Mini Barron's Review: The first good issue in a month of some days <G>: 1. Abelson nominates Kinky Friedman as the Democratic VP candidate. Methinks he forgets the lyrics so popular with feminists in the Democratic Party-"Women's liberation's gone straight to your head
Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in the bed." I bet Hillary could pin the skinny Texan 2 out of 3 times. Though he was pretty tough when he beat up the anti-semitic trucker in the bar in the song, "They don't make Jews like Jesus any more." And he would get my vote for my all-time favorite-"Waitress, oh waitress, come sit on my face. Eatin' ain't cheatin', so it ain't no disgrace,
hey bring me a Lone Star, Hell, make it a case,
And waitress, oh waitress come sit on my face." 2. Abelson moves straight from Kinky to sicko, with his discussion of employment gains, or lack thereof. He finds it funny that the totally wrong economists didn't quote the household survey, which they usually do when they're wrong this badly on the business and govt. sample. The household survey is nearly always a more positive #. Then he checks them and finds that we lost 265,000 jobs in Feb on the household survey, so that's a big whoops. Also, the time it takes to get a job after you've been shrink-wrapped hit a new 20 year peak (wasn't Bush's daddy VP 20 years ago?). 3. He slams Comcast as a negatively growing co with a negative net worth and debt that's increased by 400%. Any wonder why they want to take over Disney and get rid of its net worth and pristine debt rating?
4. Tax refunds are not a bonanza so far this year, as widely predicted.
5. An interesting piece on what to do when the Fed has to raise rates this year. Nice list of potential short industries. But, since I rarely short I-shares, I'll have to pick out the real losers on my own.
6. A fluff piece on Liberty Media.
7. A list of the top online brokers. Next week, a list of the least dangerous murderers. <G>
8. Always Republican flapdoodlelist Gene Epstein explains why the employment numbers must be wrong. It is a very funny exercise in counting angels on the head of a pin.
9. The guy who invented the magazine cover indicator (he's also an astrologer and general believer in animal spirits. In other words, how did this goof get into a supposedly serious financial rag. Wait a second. I forgot. He still has more credibility than Abby Jo and Joey Bagodonuts. <G>)
Anyway, he hates stocks and loves commodities and housing. Except for that last one, I'd be signing up for his lunar cycles course.
10. A great Market Watch: a. Financial Cycles Weekly mentions that the federal budget can "most charitably be called misleading." He thinks credit expansion has reached its peak, in which case, we are in deep doo-doo as a nation. b. Pravin Banker says the market hasn't factored in the upcoming Iraqi Civil War. Does he know Trotsky? <G> c. Ah, it is sad to make comments and have them hit print after you've been proven a fool. Happens to me all the time. Happened to Dan Prescott this week, who talked about the realization of the long-awaited good news in the jobs report. Uh-oh, ain't gonna sell too many newsletters off that teaser. d. Dickie Rhodes says production is outstripping consumption. I don't think that's positive, but I could be wrong. e. Dickie Salman blames Greenspan for S&P 500 pension funds having a $225 billion deficit. Uh, guys, that's why you don't index and take whatever the market decides to hit you with. Hire some smart pros to run these funds. Get rid of the current moron management asset allocation.
11. In Mailbag, Rohit Millstein rips the face off surpise side economists and their, in his words, but I concur, "plain silliness."
12. Asian Trader is the best thing in the rag this week, and it has often been so. Leslie Norton discusses how China is going to keep on growing and commodities head to the moon. Being long China and commodities, I've got to send her some roses. Nah, too cheap. <G> One Singapore trading co. mentioned that Panamex ships have risen in price to lease from $7300 a day in 2001 to $19,100 in 2002 to $40,200 a day in 2003. Who said that our deficit hasn't created jobs? They're just in places like Singapore and The Old Spice guy ain't likely to ship home soon. In the same column, Merrill says China's currency should be revised by one third vs. the Clownbuck. But they expect more like 17%. And a crunch on US inflation from the rise.
Next week, same Bat Channel, probably a different Bat time. |
