Bloomberg and Russell

1.Forbes magazine, Sept 7 "Barack Obama is the most anti-business president in a generation, perhaps in American history. Thanks to him the era of big government is back. Obama runs up taxpayer debt not in the billions but in the trillions. He has expanded the federal government's control over home mortgages, investment banking, health care, autos and energy."

2.From Thomas Friedman in the op/ed section of the International Herald Tribune, "In recent years, I have often said to European friends: So, you didn’t like a world of too much American power? See how you like a world of too little American power — because it is coming to a geopolitical theater near you. Yes, America has gone from being the supreme victor of World War II, with guns and butter for all, to one of two superpowers during the cold war, to the indispensable nation after winning the cold war, to “The Frugal Superpower” of today. Get used to it. That’s our new nickname. American pacifists need not worry any more about “wars of choice.” We’re not doing that again. We can’t afford to invade Grenada today. "

3.Are they abandoning ship? Peter Orszag, White House Budget Director, resigned in June. Christina Romber, chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisors, left in early September. Larry "the disaster" Summers is leaving, going back to Harvard (is there any way of shorting Harvard?). Next reported to be departing is Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff.

4.How about this one? Both the Congressional Office of Management and the Treasury list a total shortfall of $4.5 trillion coming due during the next 12 months. And this shortfall is supposed to be paid off with less than half a trillion dollars. The national debt of the US is above $13 trillion, a sum few people can even comprehend. With short rates now at zero, the US is having trouble handling its incredible mountain of debt. But what happens if rates start to climb? We're talking about the national debt compounding and pushing the US towards economic bankruptcy.

5. The Financial Times: Europe’s central banks have all but halted sales of their gold reserves, ending a run of large disposals each year for more than a decade. The shift away from gold selling comes as European central banks reassess gold amid the financial crisis and Europe’s sovereign debt crisis.
COMMENT: These so-called economists and central bankers were all selling massive amounts of gold over the last decades at dirt cheap prices. So much for the G20. My 12 year old daughter also knows how to sell cheap and buy expensive.

6.Don't ever become a pessimist......a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun - and neither can stop the march of events - Robert A. Heinlein (Writer).

H