The Economy Guy

Stocks moved sideways today, after its massive gains for the past week.  Bonds lost some interest (rate) by losing some value.

Oil and gasoline moved sideways, as did the Dollar.

Gold gained, and have you been noticing the recent rise in Gold?  It’s great to see it happen.  Is this a run to $1000?  Don’t know, but I think it’s too early to have that happen.  I expect that in September.

In the news today…..

Goldman Sachs – bought back their warrants for $1.1B.  Those are the warrants that WE got for lending them that TARP money that they previously paid back to us.  Did we get a fair price for those warrants?  Who knows?  The Treasury did the negotiation, and used a mathimatical model to determine the actual value.  That model has been criticized by Congress as undervaluing those warrants.  So, did Goldman – the darling of the FED and the Treasury – get a sweet deal???

Healthcare – the battle of the year is on.  The President will pitch his dream for universal healthcare tonight.  Will he be able to answer all his critics who say it costs too much, and won’t do what he promised it would do?

Congress is up to its eyeballs in trying to get consensus.  But, they are failing.  The President has shown no leadership in this bill.  He has left it to Congress to work it out.  There are 3 different versions of a healthcare bill floating around Congress today.  No one has read them, and no one knows what they mean.  No one knows what they cost.  As a history lesson in leadership, when President Clinton tried to pass healthcare (or was that Hillarycare?), the President sent a fully written bill to Congress to pass.  Where’s the leadership in the White House?

Who is writing the bills floating around Congress?  Well, from the information that I can get my hands on, it looks like the healthcare industry (our favorite lobbyists) are writing the passages.  They are putting things in there that YOU will hate, as it will make them rich.  For example, one well hidden clause says that if you get a medical condition from a medical condition that is being treated, the new problem WON’T be paid for by healthcare.  Think about this for a second.  This is crazy.

I’m bringing this up because some of the plans being proposed will bankrupt our country.  It’s important for all citizens to be aware.  Here are my recommendations:

1. Insist that your representative read any bill BEFORE voting on it.
2. Insist that your representative give up his Congressional healthcare plan, and use the new healthcare plan.

That should piss all politicians off.

Here are the last numbers for today:
Dow Jones 30 Industrial – 8881 (down 35 points)
10 Year Treasury Bond – 3.55% (up 0.08%)
Euro – $1.4214
Gold – $953 (up $6)
Oil – $65.40 (down $0.21)
Gasoline $1.84 (up $0.03)