Greenspan speaks, again

Rolling thunder started a thread on this. Age of Turbulence is the title. Only, yours has more, uh, stuff Sorry RT

I just heard about this, and WOW is this going to turn the G.O.P on their heads....

Oh my gods.

Bring on the popcorn.

No doubt, Greenspan doesn't want to be remembered as a crewmember on the Republican economic ship, which is taking on a lot of water.

I dunno... Is he really saying anything we haven't already acknowledged?

I mean, that's 0-2, Greeny.

"The mortgage market is in big trouble."

"Republicans really blew it."


Um, you think? How's about your predictions for the '06 World Series next?

Bird of Prey said:

No doubt, Greenspan doesn't want to be remembered as a crewmember on the Republican economic ship, which is taking on a lot of water.

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Old people always like to jump ship when they sense the end is near.

Making amends and all that crap.

And why didn't he say something at the time?

"HEY...I THINK WE'RE SPENDING TOO MUCH MONEY AND WE SHOULD STOP."

That's brave. That's a patriot. That's his job.

After the fact......

.....weak.


Still love ya, AG.

Or like ya at least.

billythrilly7th said:

Old people always like to jump ship when they sense the end is near.

That's just normal behavior for someone who realizes the consequences of "Oppps, my bad."

Making amends and all that crap.

He did what his handlers wanted at the time.

And why didn't he say something at the time?

Because he wanted what every person in power wants "more time" before mortality overtakes their greed and sensibilities.

"HEY...I THINK WE'RE SPENDING TOO MUCH MONEY AND WE SHOULD STOP."

Ever have a woman say that to you before?

That's brave. That's a patriot. That's his job.

After the fact......

.....weak.

But not unexpected.

Still love ya, AG.

Or like ya at least.

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Not difficult to like the man when your pocket is filled with gold from his experiments.

SpookyWriter said:

Not difficult to like the man when your pocket is filled with gold from his experiments.

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I have rusty pennies in my pockets. With a little bit of goo muck on them.

But I hear ya.

billythrilly7th said:

I have rusty pennies in my pockets. With a little bit of goo muck on them.

But I hear ya.

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Be careful, I heard that Lincoln was a sucker for the theater.

dclary said:

I dunno... Is he really saying anything we haven't already acknowledged?

I mean, that's 0-2, Greeny.

"The mortgage market is in big trouble."

"Republicans really blew it."


Um, you think? How's about your predictions for the '06 World Series next?

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Indeed.

His questionable forecasting abilities related to economics suggest one would do well not to exactly take as sage words anything he says about the GOP or the Iraq War. It's 2007, pal -- this is not a heroic position you're taking now.

I think BoP says it pretty well.

New York oil price hits record high 81.24 dollars 17 minutes ago



LONDON (AFP) - The price of New York crude hit a new record peak above 81 dollars Tuesday ahead of a US interest rate call and as traders fretted over US energy supplies in the winter season.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, surged to an all-time high of 81.24 dollars per barrel in early morning deals.

The contract later stood at 80.85 dollars, which marked a gain of 28 cents from Monday's close.

In London on Tuesday, the price of Brent North Sea crude for November delivery eased 11 cents to 76.87 dollars per barrel.

"The fundamental backdrop is that inventories are falling fast," said Barclays Capital analyst Kevin Norrish. . . .

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/2007091...70918122351;_ylt=At0uDiw3Re.w4r2RXVbIEiSFOrgF

We are in big trouble here folks. A meaningless war and still no preparation for the inevitable. The American engine should be running on something else beside oil. When I think of all the money wasted to line a few pockets, it makes me sick.

Fed rate cuts today? Any predictions from Greenspan or anyone else?

Quarter point not enough to spur growth?

Half-point drive too much inflation?

MattW said:

Fed rate cuts today? Any predictions from Greenspan or anyone else?

Quarter point not enough to spur growth?

Half-point drive too much inflation?

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They can't cut anything, Matt without serious trouble on the other end. I mean we've got inflation as it is.

We've got a tiger by the tail here.

Bird of Prey said:

They can't cut anything, Matt without serious trouble on the other end. I mean we've got inflation as it is.

We've got a tiger by the tail here.

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That's nonsense. You really need to learn something about these things before you make such categorical statements:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/sto...x?guid={0CB837B5-8C62-4B24-95F5-F6289EFCE2E6}

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHgCCeeyxaoM&refer=home

OPEC'S export capacity to fall - Driving oil prices to US$100 barrel in 2008, forecasts leading oil economist at global energy conference

OPEC, Russia and Mexico export capacity to drop 2.5 million barrels a day by 2010
September 17, 2007: 08:00 AM EST


CORK, IRELAND, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - CIBC - Oil prices are likely to hit US$100 a barrel by the end of next year as soaring rates of domestic oil consumption in the world's leading oil producing nations cuts into their export capacity, forecasts the chief economist at CIBC World Markets.

Speaking at the 6th Annual Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas conference in Cork, Ireland, CIBC World Markets chief economist, Jeff Rubin told delegates that the export capacity of OPEC, Russia and Mexico will drop by 2.5 million barrels per day by the end of the decade. . . .
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/TO12517092007-1.htm

Fresh debate on crude oil price
By KATHY FONG

PETALING JAYA: The spike up in crude oil prices to a high of US$80.36 per barrel last week has sparked fresh debate on the forward trend of crude oil prices.

Will the fossil energy price hit US$100 per barrel or retreat from the peak in the near future amid the patchy global economic picture?

Goldman Sachs Group Inc yesterday raised its year-end oil price forecast to US$85 per barrel from US$72 previously and it warned of a “high risk” of a jump above the US$90 level.

The financial group said the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) pledge to increase production in November was “too late, too little.”

Lord Ron Oxburgh, former chairman of Shell, had forecast that the price of oil could hit US$150 per barrel with oil production peaking within the next 20 years. . . .http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/9/18/business/18918494&sec=business

As Peter Pan returns, will buyers stick by it?

Cox News Service

ATLANTA – Peanut butter put Linda Moore of Dalton, Ga., in the hospital for three days in March, an unsettling experience she swears will keep her from ever eating it again.

Pat Allen of Fayetteville, Ga., doesn't buy peanut butter anymore either, but only because she hasn't been able to get her favorite brand since February.

Between those camps lie millions of other customers, ones that ConAgra Foods hopes to woo back to Peter Pan as the spread returns to store shelves this week. ConAgra recalled the peanut butter in February after it was linked to a salmonella outbreak at its Sylvester, Ga., plant that sickened 628 people.

Loyalty to peanut butter starts young, whether it's a preference for the slightly sweeter taste of Peter Pan, introduced in 1928, or the nuttier flavor of Jif.

But in a year marked by product recalls, including tainted spinach and canned chili sauce harboring a paralyzing toxin, will wary consumers embrace Peter Pan again?

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...-peanutbutter_20bus.State.Edition1.87031.html

Peanut butter sales 'good'

by Susan McCord


SYLVESTER — Sylvester grocery stores are among the first in the area to return Peter Pan peanut butter to consumers, six months after a worldwide recall of ConAgra’s popular sandwich spread.

It couldn’t be soon enough for peanut butter lovers in the small city where, until the recall ground production to a halt, every jar of Peter Pan was made.

“I went to Harveys (Tuesday) and bought me a jar,” said Peter Pan devotee and downtown Sylvester businessman Pearson Golden.

“They were down to two jars of the creamy so I bought one of them. I took it home and made me a good strawberry preserves and peanut butter (sandwich). That’s what I put on my bread.”

The peanut butter tastes just like it did six months ago, and much better than an off-brand, “the worst-tasting stuff” that Golden tried during Peter Pan’s six-month exile, he said.

The product is flying off shelves at Sylvester grocery stores.
Snipes Piggly Wiggly assistant manager Larry O’Neal said the 100 cases of both creamy and crunchy the store got in last week are moving fast.

http://www.albanyherald.com/archives/News/2007/front082307c.html

maestrowork said:

I think they'll cut another 1/4 point. When, I won't tell you.

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It better be today at 2:15 EST, or the market is gonna get angry...

Central bank policy-makers cut rates by half of a percentage point to 4.75%.September 18 2007: 2:23 PM EDT


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower its target for the federal funds rate 50 basis points to 4.75 percent.

Economic growth was moderate during the first half of the year, but the tightening of credit conditions has the potential to intensify the housing correction and to restrain economic growth more generally. Today's action is intended to help forestall some of the adverse effects on the broader economy that might otherwise arise from the disruptions in financial markets. . . .http://money.cnn.com/2007/09/18/news/economy/fed_statement/index.htm?postversion=2007091814

What a house of cards.

Bird of Prey said:

What a house of cards.

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You keep opining such things, and yet you really have no basis for your conclusions. It's a fascinating process.

Dollar Drops to Record Low Versus Euro as Fed Cuts Half Point

By Min Zeng and Bo Nielsen

Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar fell to a record low against the euro after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by a half-percentage point to 4.75 percent, the first reduction since 2003.

The Dollar Index against six other major currencies sank to the lowest since September 1992 after the Fed lowered its target rate for overnight loans between banks by the most since November 2002 on concern that the worst housing slump in 16 years and increased borrowing costs for companies may threaten economic growth. Most analysts predicted only a quarter-point cut. . . . http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601083&sid=a7NG3GMLEJdQ&refer=currency


. . . .If people are allowed to believe that the all-powerful US government will always be around to bail them out of their bad investment decisions, it will create a perverse incentive to make ever riskier and riskier investments.

Eventually, so much capital will be invested in so many risky and non-productive investments that not even the Fed will be able to save them, or the financial system as a whole, when they fail.

Economists call this dynamic the "moral hazard" argument; our students, taught it in Economics 101, probably believe it right up until they actually go out into the real world and get their first job.

If this employment is in the field of investment banking, they soon learn that they are now inhabitants in a dimension where hard money trumps amorphous morality every time.

That's why the moral-hazard/no-cut crowd are going to be thrashed this Tuesday. For allied against the morality sticklers are the forces of Weltanschauung - the way things are now.

The entire market rally off Dow 12,450 has been based on the market's expectation of a rate cut.

If Bernanke does do a John Gait or Howard Roark and stands up for the dangers of moral hazard by not cutting, well, maybe Ayn Rand wrote sunny Hollywood endings, but the current carnivorous media culture will not be so generous.

A Fed meeting that produces no cut could easily lead to a 1,000-point Dow selloff in the 105 minutes between the announcement and the close of trading on Tuesday. . . . http://edstrong.blog-city.com/bernanke_will_cut_interest_ratesbailing_out_the_privilege.htm



House of cards.

Just which walnut shell is that damn pea under, anyway? Let me guess . . .

caw