And dig this, "Furthermore, we are now convinced that Goldman will join the government in facilitating the engineered market swoon with a bifurcated goal: while the Treasury will take advantage of a sell off to offload as many UST as it can in the rush for safety (which could backfire now that Gold is increasingly seen as a dollar alternative), Goldman (with or without Warren Buffett - it depends on what the actuarial tables say) will jettison its own stock price in order to go private in an increasingly hostile world."
After a brief discussion I had today with someone "in the know" (yes, I know those people), that person stated that last week we were "within hours of a global financial meltdown" and narrowly avoided a total disaster. We were "closer than ever before" and "the EU may be the first domino to fall". That sat as bad in my stomach as the cafeteria food I had eating with my kids at school today. I don't think it is any secret that we're in a world of hurt and it is only a matter of time before it all falls apart. We can't backstop the world can we?
On to the news -
Glad things are getting back to normal - Back To Normal: Insider Selling Outpaces Buying By 58 To 1 - "Notable dispositions included Bill Gates selling $85 million worth of MSFT, Roger Pensky dumping over $100 million, and Juniper Chairman Scott Kriens selling $12.5 million worth of JNPR stock."
Did someone mention a bad number? BLS Seasonal Adjustments Gone Haywire; 11% Unemployment Coming by May? "However, unless the administration can pull a kangaroo out of a hat, those BLS seasonal distortions will fall on the hard rocks of reality, real jobs, by real people, as opposed to figments of imagination from some very imaginative people at the BLS." Trim Tabs takes 'em down.
"This could become very interesting, and not in a good way, either." - Bank Securitization Woes Only Beginning
Mike Farrell's "less than optimistic" outlook must see video - THE TUG-OF-WAR BETWEEN PRUDENCE AND IMPRUDENCE
Washington has What Do Rising Sovereign Credit Default Swaps Mean? "Other commentators fear that the PIIGS' crisis has as much potential as a financial "contagion" as the subprime meltdown and the failure of Lehman." Plus a post from David Rosenberg is in here. I think the PIIGS are the key catalyst.
That is enough for tonight. Headed to draft my coach pitch baseball team (6-8 yrs). Wish me luck!
Take care.(Sorry bout the formatting - its a Google thang)
