The Economy Guy

Yesterday, the market was up 1 point, and today it was down 1 point.  Everyone is going to sleep.

Yesterday, the 10 year Treasuries were up 0.03%, and today they were down 0.03%.  Snore, snore, snore.

The Dollar was awake, and lost almost 2 cents today against the Euro.

Oil and gasoline are setting new near term HIGHS right now, as oil passes $70/barrel.

Gold moves sideways.  Is this is end in the pullback in Gold?  We’ll see.

In the news today…..

The Treasury has allowed 10 big banks to repay their TARP funds.

This act has sewn the seeds of the destruction of the Democrat Party.

Let me explain.

1. After all the push-back from the Treasury that “greater” capital is needed by these banks, and they must raise MORE than the amount indicated by the “stress tests,” the Treasury caved and accepted the repayment.  Why??
2. My explanation is that the banks are running the Treasury.  Geithner is “one of them.”  
3. Geithner comes from Goldman Sachs, and was the former head of the New York FED bank.
4. Geithner is the guy who allowed the money to go to AIG – only to be paid in bonuses and directly to Goldman Sachs ($13B) and Deutschebank ($12B).
5. The US public doesn’t trust the Congress today, and doesn’t trust big government much more than Congress.  Obama appears immune to criticism by being protected by the press, but Geithner has no such protection.
6. These same banks will be coming back to Congress, hat in hand, for more money when the next shoe drops.  What is that shoe?
7. First, there is the upcoming increase in home foreclosures that will look awful in December of this year.
8. Next, there is the Commercial Real Estate meltdown that is happening right now.
9. Next, there is the ever increasing credit card default problem.
10. Next, there are the toxic securities still being held by the banks – with no escape clause yet agreed.
11. and Last, there are the artificially low interest rates being provided by the FED which are artificially providing profits to the banks right now.  What happens when the FED must raise rates?
12. And, when will this happen?  Well before the next Presidential election, and perhaps before the next Congressional election.
13. Oh, by the way, whatever happened to the idea of not “exposing” the weak banks by identifying the strong banks?   Now Citibank, Bank of America and GMAC are all KNOWN to be bloody weak.  This is a moral hypocrisy of the current Treasury Secretary.
14. Oh, and another time bomb.  What happens with this $68B payback money?  Does it go back to the taxpayer – where it belongs?  Hell NO, according to Geithner – he considers it his private slush fund that he can use to go bailout the next troubled enterprise – perhaps States, Cities, newspapers, radio stations, TV stations – anything that would help with the next election.  The American public are NOT STUPID.  They will rise up, at the ballot box, and state their true feeling about this type of treatment.  TARP money was originally directed to purchase those toxic assets – but NONE have ever been purchased.  This is also a moral trust issue – where is Congress.

When these same banks come back to Congress for another handout, the public will see clearly that they have been duped.  And, they know where they can strike back – the ballot box.  We are seeing the ballot box being used by most citizens in Europe to throw their existing governmental representatives out.  The left leaning Europe will look much more “right” than the US soon.

I’m not going to predict who replaces these Democrats currently in power.  The Republicans have a lot of economic blood on their hands – after all, it was the Republicans who allowed this economic meltdown to happen in the first place.  It could be a collection of centrist Democrats, Republicans, Independents, etc.  We’ll see.  In most cases, I hope the guilty are punished by banishment back home.

Here are the last numbers for today:
Dow Jones 30 Industrial – 8763 (down 1 points)
10 Year Treasury Bond – 3.86% (down 0.03%)
Euro – $1.4071
Gold – $955 (up $2)
Oil – $70.01 (up $1.92)
Gasoline $1.97 (up $0.03)