Politics and economics holding hands
May. 22nd, 2008 03:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdA front seat view of the train wreck - or really, two. The first section on Moody's de facto plan to plead incompetence on all hundreds of not thousands of bogus AAA ratings is a fun read (see also Jeff Macke's short commentary on why Moody's should be asked to justify its continued existence); so is the section below titled, "Don't Skimp On the Vodka; Buy the Good Stuff."
Sadly, Moody's isn't the only one pushing junk numbers. I've talked several times (including calling outright shenanigans) on Federal numbers over the last few years; MarketWatch is onto the Feds now too, which pretty much means everybody is catching on. This'll be a pretty big shift. It all goes back to nobody knowing what people really have, thanks to all the fudging, lying, and general hiding of losses and bad debts - such as FreddyMac declaring its insolvency to be "temporary" and pretending they aren't bankrupt. Congress and the Fed could force this issue, but the Fed has been part of the problem, and Congress isn't good for much of anything (as I've ranted repeatedly). All this has to be flushed out before we can get past this economic fiasco. Until then, we're going to keep getting things like this:
Remember those posts I've made about "jingle mail" and walking away from underwater mortgage loans? Meet Representative Laura Richardson (D-CA). And Nouriel Roubini joins the masses saying that the Countrywide-Bank of America merger will fail, and that Countrywide is the walking dead and should be shut down.
Locally, I'm less than thrilled with changes made to the Kenmore Village development plan. See comments I made here, and also a discussion here. If you're in or around Kenmore, I'd suggest making a few comments as well.
Here's an interesting article on potential for large-scale generation of electricity via wind power. You'll note they comment upon how there's no US requirement for energy generation via renewables, and this has really hurt US development of these technologies; you'll note on the other hand that here in Washington, there is exactly that, thanks to the initiative some of us worked to get passed in 2006. Go us.
The Stranger discovers the California anti-marrage fundamentalist movement saying that clerks issuing marriage licenses to queer couples is the same as Nazis gassing Jews, and the same as pressing black people into slavery:
For a little spice, here's your black swan opportunity of the day: is Mexico on the road to becoming a failed state?
And finally, stocks today were largely flat - up a little, but not much, in a very unstable day - but with another big bond selloff, with the bulk of the bond selloff coming during the market selloff in the morning. Wherever that money went, it wasn't the stock market. Still not close to enough to call anything a trend - we can't even think about that for a month or more, barring a treasuries panic - but it's not reassuring, either.
Sadly, Moody's isn't the only one pushing junk numbers. I've talked several times (including calling outright shenanigans) on Federal numbers over the last few years; MarketWatch is onto the Feds now too, which pretty much means everybody is catching on. This'll be a pretty big shift. It all goes back to nobody knowing what people really have, thanks to all the fudging, lying, and general hiding of losses and bad debts - such as FreddyMac declaring its insolvency to be "temporary" and pretending they aren't bankrupt. Congress and the Fed could force this issue, but the Fed has been part of the problem, and Congress isn't good for much of anything (as I've ranted repeatedly). All this has to be flushed out before we can get past this economic fiasco. Until then, we're going to keep getting things like this:
Remember those posts I've made about "jingle mail" and walking away from underwater mortgage loans? Meet Representative Laura Richardson (D-CA). And Nouriel Roubini joins the masses saying that the Countrywide-Bank of America merger will fail, and that Countrywide is the walking dead and should be shut down.
Locally, I'm less than thrilled with changes made to the Kenmore Village development plan. See comments I made here, and also a discussion here. If you're in or around Kenmore, I'd suggest making a few comments as well.
Here's an interesting article on potential for large-scale generation of electricity via wind power. You'll note they comment upon how there's no US requirement for energy generation via renewables, and this has really hurt US development of these technologies; you'll note on the other hand that here in Washington, there is exactly that, thanks to the initiative some of us worked to get passed in 2006. Go us.
The Stranger discovers the California anti-marrage fundamentalist movement saying that clerks issuing marriage licenses to queer couples is the same as Nazis gassing Jews, and the same as pressing black people into slavery:
Ask your county clerk if they were a Nazi officer during WWII and had been ordered to gas the Jews, would they? At the Nuremberg trials, they would have been convicted of murder for following this immoral order. And should have states obeyed the 1857 Dred Scott decision designating black slaves as "property," not "persons"? Abraham Lincoln reacted with disgust to the ruling and was spurred into political action, publicly speaking out against it. Several state legislatures essentially nullified the decision and declared that they would never permit slavery within their borders, no matter who ordered them to do so. Likewise, the ruling to destroy the man-woman definition of marriage should not be obeyed.Oh, and McCain endorser fundamentalist Rev. John Hagee - whose support Senator McCain actively sought - said in the 1990s that Hitler was doing God's Will. Oh, and that the Jews brought it on themselves. That's on top of all the other stuff, like how the Catholic Church is the Whore of Babylon and queers caused Hurrican Katrina and are evil in all the usual ways fundamentalists like to say. Oh, look, now McCain is rejecting the endorsement. Very timely, Senator. By the way, have you seen this new thing called FM Radio? It has better sound quality even than your 78s.
For a little spice, here's your black swan opportunity of the day: is Mexico on the road to becoming a failed state?
And finally, stocks today were largely flat - up a little, but not much, in a very unstable day - but with another big bond selloff, with the bulk of the bond selloff coming during the market selloff in the morning. Wherever that money went, it wasn't the stock market. Still not close to enough to call anything a trend - we can't even think about that for a month or more, barring a treasuries panic - but it's not reassuring, either.
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no subject
Date: 2008-05-23 12:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-23 11:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-23 08:59 pm (UTC)McCain continues to flounder about and look completely out of it. It's surreal in a way, watching him sink into the mud like Frankenstein's monster. I can always hope he'll drag some of those mummified husks with cold blooded air in their veins with them.
Mexico. Wow, kind of scary and worrisome. Imperial hierarchy gets undercut by Jabba the Hutt. I'm still assimilating that one. Thanks for cluing me in, I'm a gunna be watchin' that one.
Nice on the wind power. It's so easy to forget things can happen when people stop atomizing and get fusing. Totally encompassing to the max!
- Paul
no subject
Date: 2008-05-23 10:16 pm (UTC)Sorry.
Just when I was wondering if the three mile island coolant pumps had started to get ahead, you give us a 3D real time diagram of the molten core eating through to the basement concrete and spilling into the accessways like the Blob.
Oh my this isn't over. I think you can argue that last week were at the end of the beginning, as Sir Churchill might say, but what you saw in the stock market was a bear market rally, not a turnaround. The markets are so very very far away from reality right now that it's truly crazy. P/Es are outrageous - and when you see numbers that aren't insane, if you check them, you'll find that some people are marketing "market P/Es" that are only the P/Es of profitable companies. Sorry, that's called lying.
Nice on the wind power.
I have tremendous hopes for wind power. Also for something called cool-water hydrothermal, tho' that's useful more for those of us near coasts. But we need to get on it.