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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (807)	6/27/2002 9:57:51 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

<< suspect 50 companies in S&P500 deceive like ENE, WCOM /jw>> jw: I suspect that number may be a little high BUT there may be more Enrons out there. I also have a hunch that Bush doesn't clearly understand how folks on mainstreet feel. IMO, if his administration does not take SIGNIFICANT action to prove that Corporate Execs will be held accountable then they will be voted out of office. Tough decisions will have to be made. New budgets and resources will need to be allocated to the SEC and to The Justice Dept. Bush needs to tell Ashcroft to move ahead to vigorously prosecute the Ken Lays and the Bernie Ebbers of the world...We need to see BIG FINES and PRISON TERMS...Confidence in our system must be rebuilt. Right now the average person on main street doesn't trust CEOs, Wall Street or folks in Washington.

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (807)	6/27/2002 10:06:09 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Brazil's debt load could lead to crisis by late 2003 By Mark Wilkinson WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) - Brazil's heavy debt burden could lead to an economic crisis by the end of 2003 unless it is restructured as part of a sound economic program, an economist at the Institute for International Economics said on Thursday. Morris Goldstein, an economist at the Washington think tank, said that Brazil could not sustain its net debt for long, a heavy burden which represents more than half of gross domestic product in the largest economy in Latin America. While an economic crisis of Argentine proportions was not a short-term probability, he said that the Brazilian government should push ahead with sound economic policies while simultaneously restructuring its debt to avoid defaulting on its obligations. Were the debt burden to be ignored, the country could sink into a crisis by the end of 2003, he said. "When you have a high debt ratio you're more likely to be on the edge of trouble even if recent behavior has been good," he said during a a presentation at the Institute for International Economics. And Brazil's behavior in managing its economy has in fact been recognized as good. The International Monetary Fund earlier this week praised the country's "outstanding" economic track record and said that the government's commitment to sound economic and monetary policies was "impressive." A vote of confidence also came from the Group of Eight that was convening in Canada on Thursday, as Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said that the G8 had faith in a "positive outcome" in Brazil. The nation's strengths, Goldstein said, also lay in an efficient floating exchange rate, "sensible" monetary policy of targeting inflation, "concrete signs of a sound fiscal policy," and the absence of capital flight, which plagued Argentina. But in spite of solid monetary and fiscal policies and support from the international community, Brazil still faces serious hurdles, so big in fact that the country has eclipsed Argentina's recent monopoly of the front pages of newspapers business sections. Equity markets slid steeply this year and investor confidence faded, in part due to the electoral crisis ahead of the October presidential elections and questions about whether the next government will be able or willing to manage the country's large debts. THE ELECTORAL QUESTION Left wing presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's topping of the polls worried foreign investors, as the country's currency hit record lows, giving the central bank very little scope to ease monetary policy. Last week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill played his part in hammering the battered real by saying that "throwing the U.S. taxpayer's money at a political uncertainty in Brazil doesn't sound brilliant to me." A senior White House official said Wednesday that O'Neill's comments had been misinterpreted. "The economic fundamentals remain strong. The political uncertainties are political uncertainties, but economic fundamentals remain strong," the official said. Goldstein, however, said that the fundamentals were not as strong as in 2000, when the Brazilian economy grew at an annual pace of 4.5 percent. Last year, the IMF estimated, Brazil's economy only grew 2.0 percent. However popular Lula is in the polls now, he is not guaranteed a sure victory in October as Brazil's uncertainties could very well play in favor of the governing coalition, said Riordan Roett, a professor at Johns Hopkins University. "Brazilian voters are not particularly ideological, but rather practical," he said. "There's a great deal of risk and a great deal at stake." But while uncertainties in the political sphere remain, Goldstein stressed that "this is not the whole problem by any means." Exports remain low, syndicated loans to Brazilian companies have been scaled back, and investment confidence from member countries of the G7 is "poor" due mostly to turmoil in the Middle East and trade tensions. The country's "turbulent neighborhood," as Goldstein dubbed the region that comprises Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela, was also a potential danger as all these countries "are in varying degrees of trouble." ((Mark Wilkinson, Washington newsroom 202 898 8322)) REUTERS * end of story *

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (807)	6/27/2002 10:08:14 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 89467

21:02 ET House passes debt ceiling hike : The House of Representatives passed a $450 bln increase in the debt limit, which will now go to the President for his certain approval. The market has at times reacted to debt limit news even though there was never any question that a hike would be passed - Congress has no choice but to increase the debt limit as failure to do so would result in US default on its debt and financial chaos. The only issue is the magnitude of the hike, though even that isn't particularly important as the budget process determines the size of deficits or surpluses, not the debt limit.

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (807)	6/27/2002 10:25:38 PM
From: SOROS	Respond to of 89467

Haven't you heard? WCOM is the LAST company with fraud-type news! This is the standard line being broadcast, and at least tonight, the lemmings in Japan are believing it. I suspect they will be able to fool the American sheep as well for a little while. Every time I think I've seen the ultimate example of human gullibility and stupidity, another one tops all the previous. For people to think that ENRON, WCOM, IMCLONE, TYCO, etc. etc. etc. are simply the odd-men out is ludicrous. Examine the evidence of the late 1990's -- companies paying huge salaries in stock options, analysts pumping the stocks in collusion with the corporation heads, money being passed over the table with no conscience, regulations being dismantled to allow the fraud to go on pro-forma ad nauseam, IPO after IPO being used to steal billions with known lies, Greenspan slipping the bubble word at Dow 6000 or so and then deliberately hiding and covering up this "mistake". I could go on forever with this, but the point is -- anyone who thinks WCOM is atypical rather than VERY, VERY typical is a complete moron! To allow themselves to listen to BROKERS and STOCK-TOUTERS once again concerning this fraud is deserving of NO sympathy when they lose everything. I am so sick of the crooks on wallstreet getting away with murder. I am so sick of Greenspan having free reign to simply print money and create more and more debt to extend the ponzi scheme. I am so sick of the government passing laws to extend ponzi schemes like social security -- you have to participate in this fraud even if you see the fraud for what it is. One way or the other, they will get your money. But the time finally comes when debt gets out of control -- when there just aren't enough new sheep to keep the fraud going --- when outside forces make spending rise exponentially to upset the whole apple cart. The wipeout can't happen fast enough for me. They would be able to delay it by coordinated lies, but I think an event they can't control will hasten the truth's final outcome --- what a shame. I remain, SOROS