Republican Congressmen
Take Bribes from Corporate Plutocracy
Labeled “Campaign Contributions”
Label Bribing Foreign Officials “Bribing Foreign Officials”
Enable Plutocracy Stuff
Support Other Rich People Stuff
Oppose Everybody Else’s Stuff
Democratic Congressmen
Take Bribes from Corporate Plutocracy
Labeled “Campaign Contributions”
Label Bribing Foreign Officials “Bribing Foreign Officials”
Enable Plutocracy Stuff
Oppose Other Rich People Stuff
Support Everybody Else’s Stuff
President
Keep the Missus Happy
Fresh Ghetto Fruits and Vegetables
Corporate Plutocrats
Create Chaos
War
Rancor
Civil Unrest
Financial Disarray
Overpriced Knicks Tickets
Loot the Company Salary Pool
Pilfer Stockholder Shares
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Don’t you say a word. They’re secret.
July 29, 2011
July 27, 2011
AA Treasuries
In case any of our readers missed it, a guy at Fallutin National Bank estimates that the cost of maintaining the Federal debt would jump by as much as 70 basis points were the credit rating on Treasuries to drop a notch to AA from AAA. That's around $100 billion a year on the $14.3 trillion ceiling they're all trying to raise. Though the interest rate hike would only effect new offerings and the cost of maturing obligations upon rollover, investors would take an immediate hit in market price.
Once the full impact settled in, this ratings cut would reduce the $2 trillion budget savings one of the two dunderheads expects to get over the next decade by substantially more than $1 trillion every decade, adjusted for compounding, decade in and decade out.
Most disgusted observers, including ours here at The Post, feel that the rating change would reflect a dramatic deterioration in the quality of governance, not the numbers, and expect it to happen whether the ceiling gets bumped up or not. Most of that disgust reflects the stupidity of aligned voters hell bent on returning these morons to office no matter now ridiculous this thing gets.
Once the full impact settled in, this ratings cut would reduce the $2 trillion budget savings one of the two dunderheads expects to get over the next decade by substantially more than $1 trillion every decade, adjusted for compounding, decade in and decade out.
Most disgusted observers, including ours here at The Post, feel that the rating change would reflect a dramatic deterioration in the quality of governance, not the numbers, and expect it to happen whether the ceiling gets bumped up or not. Most of that disgust reflects the stupidity of aligned voters hell bent on returning these morons to office no matter now ridiculous this thing gets.
July 26, 2011
Hullabaloo
The way our ruling class of corporate elites kneads politics to prevent the central political issue of our time from getting identified, let alone addressed, is downright Satanic.
The minions are skimming our shares. Pilfering a little here and a lot there every business day for more than 30 years now has transferred all the money your family had in the stock market on December 31, 1980 from your pockets into theirs. And it’s still going on.
These gangsters own the media, so you don’t hear about this there. Washington is bribed with “campaign contributions”, and our paid-for politicians just keep making things worse.
As for the debt ceiling falderal, that’s simply another deception, the latest in a continuing stream of nonsensical illusions, trick pitches designed to take your eye off the ball.
Hey, anything to keep the National Consciousness preoccupied for a month.
All that’s going on in this country today is the theft of the electorate’s family savings through equity compensation racketeering, and the electorate is too math-challenged to realize that, let alone do something about it.
Forget the hullabaloo. Vote them all out in 2012.
Every stinking one.
The minions are skimming our shares. Pilfering a little here and a lot there every business day for more than 30 years now has transferred all the money your family had in the stock market on December 31, 1980 from your pockets into theirs. And it’s still going on.
These gangsters own the media, so you don’t hear about this there. Washington is bribed with “campaign contributions”, and our paid-for politicians just keep making things worse.
As for the debt ceiling falderal, that’s simply another deception, the latest in a continuing stream of nonsensical illusions, trick pitches designed to take your eye off the ball.
Hey, anything to keep the National Consciousness preoccupied for a month.
All that’s going on in this country today is the theft of the electorate’s family savings through equity compensation racketeering, and the electorate is too math-challenged to realize that, let alone do something about it.
Forget the hullabaloo. Vote them all out in 2012.
Every stinking one.
July 22, 2011
Iconic Multinational Behemoth Theme
The iconic corporate behemoth thrives on bad times. While its earnings get chopped along with everyone else’s in an economic downturn, behind the numbers this typically beloved colossus is busy repositioning itself at the expense of smaller, weaker competitors. Fortified with rock solid finances, superior management, a winning business model, brand loyalty that can border on adoration - to wit, Harley-Davidson and John Deere - any behemoth worthy of icon status is a voracious bottom feeder.
The recent Global Financial Apocalypse dredged the iconic behemoth investment theme to the surface once again. When the ensuing depression ended, it was thought, these guys would be emerging fatter and healthier than ever. The added multinational touch was new this time, sprung from a spate of political insanity hitherto unseen in America. First, there was the spectacularly irresponsible Republican fiscal agenda, fighting wars on tax cuts, leaving the nation with a deficit the symbolic size of Mount Rushmore. Concurrently came the remarkably clueless Democratic push to manipulate the nation’s financial institutions into lending money to people without any money. It became tough to see how any large company could go much of anywhere only doing business in this beaten, punchdrunk country.
Caterpillar reported second quarter 2012 results before the market opened today. In the earnings release, Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman indicated why the argument for investing in multinationals has been going the iconic multinational behemoth’s way for almost three years now.
“Economic activity and our business in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, CIS and greater Asia are robust …. While we expect moderate U.S. economic growth, we believe a lack of confidence in the business climate is the major impediment to a stronger recovery and job creation. Lack of clarity on a U.S. deficit reduction plan, trade policy, regulation, much needed tax reform and the absence of a long-term plan to improve the country’s deteriorating infrastructure do not create an environment that provides our customers with the confidence to invest. We’re confident that as a country we’ll eventually get it right, and we’re positioning Caterpillar to be ready when we do.”
No one could’ve put it any better.
The recent Global Financial Apocalypse dredged the iconic behemoth investment theme to the surface once again. When the ensuing depression ended, it was thought, these guys would be emerging fatter and healthier than ever. The added multinational touch was new this time, sprung from a spate of political insanity hitherto unseen in America. First, there was the spectacularly irresponsible Republican fiscal agenda, fighting wars on tax cuts, leaving the nation with a deficit the symbolic size of Mount Rushmore. Concurrently came the remarkably clueless Democratic push to manipulate the nation’s financial institutions into lending money to people without any money. It became tough to see how any large company could go much of anywhere only doing business in this beaten, punchdrunk country.
Caterpillar reported second quarter 2012 results before the market opened today. In the earnings release, Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman indicated why the argument for investing in multinationals has been going the iconic multinational behemoth’s way for almost three years now.
“Economic activity and our business in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, CIS and greater Asia are robust …. While we expect moderate U.S. economic growth, we believe a lack of confidence in the business climate is the major impediment to a stronger recovery and job creation. Lack of clarity on a U.S. deficit reduction plan, trade policy, regulation, much needed tax reform and the absence of a long-term plan to improve the country’s deteriorating infrastructure do not create an environment that provides our customers with the confidence to invest. We’re confident that as a country we’ll eventually get it right, and we’re positioning Caterpillar to be ready when we do.”
No one could’ve put it any better.
July 21, 2011
The Presidential Missus
Less than three years ago, financial Armageddon, wrought by reckless, myopic, political ninnies strong-arming the mortgage industry into financing houses for people who don’t buy houses, brought down the civilized world and Iceland, not to mention our common stock portfolios. Now Mrs. Blatant Umama announces that she has strong-armed businesses into bringing fresh fruits and vegetables to people who don’t buy fresh fruits and vegetables.
Who knows how this reckless, myopic political ninny did it, but companies like Wal-Mart and Walgreens as well as some we never heard of will now be selling where no company has sold before.
When will we ever learn?
The MacDougal Post again calls for the immediate impeachment of Blatant Umama as well as the publication of that Princeton thesis, or whatever it was, written by the missus, purportedly warning us voters about this kind of calamari before it ever had a chance to start hitting the fan.
God only knows how this one is going to end.
Who knows how this reckless, myopic political ninny did it, but companies like Wal-Mart and Walgreens as well as some we never heard of will now be selling where no company has sold before.
When will we ever learn?
The MacDougal Post again calls for the immediate impeachment of Blatant Umama as well as the publication of that Princeton thesis, or whatever it was, written by the missus, purportedly warning us voters about this kind of calamari before it ever had a chance to start hitting the fan.
God only knows how this one is going to end.
Modern Warfare
A couple of nights ago, some TV correspondent covering the battle for Tripoli reported that he was embedded with rebel forces in the battle zone. Seven Arab rednecks in a Dodge pickup formed up with three more pickups - two Fords and a Chevy - and their Arab rednecks, and headed for a rocky hilltop tucked below higher rocky hilltops in the distance. One of our Arab rednecks pulled out a grenade launcher, a second helped with the ammo, and the two attacked Tripoli while everyone else stood around with automatic weapons dangling from one hand, and smoked cigarettes and watched.
At least we assume it was Tripoli. All you could actually see in the direction they were shooting at from our rocky hilltop was the higher rocky hilltops in the distance. Then another grenade launcher team ambled into action, and you could tell from all the body language with the automatic weapons and the cigarettes that the rebels were really bringing it now.
TV guy lamented that NATO wasn’t coordinating their aerial support with the Arab rednecks on the ground, so rebel forces couldn’t get out every day, but it didn’t look like these rebel forces were too worried about anybody shooting back this time.
According to the NATO website, member countries spent slightly more than $1 trillion on defense in 2010. The Arab rednecks supplied their own attack vehicles and got the weaponry for free, looting it from some stockpile.
We counted more troops - though mainly vets and more than a few reservists - at last November’s annual church Turkey Shoot here in Logano, Tennessee.
Maybe the boys ought to take Tripoli this year instead.
At least we assume it was Tripoli. All you could actually see in the direction they were shooting at from our rocky hilltop was the higher rocky hilltops in the distance. Then another grenade launcher team ambled into action, and you could tell from all the body language with the automatic weapons and the cigarettes that the rebels were really bringing it now.
TV guy lamented that NATO wasn’t coordinating their aerial support with the Arab rednecks on the ground, so rebel forces couldn’t get out every day, but it didn’t look like these rebel forces were too worried about anybody shooting back this time.
According to the NATO website, member countries spent slightly more than $1 trillion on defense in 2010. The Arab rednecks supplied their own attack vehicles and got the weaponry for free, looting it from some stockpile.
We counted more troops - though mainly vets and more than a few reservists - at last November’s annual church Turkey Shoot here in Logano, Tennessee.
Maybe the boys ought to take Tripoli this year instead.
July 19, 2011
Heinie and the Japs
Sticking with iconic behemoths has been one investment theme that’s made sense to us since the latest financial apocalypse. Limiting one's efforts to multinationals is another. Domestic outfits tie an investor to the devastated US single family housing market, a seemingly bottomless pit, as well as our financially sinking ship of state and the potentially catastrophic inflationary and currency ramifications there.
Coca-Cola (KO) and Bank of America (BAC) both reported second quarter 2011 operations this morning. Their contrasting results bolster the multinational argument. KO boosted operating income by 15% over the prior year, with slow, dependable volume growth most places, plus burgeoning increases in a few (China +21%), and benefited from a notable currency push. BAC lost something under $9 billion on volume that fell 54% year-to-year because of yet another “one-time” charge, this one-timer apparently related to a lawsuit over bundling worthless paper together and saying that bundling somehow entitles worthless bundles to an AAA rating.
KO management pointed out that their company has been increasing shareholder value slowly and steadily for 125 years. BAC hasn’t said much of anything we’d want to pass along for almost 3 now.
Clearly, The American Dream has proven to be fiction, the mortgage contract merely this creepy device that lets you, in effect, rent from the real homeowner, one’s bank, during good times, and grab the price appreciation then too. When things sour, however, you walk away, sticking that real homeowner with a waning asset until time or taxpayer bails the moribund institution out.
Both Great Depressions have shown us that.
If history offers any clue about BAC’s future, remember this. We pulled out of the 1930’s by shipping our unemployed overseas to get shot by Heinie and the Japs.
KO or BAC represent both sides of the iconic multinational behemoth argument. That’s going well now for the iconic multinational behemoths, but what will the future bring?
Is it about over for KO, comparatively speaking? Will BAC finally hit bedrock somewhere around here?
The decision is up to you.
Coca-Cola (KO) and Bank of America (BAC) both reported second quarter 2011 operations this morning. Their contrasting results bolster the multinational argument. KO boosted operating income by 15% over the prior year, with slow, dependable volume growth most places, plus burgeoning increases in a few (China +21%), and benefited from a notable currency push. BAC lost something under $9 billion on volume that fell 54% year-to-year because of yet another “one-time” charge, this one-timer apparently related to a lawsuit over bundling worthless paper together and saying that bundling somehow entitles worthless bundles to an AAA rating.
KO management pointed out that their company has been increasing shareholder value slowly and steadily for 125 years. BAC hasn’t said much of anything we’d want to pass along for almost 3 now.
Clearly, The American Dream has proven to be fiction, the mortgage contract merely this creepy device that lets you, in effect, rent from the real homeowner, one’s bank, during good times, and grab the price appreciation then too. When things sour, however, you walk away, sticking that real homeowner with a waning asset until time or taxpayer bails the moribund institution out.
Both Great Depressions have shown us that.
If history offers any clue about BAC’s future, remember this. We pulled out of the 1930’s by shipping our unemployed overseas to get shot by Heinie and the Japs.
KO or BAC represent both sides of the iconic multinational behemoth argument. That’s going well now for the iconic multinational behemoths, but what will the future bring?
Is it about over for KO, comparatively speaking? Will BAC finally hit bedrock somewhere around here?
The decision is up to you.
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