This Week's Market Roller-Coaster
(Conspiracy Nation, 01/28/08) – Foreign investors are nervous. They have funneled large sums of money to the Hillary Clinton campaign. At this point, their bets appear to have gone sour. In Asian markets, declines are heavy early this morning. Hong Kong was down 4.7 percent at mid-day. The Shanghai Composite Index was down 5.5 percent. In reaction, U.S. stock futures are also down, indicating a possible further retreat on Wall Street.
But Ben Bernanke of the “Federal” Reserve, actually a privately-owned institution, stands guard with his “Bernanke put.” This is the same as an earlier “Greenspan put,” a presumed guarantee to bettors on stocks. Bernanke is shoveling wheel-barrows of cash into the furnace to keep the fire going.
Foreign investors in the Bill & Hillary campaign also have been stoking the furnace. Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) from Asia and the Middle East, secretive like hedge funds, are providing “an unprecedented injection of funds” to keep fueling the bonfire. (“US recession will dwarf dotcom crash,” by Edmund Conway. London Telegraph, Jan. 28, 2008)
But Middle Eastern investors are balking. Why should they waste more money on Hillary Clinton after her rout in South Carolina? In response, Ms. Clinton has ordered strong-arm collection agent George W. Bush to apply pressure. “Terrorism fighting” (bill collecting) is set to escalate in the Middle East.
And even if Hillary Clinton loses big on the Feb. 5th super-primary day, backroom politics at the Democrat convention could find a startled Barack Obama shoved aside. Foreign investors in American politicians can also feel calm about Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) member-in-good-standing John McCain being the “opposition” anointed one. It is “business as usual,” wealthy donors are being assured.
Something called “monoliners” are also apprehensive. The mono-liners are companies which insure bonds. They are similar in ways to Ben Bernanke, who insures the stock market. But who will insure the insurers? A “bailout of the bond insurers” is under consideration. (“Monoliners may make financial crisis a whole lot worse,” by Roger Bootle. London Telegraph, Jan. 28, 2008)
Hillary Clinton's campaign is likely to be bailed out in other ways, too. Womyn (spelled without “men” to denote independence) may begin withholding sex from hubby and others. Kotex napkin dirty tricks are considered likely.
As to the overall economy, taking the long view Bootle (op. cit.) foresees a Japanese situation in the U.S. It will not technically be a recession, since growth would be at about 1 percent per year. So that would let Ms. Clinton off the hook about fixing things. But really a 1 percent growth rate lasting for years is much worse than a negative growth rate lasting only two quarters (half a year). As in Japan previously, we are looking at a “lost decade,” suggests Bootle.
To end on a positive note, some excellent no-cost programming languages are available (Perl, Tcl, Python). Instead of vegetating during the “lost decade,” retreat into the mathematical realm. Avoid drugs. Get high on mathematics.
Conspiracy Nation
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