Global Market Commentary, Analysis and Investments
Sign of the Times, Part 1: Federal bailout spending now exceeds the inflation-adjusted cost of World War II, according to our friends at the Independent Institute.
Senior Fellow William Shugart says World War II cost $3.6 trillion, but the bailouts now top $4 trillion. That's actual money out of the taxpayer's pocket, as opposed to the $12.8 trillion “lent, spent or guaranteed? figure you run across from time to time, a chunk of which might eventually be repaid.
[Read more...]Just two business days after our post titled “The War on Small Business,? The Washington Post publishes an article headlined, “Small Businesses Feel Squeezed by Obama Policies.?
[Read more...]Just when it looked as if the baby boomer retirement picture couldn't get any worse, it did. The number of workers making “hardship withdrawals? from their 401(k) plans hit a record during the second quarter, according to Fidelity.
A hardship withdrawal is something you take when you're still working and still on the company plan… provided you can prove to the IRS you're having a genuine “hardship.? 62,000 Fidelity 401(k) account holders took that step during Q2…compared to 45,000 in the same period a year ago. Ouch.
[Read more...]Gold is sitting tight at $1,212 this morning. It popped up from $1,200 yesterday the moment that first-time jobless claims numbers came out…and hot money fled for safety.
So what's the outlook from here?
“If history is any guide,? says US Global Investors chief and Vancouver favorite Frank Holmes, “gold is about to get even more attractive because we are heading into the fall and winter gift giving season.? The Muslim holy month of Ramadan is just around the corner… followed by India's Diwali festival, Christmas in Europe and the Americas and then Chinese New Year.
[Read more...]Sometime early next year, the Obama administration will propose how to revamp the US mortgage market. Next Tuesday, the White House will hold a “summit? on the issue.
It's safe to guess that none of the invitees will suggest the government should simply get the heck out of the mortgage market…so this morning, we're left to speculate which options are more likely to be tried, and to tease out the resulting investment implications.
[Read more...]US households are piling into municipal bonds. The household sector accounts for 80% of all flows into munis over the last three quarters, according to the Federal Reserve's flow of funds report.
Of the $2.8 trillion in municipal debt currently outstanding, households hold $1 trillion. And that doesn't count what they hold indirectly through banks, insurance companies, mutual funds and so on.
[Read more...]For weeks, the question has lingered: Now that the Fed is following through on its promise to stop buying up shaky mortgage-backed securities, what will the powers that be do to prop up the housing market next?
This morning, we have our answer, direct from the White House. And rest assured, youre on the hook for some of it. The details in a moment… First, lets step back and take stock of the governments efforts to date.
[Read more...]Public opinion polls are a dime a dozen. But put a few of them together, and an interesting picture starts to emerge…
Lets start with the one that hits like a two-by-four: 79% of Americans polled by Fox News and Opinion Dynamics believe its possible the US economy could collapse. Republican, Democrat, independent doesnt matter, the majorities are overwhelming.
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Government Bailouts By Design
One question surrounding the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protest is “Why now?” In part, the “corruption” is complex and hard to articulate. Here’s one valiant attempt:
[Read more...]This was a real sign seen recently at the OWS protests…