T, the Fed cannot buy stocks, of course. But they can make it awfully easy for firms to buy in their own stock to support prices. And, yes, Jim C. is his own handler. The saying that a man who defends himself has a fool for a lawyer may not be directly comparable, but relevant, nonetheless.
The main thing I remember about Gibbon was absolutely compelling prose and a general diatribe that the Roman Empire would still be with us if it wasn't for the rotten Christians. Since the eastern half of the Roman Empire, by far the richest and most important half, lasted until the early 14th century, I would say that the decline was very slow and should be looked at for examples of longevity and not for causes of its demise.
The funniest part, IMHO, was that neither The Roman Empire, Byzantium, as it was called later but not in its own day, nor The Holy Roman Empire included the city of Rome within their borders. Not that they didn't try, but the Popes were tough dudes back in those days and that was their bailiwick.
Also, Voltaire's comment that the Holy Roman Empire was neither Holy, nor was it Roman, nor was it an Empire, was only true in his day. Many times it considered itself very holy. And it was often a true empire. Under Frederick II, it comprised Germany, Austria, parts of France, parts of Italy, Sicily, Crete, the Kingdom of Jerusalem and a chunk of Poland. That sounds like an empire to me. Under other emperors it included Holland and Belgium, Tunisia, and sort of, Spain and Portugal. (The king of Spain and Portugal was also the Emperor, but they weren't officially part of the Empire).
Man, can I ramble on about this crap. <g> |
