Hehehe, economic "god times" might be the best way to describe the intervention and omniscient corruption meddling. Lack of transparency as well as the secrecy involved favours the corrupt. Brazil is a totally saturated corrupt society - just like southern Italy - lots of small mafia and people making their small imprint on funnelling federal resources. People claim they are doing nothing wrong and that the real crooks are the politicians - others are just claiming their "little share." Crime and distrust are rampant in all of Brazil. Just like with banarepublics - what works best is the military, also so in the US. The police is also largely efficient - spraying bullets on suspects and executing criminals to save the judicial system. Mav88, a lot of knowledge is a good thing. Transparency and trust is what makes for good business and trust - social structures like democracy and lasting peace. I know a LOT about the neo-cons, and frequently read their articles, books etc - their start as extremist Trotskyists and Shachtmanists into their transformation as strong anti-communists and strongly hating counter-cultures -- their "return to conservatism" hence their name "neo-conservatists." Irving Kristol and Charles Burnham and their self-fuelling frenzy with correspondence resulting in the 1964 book "Suicide of the West" - an inspiration for right-wing extremists. They called for the total destruction pre-emptively of all "enemies" using all available economic, cultural and military means. I see them as ideologically corrupt - fully indoctrinated - and totalitarian radical extremists, like they've always been.
I don't think it's a gloomy thread. Since about 9/20, it's been gloomy. What I said was, the Govt has assured us a platform. Look at today's news. The US is pumping money into banks. They've already made that decision. The article is the trial balloon. The bottom came, I realized, when I was up all night scared to death, saw the EU actually agree on something. So I agree in the rally. Overnight, I found out some other stuff I don't care to talk about, but they are consistent with what the original posts talked about. Law is looking for perpetrators who will be the scapegoats in this. Has to happen. Have to have that French Revolution purge so the rubes can actually 'see' the cleanup. Chanos on CNBC actually agreeing with Patrick Byrne, calling for strict delivery, when you knew all along he knew what was going on, and played along, 'wink wink'. And then this: " In the interim, it is important to note that we have also impressed upon the SEC the importance of strictly enforcing the borrowing and delivery statutes tied to short selling, which have been unevenly enforced in the past. While these rules cannot address the issue around intra-day naked short selling entirely, I do believe that strict adherence should prove effective at mitigating volatility if comprehensively enforced." This was Niederhause, who told Cox after the original ban, he couldn't open the NYSE w/o the option mm exemption.v This was also, the original thesis of Patrick Byrne, and it would have stopped a lot of problems This is very understandably, politically. The players are positioning themselves for the shitstorm on the horizon.
Art Cashin at 8:54 on CNBC............. When asked about a pending O'bama presidency (yuk), he said......... "......we have several tough years ahead of us." I don't own a business. I did, and I don't, and I"m very, very glad. It is going to be brutal.
flytiger, inter-bank lending has been encouraged and secured in the US, but bank re-capitalization is missing in the US, but was done in Europe. That only means that a lot of pain is simply being postponed - just like when the USD was strengthened to buy some time to react, as well as the repatriation of funds.
I agree with most of your post I don't get why most here on ET are pro-government and anti-corporate they're both the same shit, they emerge from human stupidity and they live off of it the corporates that screw you over can only do so because of two available factors; constant government support of their business, it is with government support that corporates rule with total monopoly over the market, and average human ignorance, almost everyone thinks they are born to go to school, after 18 years of crappy schooling get that fucking university degree, and struggle to find a job at a big corporate, eventually retire, rot and die that is what freedom in america means, you already have a predefined path set before you, you go that path and you get a job and you buy a house and car you never get to own, impressive
What are the made up charges that are going to do in the wall street crowd? Is it greed? Is that against the law? Is it "taking bonuses when you knew it was a house of cards"? Is that against the law? Don't they have to prove that the books were cooked and the value of assets were mistated. I guess you can easily find some liberal economists that can "prove' that. What about those who took bonuses and aided and abetted same at fnm and fre? Was that greed illegal? Will anyone suggest they, and the congress who supported them, knew it was a house of cards and put them away? I said all of this knowing that an obama victory will mean that wall street people will be put away and fnm and their people in congress will be let off the hook and we're heading down the socialist path of the new socialist party to which obama belonged. Will there still be an opportunity to profit? As in all socialist economies, there will, but gov't influence will be the key for most of it. Without help from a gov't giving you a competitive leg up, much harder. I suspect that people will be taking the buffet aproach where you find something that has long term potential and use an investment horizon and holding period of "forever", trying to eliminate cap gains taxes. The new wrinkle will be that it will be something where your friends in congress can help you out. That's my understanding of how to prosper in socialist economies; gov't help and never realize a profit. Bribes and payoffs don't hurt, either.
The best economic life in a socialist economy is to try and move up the bureaucracy. You may have to loan your wife out a time or two, tell Nancy how beautiful she is, but the kickbacks will be worth it. You will have a much harder time trading. You will be taxed more on every trade and then if you are good enough to profit, half of that will be taken. Between higher exchange fees, new trading taxes for speculators, and income tax, the gov'ts take will be about 60%. Good luck with that.
There will be currency controls in the US imposed by the next administration. Additionally, private ownership of gold will be made illegal again.
After the last major economic crisis/financial crash we saw the leftish New Deal coalition running things until the 80s. Funnily enough, the 1950s and 1960s were supposed to have been pretty damn good times for average Americans, if not for Wall Street and the ultra-rich. This crisis will lead to a new culture of frugality, shared sacrifice, taking care of your own, and sensible govt regulation. As traders our job might become harder but I don't think the government will kill it entirely. If they do, we can always move to the Caribbean. America is not done by a long shot. We might not be able to fight all the world's battles anymore or provide the defense force for every Western country, but as far as I'm concerned that's all to the good.
Nature (man) abhores a vacuum. The bold will step in. America is holding the beast back...whatever that beast may be.