Public

This new Martenson Report is ready for subscribers.

In it, I make the case the the recent action in the stock prices of banks, insurance companies and GE (really a financial company when you get right down to it) speak of a predicament that may be "Too Big to Save".

For the record, I think Obama seems a decent man and I am thrilled to have a president that can speak in complete sentences and does not have Dick Cheney as a vice president. All of these things are good and hopeful signs.

And it is good to finally see some heated debate erupt into this conversation about bailouts. It’s about time! If you are not taken aback by what is happening, you are not paying attention. A good, vigorous debate is exactly what is needed. Passions should be riled here.

There’s one thing in this discussion that I would like to set the record straight about. I have been a consistent and vocal critic of the bailout every step of the way. This spans a republican and now a democratic administration and you will not be able to detect any difference in how I approach my analysis of the policies of these adminstrations because that’s not how I work.

Folks, this is just not a partisan issue.

I don’t see this as a matter of “left vs. right”, but rather “right vs. wrong.”

A new Martenson Report is ready for subscribers.  It explores the connection between baby boomers, the stock market returns of the 1990’s, bonds, and the trade deficit to make the claim that even if we somehow "fix" the economy here and now, significant headwinds probably remain that will prevent a full return to "how things were."

Here’s part of the conclusion:

Most people cannot imagine a future any different from the present. For many people, the coming changes will bring unexpected shock, inconvenience, trauma, or worse. By thinking about these possibilities now and reshaping your expectations of the future, you will be far better prepared for the ride. Some people are already experiencing unexpected and perhaps unwelcome challenges in their lives due to the economic transition that is already beginning to play out. At this point, not many are expecting change to be imposed upon them, and even fewer have thought about where this change will carry them. But some have thought about it, and making even simple changes to how you think about the future can be…well, a sound investment.

There’s another Martenson Report ready.  I meant to have it posted and sent on Friday, but a technical snafu intervened and I was out of contact at Rowe so there it sat in the outbox…

At any rate, here it is.

The subtitle to this article is Bringing a Hose to a Flood

I’ll be honest, I was equal parts hopeful and doubtful that anything new would come out of Washington because, well, I’ve been watching the situation for a long time and nothing really “new” comes out of there very often.

In a stunning move today, the government offered to buy any and all bad investments out of the 401k portfolios of private citizens in an effort to “make them whole.” The idea, apparently, is that these bad investments are dragging down the economy by making individuals feel poorer and thereby perpetuating the financial crisis. The government is exploring ways to create a “bad portfolio” and exchange freshly borrowed cash for these troubled assets.

While losses may run into the trillions, the government has strong bipartisan support for quickly passing the necessary legislation, bending rules along the way if necessary, to accomplish the goal of taking bad assets off of the hands of private citizens.

Wait…What’s that, you say? I have the story wrong?

Let me check here.

Oops. I do have it wrong. My bad. It turns out the government isn’t going to buy your troubled 401k assets. 

Here’s the actual story.

Every so often an article will shed some light on what was going on while I was busy writing in the gloom of  semi-darkness.  I live out here in the cheap seats relegated to reading tea leaves, and squinting into the mist so it’s nice to get confirmation from time to time as to how close to, or far from, the mark I was.

Here’s an interesting article that just came out: