented. But now, a fellow by the name of Mike Morgan is willing to take on the embodiment of evil itself and I wish him well.
In case it is not clear, the Wall Street banking industry (with its allies in government) is plundering the wealth of this country. Vast amounts of money are being created and immediately funneled to the favored banks. With interest rates driven down to near zero, retirees can't live on their savings, and their wealth is being extracted from them. Again, low interest rates favor the banks, which can borrow at no cost, and invest the money at much higher rates. The people who actually work and manufacture and create things are seeing their currency debased, and their wealth transferred to the executives on Wall Street, who push paper around, and create nothing.
This is the web site: http://www.goldmansachs666.com/
Here is a sample from a disclaimer:
"Disclosure: Yes, I am short Goldman Sachs stock. I believe this company is evil and should not exist. We need to begin to break up companies that have as much control over world finances as Goldman Sachs."
Needless to say, Goldman Sachs is trying to shut him down, but Mr. Morgan (and his lawyers) are ready for a fight, and they want to take on Goliath. I wish him the best of luck.
On a somewhat lighter note, a somewhat heavier golfer won the Masters tournament on Sunday. Angel Cabrera became the first man from Argentina to win the Masters. He isn't your typical pro that grew up playing golf at the country club links. Cabrera dropped out of school at age 10, and spent most of his youth getting into fights. From the looks of him, he spent the rest of his time eating. At least when he wasn't chain smoking.
That's not to say he can't play. He hadn't realized the potential of his talent, mostly because he didn't seem to think putting was very important. A couple of years ago, he finally decided to do some work on his putting, and he beat Tiger Woods to win the US Open. So it was no surprise that he could win another major championship, especially since he gave up smoking. He still likes to eat, though. Not like John Daly, but Cabrera could stand to lose a few pounds. But then the fittest golfers don't always win, and I think Cabrera has at least another major title in him.
In case it is not clear, the Wall Street banking industry (with its allies in government) is plundering the wealth of this country. Vast amounts of money are being created and immediately funneled to the favored banks. With interest rates driven down to near zero, retirees can't live on their savings, and their wealth is being extracted from them. Again, low interest rates favor the banks, which can borrow at no cost, and invest the money at much higher rates. The people who actually work and manufacture and create things are seeing their currency debased, and their wealth transferred to the executives on Wall Street, who push paper around, and create nothing.
This is the web site: http://www.goldmansachs666.com/
Here is a sample from a disclaimer:
"Disclosure: Yes, I am short Goldman Sachs stock. I believe this company is evil and should not exist. We need to begin to break up companies that have as much control over world finances as Goldman Sachs."
Needless to say, Goldman Sachs is trying to shut him down, but Mr. Morgan (and his lawyers) are ready for a fight, and they want to take on Goliath. I wish him the best of luck.
On a somewhat lighter note, a somewhat heavier golfer won the Masters tournament on Sunday. Angel Cabrera became the first man from Argentina to win the Masters. He isn't your typical pro that grew up playing golf at the country club links. Cabrera dropped out of school at age 10, and spent most of his youth getting into fights. From the looks of him, he spent the rest of his time eating. At least when he wasn't chain smoking.
That's not to say he can't play. He hadn't realized the potential of his talent, mostly because he didn't seem to think putting was very important. A couple of years ago, he finally decided to do some work on his putting, and he beat Tiger Woods to win the US Open. So it was no surprise that he could win another major championship, especially since he gave up smoking. He still likes to eat, though. Not like John Daly, but Cabrera could stand to lose a few pounds. But then the fittest golfers don't always win, and I think Cabrera has at least another major title in him.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
No surprises from G20 meeting
The good news from the G-20 summit meeting is that while some 90 people were arrested, only one person was killed, and even that might not be directly related to the protests. Other than some windows being broken at the Royal Bank of Scotland, the affair was about as peaceful as one could have hoped. French President Sarkozy didn't walk out, and for the first time in a long time, the US had a president with the gravitas to be there, and didn't try to look into anyone's soul. But for all the praise President Obama received, he didn't have a very strong hand to play.
Both China and Russia are trying to replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency, either with a gold-backed currency, or with Special Drawing Rights from the IMF. If the IMF was serious about this, they wouldn't be selling 403 tons of gold, ostensibly to pay some bills or raise funds to help impoverished countries in Africa, or some other such nonsense. I think it is a payoff for holders of T-Bonds who are fed up with our money printing. In other worlds, most of the IMF gold will end up in a Chinese bank vault, and none of it will ever be sold on the open market. It will be a bank-to-bank transaction, with no effect on the gold market.
All I can gather about the G20 meeting is that our world leaders finally figured out that the economic crisis is for real, and it is global, so they all have to learn to play nice with each other or the whole thing collapses. So we will see more and larger stimulus packages to come. They formally announced that the world will collectively spend another $5 trillion by the end of next year, and if things still don't look good, you can bet there's more where that came from. So there will be a global economic rally of sorts, but we won't see much of it here in the US. It will be led by the emerging markets, notably China, India and Brazil, and that will strengthen commodity prices further as those countries industrialize. Ever since I was in college, the old joke about Brazil was that it was the country of the future, and always would be. It appears now the joke is on us. Brazil is energy self-sufficient, it has an enormously popular president, and the country may actually start to live up to its potential.
And now a word about Plax. Some time ago (right after the idiot shot himself) I opined that Paxico Burress would play football again, but not for the New York Giants. At last the Giants have given up hope, and released him. Last year the Giants withheld his $1 million bonus because when they re-did his contract last year they inserted a clause that said Burress would forfeit his signing bonus if he was subject to “incarceration or detention by any law enforcement personnel” or if he was suspended by the NFL or the Giants for “conduct detrimental” to the team.
It sounds like the Giants knew who they were dealing with, doesn't it? That in itself is a sign of the times when you suspect your multi-millionaire employees might get themselves thrown in prison. But now an arbitrator ruled that the Giants have to pay Burress the $1 million because the Collective Bargaining Agreement overrules individual contracts, and the CBA states that a player can only forfeit his signing bonus if he “willfully takes action that has the effect of substantially undermining his ability to fully participate in either preseason training camp or the regular season.” The arbitrator ruled that Burress’ actions were not “willful.” So I guess if Burress had shot himself on purpose, the Giants would have had a better case.
That's one of the things I've always hated about unions. They protect bad people who deserve to be punished. I wish Plax well in his future endeavors, and I certainly hope he stays out of prison because he doesn't belong there. But as if he didn't hurt the Giants enough by wrecking their 2008 season, now he has cost the team another $1 million in the bargain. End of rant.
Both China and Russia are trying to replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency, either with a gold-backed currency, or with Special Drawing Rights from the IMF. If the IMF was serious about this, they wouldn't be selling 403 tons of gold, ostensibly to pay some bills or raise funds to help impoverished countries in Africa, or some other such nonsense. I think it is a payoff for holders of T-Bonds who are fed up with our money printing. In other worlds, most of the IMF gold will end up in a Chinese bank vault, and none of it will ever be sold on the open market. It will be a bank-to-bank transaction, with no effect on the gold market.
All I can gather about the G20 meeting is that our world leaders finally figured out that the economic crisis is for real, and it is global, so they all have to learn to play nice with each other or the whole thing collapses. So we will see more and larger stimulus packages to come. They formally announced that the world will collectively spend another $5 trillion by the end of next year, and if things still don't look good, you can bet there's more where that came from. So there will be a global economic rally of sorts, but we won't see much of it here in the US. It will be led by the emerging markets, notably China, India and Brazil, and that will strengthen commodity prices further as those countries industrialize. Ever since I was in college, the old joke about Brazil was that it was the country of the future, and always would be. It appears now the joke is on us. Brazil is energy self-sufficient, it has an enormously popular president, and the country may actually start to live up to its potential.
And now a word about Plax. Some time ago (right after the idiot shot himself) I opined that Paxico Burress would play football again, but not for the New York Giants. At last the Giants have given up hope, and released him. Last year the Giants withheld his $1 million bonus because when they re-did his contract last year they inserted a clause that said Burress would forfeit his signing bonus if he was subject to “incarceration or detention by any law enforcement personnel” or if he was suspended by the NFL or the Giants for “conduct detrimental” to the team.
It sounds like the Giants knew who they were dealing with, doesn't it? That in itself is a sign of the times when you suspect your multi-millionaire employees might get themselves thrown in prison. But now an arbitrator ruled that the Giants have to pay Burress the $1 million because the Collective Bargaining Agreement overrules individual contracts, and the CBA states that a player can only forfeit his signing bonus if he “willfully takes action that has the effect of substantially undermining his ability to fully participate in either preseason training camp or the regular season.” The arbitrator ruled that Burress’ actions were not “willful.” So I guess if Burress had shot himself on purpose, the Giants would have had a better case.
That's one of the things I've always hated about unions. They protect bad people who deserve to be punished. I wish Plax well in his future endeavors, and I certainly hope he stays out of prison because he doesn't belong there. But as if he didn't hurt the Giants enough by wrecking their 2008 season, now he has cost the team another $1 million in the bargain. End of rant.
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