Thursday, January 28, 2010

More Of The Same?

TD at Zero hedge put it best, "Ben Shalom Bernanke reconfirmation now guaranteed. Sorry America - your senate has failed you. Enjoy the asset bubble and the coronation of the opaque US balance sheet as the biggest receptacle of toxic assets while you can - the next implosion will be the last." It will be the last. there can not be an exit strategy to get out from under the mountain of toxic assets they have accumulated. What is the best part? There is so much more toxic crap out there we either know or do not know about it really did not matter if they anointed Howdy Doody to run the Fed. End game is what it is. How did he get all of these votes you ask when apparently the public wants no part of him running the show anymore? Hypocrite Bernanke and his Political Pandering; Bernanke Buys Votes

The most disturbing news of the day is It's Official: Democrats Succeed In Pushing New Debt Ceiling To $14.3 Trillion Who wants to be a party pooper? We have bubbles to reflate! I guess this is where the new job stimulus is gonna come from? What, are they gonna subsidize employment? Will it be used to continue the short squeeze ramp job? Lord knows the PPT just got a huge shot in the arm. Bottom line is this is just another 1.9T (with a T) that WE have to pay back. The Debt to GDP ratio measures the financial leverage of and economy. Below 60% is good. So, if we are levered above 100%? This was the last straw.Chart from zFacts.com Learn more about Debt/GDP here.  

Denninger finally got on the MM issue with Money Market Funds: No Longer Safe I repeat this topic cause I want it drilled into your head. "Investors no longer can reasonably rely on daily liquidity for these funds as a consequence of this change.  While under normal conditions daily liquidity remains available it is precisely under abnormal conditions that an investor is likely to most need access to this money instantly, for example to meet a margin call or for other emergency funding requirements." They have taken away your right to get your money. Get it? 

In case you forgot we had "elevated" jobless claims again this morning. What gets ignored (unless ZH pushes Liesman to cover it as best he can) is any analysis inside the numbers (don't look behind the curtain). Mish is always around to help (he does some great stuff on Thursdays).  4 Week Moving Average of Initial Unemployment Claims Rises 3rd Straight Week "From the report, there are 5,350,477 workers on emergency benefits, and another 4,669,250 workers on regular benefits. Thus 10 million people are out of a job who want to work, and that does not count the number of people who have exhausted regular and emergency benefits. Recovery? Where?"

"I am not suggesting that anyone purposely altered the numbers — but when the goal is no longer objective reporting of info, these things happen. And when you can’t trust the front page of a paper to do basic math, you can’t trust ANYTHING in it." said Ritholtz at The Big Picture. Who can you trust these days?


Let's see how long it takes them to get that 1.9T back into the markets. I'll put the over under on a week (give or take 6 days) and remember, I have not called a top yet. Here's to a stimulus subsidized job coming to your place of business soon (whether they are needed or not). 


Take care.