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#1
05-08-2007, 12:22 PM
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GRisk,
That's an interesting chart....Bascially from the end of Clinton on the dollar has weakened. A rally here and there, but the decline is staright down....Notice the high popularity of Bush was b/c of September 11th. It makes sense that a terroist event would lead to an increase in strength in the dollar. It is a "safe haven." But less so than ever before. Last month when tensions between Iran and Britain were high the dollar did nothing at all. Oil went up, but the dollar just sat there.... Even more interesting is that some countries are starting to buy oil off the open markets in Euros. That's unheard of. If the world moves away from the U.S. as its currency of choice for things such as oil pricing, the spillover effect is fewer dollars held in foreign banks....The point to this whole thing is that the rest of the world is tired of our collective shopping spree in this country and can put an end to it in a heartbeat if they want to. If China sold 10% of their U.S. reserves, the dollar would drop another 15%....Keep taming that tiger Fed Reserve. B/c the rest of the world has us by the balls when it comes holding our debt. 
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#2
05-08-2007, 12:50 PM
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Interesting points you make. Do you have any idea what each penny increase per gallon in gasoline prices really costs? Or what the cost of a 2 trillion deficit war policy costs? Or what the collapse of the housing market costs? Some do. Some don't. After seeing Queen Liz and the Smirker at last night's "white tie affair"...shucks...."Let them eat cake." We're screwed! So are our kids, and theirs, and theirs. Good luck!
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#3
05-08-2007, 01:00 PM
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From Minyanville Today: (an excerpt)
"1. Give the Consumer Credit You have to give the consumer some credit. No, seriously, you have to. Because that's apparently how they're paying their bills. Consumer borrowing increased in March by the most in four months according to the Federal Reserve's Consumer Credit figures. Consumer credit (non-mortgage loans) to individuals increased $13.5 billion, or 6.7% at an annual rate, to $2.425 trillion, the Fed said. Economists were expecting a more modest increase of $4 billion. Use of revolving credit, primarily credit cards, rose at a 9.2% pace in March. That was up from a 2.9% growth rate in February and was the biggest increase since November. Perversely, this is good news for the economy because it shows consumers are willing to do whatever it takes to keep on paying their bills and buying stuff, even if it means turning to higher interest credit cards. According to the Associated Press, consumer borrowing is a sign of "resilience." "Consumers boosted their borrowing in March at the fastest pace in four months, showing resilience in the face of rising energy prices and a painful housing slump," the Associated Press reported. While using the term "resilience" to describe a jump in consumer borrowing largely made up of credit card debt itself violates most tenets of logic, that was only the beginning. "Consumer spending is indispensable to a healthy economy," the AP rightly said. Then the article followed the "consumer showing resilience by borrowing at the fastest pace in four months" observation with this: "The economy grew at an anemic 1.3 percent pace in the January-to-March quarter, the weakest in four years." So consumers "showed resilience" by borrowing at the fastest pace in four months... while the economy grew at its slowest pace in four years? Huh? We don't think this is resilience at all. It's desperation. " http://www.minyanville.com/articles/print.php?a=12773
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#5
05-08-2007, 03:01 PM
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Sometimes the dollar weakens and it has nothing to do with domestic factors. It happened in the mid and late 90's mostly due to the very high growth of the Japan and European economies, especially Germany. It's a different part of the world these days, but the concept is the same.
And when the dollar is strong, it's not correct to generalize that's 100% positive. When the dollar is hot, it makes it more difficult for US corps to compete in foreign markets. With increased globalization of world economies, this tempers the effect of a weak dollar. A weaker, or weakening dollar also make US investment more attractive to foreign markets. It's hard to generalize. But I do agree that it makes a lot of sense to be increasingly invested in certain foreign markets and in securities of US firms with larger exposures to foreign markets. I have no idea why people save so little in the US. With all the bills people have to pay it's insane they do not pay themselves first (savings). I don't get it at all.
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#6
05-08-2007, 03:21 PM
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I also think the worst day's work Reagan ever did was deregulating the credit card industry. As soon as the credit industry no longer had a maximum amount of interest it was permitted to charge people, we got barraged with credit card offers galore with late payment rates comparable to that of loan sharks. I have a friend who got slapped with a 30 percent interest rate on her oustanding balance because she was late witih ONE payment. And of course, the Republican-led "Bankruptcy reform" of a few years' ago made it much harder for people to declare bankruptcy. Over half of people who declare bankruptcy do so because of a medical situation that, because of our f*cked up health system, drains them of any and all assets. So, we have a society told every day we have to spend spend spend (hell, it's what Giuliani told New Yorkers to do the day after 9/11. No kidding. "Go shopping" was his response to what we should do) and a credit industry that makes it just about impossible for people with limited financial resources to ever get themselves out of debt.
__________________
Gentlemen! We're burning daylight! Riders up! -Bill Murray
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#7
05-08-2007, 04:42 PM
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It's not up to anyone other than each individual to choose their own course. If you get sucked in by every commercial on tv or radio then you should watch no tv or listen to no radio. I would never agree that aside from being born into poverty that someone's problems are of the cause of/can be solved by some other than themselves. Don't go blaming Reagan for deregulation of credit cards. It's not true! The bill -- "Depository InstitutionsDeregulatory Act" (or something like that) -- was passed during Carter's term and Carter signed it into law. It was not Reagan. PErsonally, I think Reagan's worst day was when he signed the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which birthed Agri-business as we know it at the expense of the family farm. Last edited by SentToStud : 05-08-2007 at 04:54 PM.
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#8
05-08-2007, 06:42 PM
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And you know that guy making $18,000 a year because he wasn't born to a rich family who could put him through school who gets cancer? It's his own damn fault for thinking negative thoughts that gave him cancer. His kid? Eh, it's her own damn fault for being born to a guy who's going to die and leave her. He had no business having children if he wasn't rich. Kids are only for rich people. B, I do believe in personal responsibility- if you have sex without a condom and you get someone pregnant who doesn't want to abort, you should pay child support, for example. But I also understand that life happens- people who aren't rich get sick, or get in accidents, or believe a government that tells them the air down at the WTC is perfectly safe two days after the buildings fall. And credit card companies are there to offer borrowed money to handle life's problems and then there to insure that you'll never, ever get out of debt once you start borrowing from them, because they make sure not to tell you what happens if you miss payments or are late, except in very, very small print. Over half of people who declare bankruptcy do so because of a MEDICAL SITUATION. Explain to me how leaving their survivors in debt the rest of their lives because they got cancer is fair because hey, it's their personal responsibility. What would you have them do? Kill themselves before they get too sick so their families don't have to go into the poorhouse? Do they deserve to live the remainder of their lives in agony because they can't afford medical care and it's their problem? Is this what you are saying? Rich people can get their illnesses treated and f*ck the poor and their families because they don't have money to pay for health care or for an emergency fund that's of any use? Is that what you're saying? B, I have a dear friend whose husband lost his job in fracking Buffalo, which is not known for its excellent employment opportunities, right after she had a child. Wasn't his fault; the business was failing and he was let go. Despite her being employed full time, they were $27,000 in debt within a year-and-a-half and I can tell you, they have NOTHING. They were using credit cards to buy food, not movie tickets. And their debt soared because of the g*d*mn fact that the credit card companies can change the interest rate they originally set up with you because you're late with a payment and they can jack that rate up to levels associated with loan sharks. And so people owe more in interest than the original purchase. And those people are the ones who can't afford a 30 percent interest rate. It's disgusting. And it's driving more and more Americans into poverty but hey, it's my friend's husband's own g*dd*mn fault for taking a job at a place that five years later was going to fail, right? And for having a baby, right?
__________________
Gentlemen! We're burning daylight! Riders up! -Bill Murray
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#9
05-08-2007, 08:12 PM
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goldismoney.info
lots of good info there.....ive read into ive been on physical silver the past few months
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#10
05-08-2007, 08:20 PM
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Frankly, unless you get drug tested for work, I can't think of one good reason not to hemp. You are way out there. Just stop blaming Reagan for the Credit Card sh1t. Do your friends believe the sh1t you talk? If your friends are having a hard time, tell them to get a second job. I did it for years. I missed nearly every Saturday and most Sundays with my wife and two kids for YEARS. Life is neither always fair or easy. It's the tough times frankly that make it worth living.
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#11
05-08-2007, 11:04 PM
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goldbugs.
it's not legal to hunt and kill them so you just have to listen to their nonsense. someones been paying a little too much time on the am dial. all those who missed the big run up in gold the last 30 years still have a chance to get on board. i love the idea that a higher stock market always means it's 1929 again and a lower stock market always means the slide has just started. willian jennings bryant would have loved this. Last edited by hi_im_god : 05-09-2007 at 12:04 AM.
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#12
05-08-2007, 05:02 PM
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Hybrid Mode
