Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Obama Bear Market, named for it’s cause.
“It’s the Obama bear market,” said Dan Veru, who helps oversee $2.8 billion at Palisade Capital Management in Fort Lee, New Jersey. “We don’t know what the rules are in so many different areas the government is touching.”
In all fairness, the market had been sinking long before Obama won the election, but looked to be turning a corner, maybe even establishing a bear market low, after November 20th. The market gained double digits after that day, then Obama started making his plans known, and Jimmy Carter II took it down another notch.
Traders continue to cite the Obama Administration’s plans as the primary driver of stocks — and while miracles cannot be achieved overnight, investors have been left wanting by what they’re interpreting as inaction or an effort, through additional funds provided to zombie institutions, to kick problems a ways down the road.
The stock market is a collective of our wealth and a predictor of the health of our economy. Barack Obama is making all the wrong moves and we are all paying for it.
Had we seen tax cuts and a simple shoring up of “safety net” programs, like unemployment insurance, social security and medicaid, already in place for times like these, we’d already be on our way to a recovery and the market would be reflecting that.
As it stands, the American people are getting all the things from Barack Obama that so-called extreme conservatives warned us about, and to which the media turned a blind eye and a tingling leg.
A massive and poorly-timed stimulus package that will have absolutely no immediate benefit to the economy, and a tax increase for Americans best positioned to pull us out of this recession.
So is the very real question of whether the $787 billion stimulus plan is sufficiently robust or properly focused. The new spending pathetically “repeats the mistakes that got us here,” says Robert Albertson, a principal at Sandler O’Neill and a former Goldman Sachs banker.
“After 18 years of record spending, much of it on credit, consumers must and will de-lever and save the next $1 trillion to $2 trillion of income. Only private businesses create job multiplication and true future spending power,” says Albertson. “That requires a savings and investment program, not a doomed spending program. The latter tact ate up the resource base for six years during the 1930s Depression, with little or no effect on unemployment.”
But Obama sees our would-be saviors, business owners, investors and risk-takers as the enemy. The market disagrees.
Earlier in the week, Bespoke Investment Group analysts observed that the Dow has never had this poor a beginning of the year in its history.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 20 percent since Inauguration Day, the fastest drop under a new president in at least 90 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
…and that is no coincidence.
“President Obama said Tuesday that he is not intently focused on the ‘day-to-day gyrations of the stock market,’ comparing the downward roller-coaster on Wall Street to the fickle nature of political polls,” the NYT reports.
” ‘You know, it bobs up and down day to day,’ Mr. Obama said. ‘And if you spend all your time worrying about that, then you’re probably going to get the long-term strategy wrong.’ “
You’ve already taken care to accomplish that Mr. President. The next falling index, sir, shall be your approval numbers. We don’t need Jim Cramer to tell us that.
…but I wish I could short them right now.
You mean an annual trillion dollar transfer of wealth to those politically connected to the Democrat party, isn’t good for the economy?
It does no harm to remember that three years ago Obama was the holder of a lifetime seat as an Illinois state senator from an urban district.
Their is nothing in his record that indicates he knows anything about economics. He is exactly what the right said he was.
If Obama’s poll numbers had fallen as hard as the DOW, he’d have thrown Michelle under the bus.
If Pelosi allows cap & trade to pass that will be worth at least another thousand points off the DOW.
Most Americans don’t understand the connection between legislation and the economy. Cap and Trade, Forced Unionization, new environmental orders issued this week, over zealous ADA enforcement, more requirements to what has to be covered under insurance, having a goverment employed “human rights director” sniffing around to make his job relavent, etc.
“Looked to be turning the corner?”
You self-deluding wingnuts have got to be kidding this time. This is not just another cyclical recession. President Obama inherited wrecked credit and housing markets simultaneously. Consumer spending, which was supported during the Bush bubble by irrationally inflated home prices and cheap credit, is crashing. And it’s bringing down much of the economy with it. Domestic new car sales down by more than half! Almost every car maker and financial institution is threatened with bankruptcy. Citicorp, recently the world’s biggest bank by market cap is now in the 150s. Its stock is close to being delisted. Massive layoffs in many different industries. And fear of more job losses is keeping everybody else from buying stuff.
Six weeks into Obama’s presidency and you kooks think it’s all his fault? Wishful thinking. Your guy screwed the pooch, hard and repeatedly. If Obama can keep the economy from sliding back into feudalism, he’ll have done a good job.
So, in your learned view, AC, there is no connection between 0bama’s announced economic policy and market trend?
All the factors Clown cites were already priced into the market. The market looks forward. I don’t think it’s all Obama’s fault, but what he’s proposed thus far is not helping matters.
Hey AC. Let us know exactly when this is his responsibility will you?
Obama’s responsibility began when he passed his budget over the ‘no’ vote of every republican in the house. Opened up his flank, stupid move.
Hey, AC, how much wealth will cap-n-trade destroy?
http://spectator.org/archives/2009/03/06/treasury-these-moments
“We have no one here. There is no leadership,” says another senior career Treasury official. “I’ve never seen anything like it. We have a secretary who seems to have no understanding of what his job entails, and no one in the White House seems to either know it or want to acknowledge it. We have people making decisions who shouldn’t be making decisions, and in positions where we should have people making decisions about our domestic economy, our banking system and our Wall Street recovery plan, we have no one. People should be alarmed by this, but no one seems to care.”
I hear AC’s office is not ADA compliant as he does not have brail on his restrooms doors, and one of the aisle is 3 inches too narrow for a standard wheel chair. $12,000 fine, plus a lawsuit. When he tried to correct it, he hired a non-union sign maker. Boycott cost him $22,000 in business. He had a garage sale, but sold an antique toy soldier that had lead in it. Under Obama’s new law, that is illegeal. Further fines and lawsuit. As a promotion to get some business back, he offered all new clients free “diago sandwiches”. City Human Rights compliance officer noted how racist that is and is fining the clown. New law requires said clown to cover mental health issues and to pay for abortions of employees. With increase in FICA taxes, he can’t afford that, so lays off 2 employees. Unfortunatly, clownboy picked the person of color and the 58 year old to let go. Both sued for discrimination. Meanwhile, city changed the building codes again, requiring $125,000 of upgrades.
Mr. D(umb) said: “All the factors Clown cites were already priced into the market. The market looks forward.”
You don’t suppose this moment in history might call for you to add a grain of salt to your “rational market” cant?
Lemme just make sure I have you wingnuts straight. Six weeks into the Obama administration, the president is responsible for all the problems in the econmy. Nine months into the Bush adminstration, Clinton was responsible for 9/11.
That’s what passes for logic in wingnut world. You can’t argue with stupid.
at the rate we’re going, we’ll have nothing but bare markets…
Lemme just make sure I have you wingnuts straight. Six weeks into the Obama administration, the president is responsible for all the problems in the econmy [sic].
No.
Again, I am saying he is responsible for making it worse when there are proven policies that could have been implemented by now to make it better.
And…the market agrees with me.
AC, the problem is the market is acting rationally to Obama’s plan to divert a trillion dollars from the market so it can be spent on stuff Nancy pelosi wants.
Al Qaida was responsible for 9/11. Are you one of them 9/11 truthers?
Bush could have done a better job of heading of 9/11. Banning Muslim males from airports, for example. Or setting up Roosevelt style internment camps. Or more realistically, could have started a massive domestic spying program. I would not have advocated this (well, maybe the spying). We now have a President who refers to “Profit to Earnings ratios”. If the markets had more confidence in Obama-Pelosi, the stocks would bottom out and slowly climb, in anticapation of a prolonged economic recovery that would probably start this summer or winter. Instead, investers see only doom. If stocks went up, I could sell some investments (as I had been planning to) and purchase a new American-built car. Intead, I am keeping my 10 year old one with 160,000 miles on it. UAW got Obama in office, therefore I can’t afford a car, causing UAW workers to get laid off.
Chuck, you can’t ask liberals to make sense.
It’s not in their makeup. They want a nation of peons, happy in their hovels, thankfully accepting the political and economic freedoms our masters allow us. One people. One party. One leader.
Chuck, you can’t ask liberals to make sense.
It’s not in their makeup.
Ha! Pun intended, right?
Clown.
Makeup.
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
Okay. I need a drink. See you at Keegan’s tomorrow night if I can wait that long.
Obama’s gonna change the world!!!
//Grampa, what was life like before the Obama Oligarchy?//
Another scathing critique of the Kingdom Of the Tax Cheat (aka Teasury), this time from a libertarian.
An excerpt:
http://meganmcardle.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/03/should_geithner_go.php
You don’t suppose this moment in history might call for you to add a grain of salt to your “rational market” cant?
I could pay attention to the actions of millions of individuals who are making independent decisions about these matters, or I could ignore all that and pay heed to an anonymous blog commenter. That is a tough choice….
“President Obama inherited wrecked credit and housing markets simultaneously. ”
Right, and what is the Prince of Assnozzles doing about it?
Well, each and every day when he sobers up from last nights party, he’s airlifting bales of cash to government, Democrat special interests and losers that bought three times the house they could afford.
While at the same time, he’s telling banks they’ve got to write new loans on top of the bad ones they’ve got.
And how is the market reacting to all of this “Bold Leadership”??
Clown? Clown Jr.? Bueller?
At the present rate of loss, by October it will be hovering around 0.
To hell with buying gold….I’m doubling up on lead.
I’ve never heard of this ‘rational market cant’ so I googled it. The first twenty hits that came up were liberal writers condemning the idea of a ‘rational market’.
So I guess the idea of a ‘rational market’ is liberal cant.
An efficient market is a different matter. Real economists have a theory about that. Krugman has probably never heard of it.
“”To hell with buying gold….I’m doubling up on lead. “”
Careful, Tom, it seems you have overdosed on lead already. Its really the only thing that can explain your behavior MUwhahahahahahaah PfffffffffffffftHAhahahahahahahaha
Flash
Must be disturbing when somebody chooses his own words, Terry. Rational, efficient – we can use whatever word you like. They’re not exactly the same thing, but close enough for jazz.
The efficient market theorist was walking down the street with a student when the student pointed out a $20 bill on the ground. “Aren’t you going to pick it up?” asked the student as the economist walked by. “Of course not. If that were a real $20 bill, someone would have picked it up already.”
The point, AC, is that ‘rational’ and ‘efficient’ are not the same thing. If you wanted to hire someone to kill me and I offered you the lowest price, that would be efficient, but not a rational transaction.
One of the many problems with the left is that they don’t call things by their true names. When they speak of making the market place more ‘rational’ they are talking about a way of determining a different value of a transaction than either of the participants. Values are subjective. Values are moral.
At least the right is honest about this. The left doesn’t like income inequality. Since where all are equal, no one is free, This is no more ‘rational’ than banning the sale of liquor or forbidding prostiution on the grounds of biblical morality.
“Six weeks into the Obama administration, the president is responsible for all the problems in the econmy.” Funny how that idea AC is trying to get across there does not apply when a Republican takes office. I seem to remember when Bush took over from Clinton, it was less time into HIS administration the DIM-O-CRATS were blaming economic woes on Bush.
Hey, apply the same rules equally to everyone. It is the definitions of fairness, unless you look at DIM-O-CRATS.
Next campaign, what do they do? Al Gore: “Everything that is down, should be UP! And everything that is UP should be down!” Unemployment was down when he said that, the DOW was up, and Interest rates were down, GDP was up. Need I say more? Oh yeah, at least they are being consistently biased. That’s it: “Right is wrong.” That’s what they say, but where’s the evidence? (Pun intended).
ie: Hey, your “damage report machine” is damaged. GET IT FIXED! Sheesh!
I know, I know, you keep cutting pieces off of it and it’s still too short! Go ahead and keep cutting pieces off of it Nobama. Keep it up! Yeah, and cut that pizza into six pieces, I don’t think I can eat eight!
The lunatics are in charge of the asylum! RUN FOR THE HILLS!
“Of course not. If that were a real $20 bill, someone would have picked it up already.”
“But Mr. efficient market theorist, the $20 bill fell out of your pocket!”
Dang, this is fun!
George Gilder writing in Claremont put it best:
What will matter, after all, is not whether President Obama approves of markets but whether markets approve of President Obama
(Via Powerline)