Things I’d Like To Post About Today ….. (010209, Morning)
….. But I Don’t Have Any Time For:
- Rich Karlgard at Forbes — “It seems like a distant memory now, but the recession’s first ten months were so mild that between December 2007 and September 2008 there was an annual growth rate of 0.8%. Outside of housing and financial services, the economy was downright healthy, growing nearly 2.5% during that period.” Good description, but bad premise: What’ he’s describing as a “so mild” recession wasn’t a recession at all, at least not continually, no matter what the pinheads at the National Bureau of Economic Research say. It represented problems in a couple of sectors that nonetheless failed to keep the overall economy from growing.
- It goes on …. and on …. and on — “The U.S. Treasury threw the door open to taxpayer financing for a widening array of companies and industries by drafting broad guidelines on aid to the auto industry.”
- Jack Cashill — “‘Dreams (of My Father)’ may prove to be the most consequential literary hoax of our time.” Indeed. Meanwhile, I have yet to see any attempt to refute this UK Daily Mail portrayal of Barack Obama’s father, covered in previous BizzyBlog posts here and here.
- Sammy Wilson, Democratic Unionist Party environment minister for Northern Ireland, gets it on globaloney and the globalarmists who push it — “Spending billions on trying to reduce carbon emissions is one giant con that is depriving third world countries of vital funds to tackle famine, HIV and other diseases.”
- Speaking of globaney, here are “The 12 Days of Global Warning” (HT Pundit Review):
The graphics make it worth watching, but for those who don’t have time to view the whole thing, here are the lyrics:
12 new ways of taxing,
11 light bulbs banning,
10 droughts a happening,
9 hurricanes blowing,
8 rivers flooding,
7 oceans rising,
6 glaciers melting,
5 drowning polar bears.
4 dollar gas,
3 failed automakers,
2 melting ice caps,
and a fear-mongering documentary. - Update: Do not miss Patterico’s annual compilation of journalistic and other malpractice at the Los Angeles.
Speaking of the economy and investments. You know all those people who rushed to buy US bonds to preserve their equity? Guess what? Suckers… When the market does improve, they will lose their shirts!
The market also has been supported by comments from the Federal Reserve that it, too, may buy long-term Treasuries. – As a result, the benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields just 2.40%, down from 3.85% as recently as mid-November. The 30-year T-bond stands at 2.82%, and three-month Treasury bills were sold last week for a yield of just 0.05%. – Many investors argue it’s dangerous to buy Treasuries with such low yields. While a holder can expect to get repaid in full at maturity, the price of longer-term Treasuries could fall sharply in the interim if yields rise. The 30-year T-bond, for instance, would drop 25% in price if its yield rose to 4.35%, where it stood as recently as Nov. 13.
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB123094029415750267.html?mod=9_0002_b_this_weeks_magazine_home_top
So let’s posit this idea, what if Paulson or Obama’s next economic manipulator decided to raise interest rates and then buy bonds when the recovery was in full swing (assuming normal rebound)? The Treasury could reduce the national debt by 25% just playing the market. This would be a stealth tax upon the private economy. Given a substantial amount of bonds have been sold with these low interest rates so far and another trillion or so in bailouts and pump priming is in the works, what stops them from doing this? NOTHING. The Treasury is constantly turning over old debt for new debt and thus is lowering it’s cost of borrowing. We maybe witnessing the biggest financial swindle in the history of the world behind the theft of Social Security funds ($3.5 trillion). These rates are now artificially low, short term rates are not above long term rates like a normal recession and that means government is manipulating the rates.
Comment by dscott — January 3, 2009 @ 12:19 pm