I guess it's true what they say about assume. I assumed that the banks and brokers who received money from me and you to save themselves would not be allowed to create more CDS obligations. If that doesn't happen fast, we have thrown our money down a rat hole.
One thing I absolutely agree with is that the market and the country can live without the mega brokers. Yes, it will hurt the IPO market for awhile, but not for long. It will soon recover with new issues not selling for many times their real value, but at real value or below. And there will be the occasional Google that has enough horsepower to command huge prices without even using an underwriter.
Let's see, what else do the mega brokers offer? Research. Oh, yeah, we need those Jack Grubmans out there. Not all research is bad, but there is really nothing these guys are allowed to know that you can't find out directly from the company. And as far as picking stocks goes, get outta here. Even Cramer is better than the Street analysts.
So, if you want low commissions, go to a discounter. If you want somebody experienced to guide you, go to H&R Block or Raymond James. Nobody has to go to Merrill or Morgan Stuckup.
So, clean up and clean out this cess pool of worthless debt instruments and let the chips fall where they may. A couple of the national giants will probably survive. The CEOs may be riding around in Boston Whalers instead of yachts, but a Whaler is a lot of fun.
And definitely clean it up before asking me for more money. |
