Crystal Balls

From Business Week (the magazine): Some of the worst financial predictions for 2008 and you can see why: “1. "A very powerful and durable rally is in the works. But it may need another couple of days to lift off. Hold the fort and keep the faith!" — Richard Band, editor, Profitable Investing Letter, Mar. 27, 2008. 2. AIG "could have huge gains in the second quarter." — Bijan Moazami, analyst, Friedman, Billings, Ramsey, May 9, 2008. 3. "Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are fundamentally sound.... I think they are in good shape going forward." — Barney Frank (D-Mass.), House Financial Services Committee Chairman, July 14, 2008. 4. "I'm not an economist, but I do believe that we're growing." — President George W. Bush, July 15, 2008. 5. "I think Bob Steel's the one guy I trust to turn this bank around, which is why I've told you on weakness to buy Wachovia." — Jim Cramer, CNBC commentator, Sept. 15, 2008. 6. "Existing-Home Sales to Trend Up in 2008" — Headline of a National Association of Realtors press release, Dec. 9, 2007. 7. "I think you'll see $150 a barrel [of oil] by the end of the year." — T. Boone Pickens, June 20, 2008. 8. "I expect there will be some failures.... I don't anticipate any serious problems of that sort among the large internationally active banks." — Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman, Feb. 28, 2008. 9. "In today's regulatory environment, it's virtually impossible to violate rules." — Bernard Madoff, money manager, Oct. 20, 2007. 10. "There's growing evidence that parts of the debt markets...are coming back to life." — Peter Coy and Mara Der Hovanesian, Business Week, Oct. 1, 2007” THE WOMAN AT LEFT is saying something like "SAY WHAT?"

Santa Claus

Here’s a photo of Bernie – Bernie Madoff, that is. He looks in good spirits, though they say that at the time the picture was taken, he already knew he was in deep trouble. Looks can be deceiving, no? He could almost pass for a guy I met at the Detroit Yacht Club many years ago, when it still existed. Pretensions are among the most useless things around, except to a con artist. They say he used to be fastidious and obsessive – nothing but the best for him. I wonder if his family knew he was just a fraud – as fake as Santa Claus. Judging from this photo, he would probably have made a good Santa Claus. I don’t really know.

Lilli Ewing 3

Working out is hard to do - especially if you don't make a habit of it. Bobby Fischer (the late chess player) used to prepare himself for grueling chess matches by working out in the pool - swimming dozens of laps - and drinking lots of orange juice. One cannot be in good mental shape unless one is in great physical shape. A sound mind in a sound body, remember? If you find yourself in an obesity rut, do what Lilli Ewing does - work out and make it part of your routine. Would you like it if someone gave you a ten pound sack of potatoes and forced you to lug it around for no reason? If you are over your sensible weight, that's exactly what you're doing - burdening your body and your precious heart. Acai berries might help, too. I shouldn't be talking - I'm four pounds overweight. In case you are wondering - that's Lilli Ewing on the left - she lives in Seattle - champion bodybuilder.

Who knew??

A Congressional hearing into the workings of the S.E.C. is scheduled soon. People want to know how it was the S.E.C. failed to heed warnings about scammers on Wall Street. Were these smart people just duped??? I don't think so. I believe they chose to look the other way, just like Enron's auditors. Remember them (Arthur Anderson.)? Remember the Kansas City building inspectors and the New York City building inspectors who ignored problems in structures that later failed? Same thing. I once asked a CPA friend how it was that Mexico enjoyed such a high level of corruption in government if the books were audited? His response: "The auditors are in on it." OBVIOUSLY. This woman is looking the other way, but I'm pretty sure she's not an auditor.

Privacy

From a news story on the net: I had not heard about this wild idea: "PORTLAND, Ore. – Oregon is among a growing number of states exploring ways to tax drivers based on the number of miles they drive instead of how much gas they use, even going so far as to install GPS monitoring devices in 300 vehicles. The idea first emerged nearly 10 years ago as Oregon lawmakers worried that fuel-efficient cars such as gas-electric hybrids could pose a threat to road upkeep, which is paid for largely with gasoline taxes." Raising gas taxes is just too simple a way out of this dilemma. Everyone knows that cars cause most of the world's pollution. The real reason behind this lame idea must be to reduce the number of cars. Maybe soon, we'll hear someone say that people over a certain age shouldn't drive at all. The words "monitoring devices" scares the unholy sweat out of me.

Cuban Revolution

On January 1, 1959, Cuban dictator Batista was overthrown by Fidel Castro’s communist rebels. The scene is depicted in Marlon Brando’s famous movie – The Godfather. In the movie, Batista makes a farewell speech, says goodbye, then leaves. Political leaders who make a mess of things have a habit of just leaving – I hate to think what happened to all the subordinates Batista left behind. Anyway, that’s water gone past the Cuban shoreline and back. Now, the Cuban people are hoping the U.S. can reinstate normal relations with their island. That would probably boost not only the Cuban but the U.S. economy as well. I read somewhere that Cuba imports lots of processed chicken meat. I have no way of knowing – I don’t live there. In order to benefit from the coming change, I could buy shares in meat processing companies. I just hope the Cubans don’t all become vegetarians overnight.

Bargains

This is the first blog of 2009 so why not start with a topic that will no doubt be very popular this year? LIQUIDATIONS. Businesses are going out of business fast. When the time comes, they turn to specialists who get rid of inventory quickly. If you need to buy something right about now, you might be able to get good deals through these liquidations. You can either visit the stores yourself or you can try the internet. Some places to visit online: Redtagdotcom, Topperliquidatorsdotcom, liquidationdotcom, and (if you’re rich) Yachtauctionsdotcom. The art piece at left is not for sale, but if it were, I might offer $5,000 for it. Good luck.