Norm the Fed-up

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  • Where's the Bottom? Still Anybody's Guess
    Smart man, Lloyd, smart man. The best article I've ever read at this site. Excellent, excellent, work.
    Sep 24 08:18 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • How Does Barron's Move the Market?
    Felix, I find you one of the most sensible writers on this site. I wrote the following response to a Michael Shedlock article this morning and just transferred it to your site. I don't know if this helps answer your query, I'm just one more small voice in the wilderness. I usually disagree with Michael. I've found him to favor the negativity of what's going on and it's disturbing because, again, there are too many out there on the verge of panic seeking a direction, and more importantly, a reason, to run. And in their panic, they are knocking down and stampeding over those of us who have decided to stand and fight. The current mess with Fannie and Freddie are a perfect example. They were "recovering" (and I frankly use the term loosely) over the last week or so. Some Barron's genius decided they are going down the tubes and the "panicked," let's call them the wildebeest, are off and running again, dragging down the entire market and eroding millions of people's net worth. According to Merrill Lynch, the "analysts," and they have just a FEW of them themselves, are only right 44% of the time. That means they're WRONG 56% of the time, yet they drive the markets...and the wildebeest. Fannie has a $2 billion auction tomorrow, it will be a disaster. If the auction had been Friday, no problem. But now it's Wednesday, post-Barron's, and they'll get crushed. Why? One person's opinion. That is ludicrous. Keep it up folks, the doom and gloom about Fannie and Freddie and all the dire forecasts are about to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Again...why?...because the analysts, who are right less than half the time....are scaring the wildebeest. Let the panic and stampede begin. It's gonna be a rough ride. I used to be a millionaire. Not after yesterday. Good luck to all of us. With so many "geniuses" out there, we're gonna need it.
    Aug 19 08:52 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Options Trader: Friday Outlook
    Phil, nice work. Just one additional voice in the wilderness screaming that assets may be worth less, not worthless. One of my current favorite lines. This market is driven by fear and downright panic, now, it's time for the little guys to run for the hills and make room for those who REALLY know what's going on. To put something into perspective that you said comparing $7 billion of Citi's dollars (sure it's a big number....but...read on) to $2 TRILLION in assets: if you had $100 in your pocket, wouldn't you pay $.35 to get the government off your back??????? So let it be with Citi...et al.....thanks, again.
    Aug 11 11:40 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Corporate Fraud + Government Intervention = Bailout Nation
    ...oh,...almost forgot....author, I've never seen agreement with an article to this degree. And by highly intelligent, articulate and LITERATE participants. Also unusual. Again, nice work and I applaud those of you who commented. Nice work, too.
    Aug 06 08:55 am |Rating: +1 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Corporate Fraud + Government Intervention = Bailout Nation
    Jim: outstanding, outstanding, outstanding. There's nothing I like more than a little venom with my breakfast. I, unfortunately, agree with EVERY point you've made and as a senior living off of mainly financial preferreds (down about 20% at this point by the way which is a NOTABLE improvement over where I've been in the last month or so), I believe you've hit the nail on the head. However, and not to disagree but to add a little more wood to the bonfire, I also go along with Catoelder, above. He's making the same point I've made for about a year now. Here's the scenario: the moron couple who are living paycheck to paycheck with a zero net worth and (need) TWO incomes to support their "lifestyle" of Mercedes and BMW, drift into their local bank to buy an incredibly inflated $800,000 house on an interest only ARM with no money down. Their intent and thought: "...don't worry about tomorrow or building equity, I'm living the good life today." $5,000 a month mortgage, $1,000 a month in taxes = $72,000 off the top of that two income family. One loses his or her six figure job, and they're in BIG trouble. Now throw in the "unforeseen distant possibility" that the house price would actually DECLINE (God forbid) or that the ARM monthly payment would actually go up (by DEFINITION), multiply this by about 10 million additional morons, throw in a generation of greedy unregulated banks, and you've got a disaster waiting to happen. Welcome to the day care generation, folks. Their parents went to work to save for the extravagant retirement that their untaught, irresponsible children have just taken away from them. I'm digressing. Again, author, nice piece. Catoelder, smart man. Good luck, we're going to need it.
    Aug 06 08:49 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • 25 Ways to Tell a Banking System Is Unsound
    Thanks Matty, I thought so, too! I guess it all boils down to the effect that comments like these have on the "great unwashed masses" who are currently involved with pennies in the market. Someone above commented about being down $1100. Try $100,000 a day.....all because of commentary that designed to frighten and impress...journalism's version of "shock and awe." I'm tired of it but I'm one very small voice in a very large and noisy wilderness. Thanks for the kudos and have a great day.
    Jul 24 09:22 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • 25 Ways to Tell a Banking System Is Unsound
    Mike, I, unfortunately, agree with much of what you've said.

    There's a but.....you, like all the other doomsayers continue to throw numbers around that are, indeed, impressive, but only tend to cloud the issues and reinforce your own arguments.

    Case one: "There is roughly $6.84 Trillion in bank deposits. $2.60 Trillion of that is uninsured. There is only $53 billion in FDIC insurance to cover $6.84 Trillion in bank deposits. Indymac will eat up roughly $8 billion of that."

    Are you implying that ALL of the $2.6 trillion in uninsured deposits are at risk? Well you are and of course they're not. So don't even use that number. If 1% of those deposits are at risk, that's $26 billion. There's enough money to cover twice that much in FDIC according to your numbers.

    That's only one example. I could go on.

    I'm, frankly, not going to take the time to argue every point you make. It's fruitless and I DO agree with SOME of them. But I'm really tired of you and your ilk using huge numbers to predict an apocalyptic scenario that is very unlikely to take place. Yes, Fannie and Freddy have $5 trillion in mortgages or whatever on their books. So what???? Again, the vast, vast, vast majority of that indebtedness is with people like you, me, and your readers. We pay our bills. For those that don't, won't, or can't, well, then the rest of us have to carry the burden. THAT will NEVER change.

    But the bottom line is: stop sensationalizing a situation that doesn't need to be sensationalized. Give us real numbers that count, use facts that aren't distorted, and stop screaming doom and gloom. We're resilient.

    Let me equate what your kind is doing with a hopefully mythical example in your own life: "Y'know Mike, your wife leaves the house every day for at least eight hours.....that's an average of 250 times a year....that's a lot of guys for her to be sleeping with.....are there really that many motels in your neighborhood...?" Reality check: she's very, very, very likely to be at work.

    Grow up and cut the crap.
    Jul 24 08:41 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article

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