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Seriously, though 

Posted by Francy-Pants at 4:45 AM ruminations said...

Triathlete ! What a crazy idea.
Third place sounds impresive. Were there more than three entries ?
Did you read my blog of some time ago entitled " Economics 101".
No one could be more pesimistic than your scribe.

July 16, 2008 at 1:38 PM amycue said...

Instead of doing my what now seems ridiculous 30 minutes of daily exercise I thought I would address your very valid concerns. You probably know I make a living selling FNMA and FHLMC issues - a lot of my clients (banks) own their preferred stock which was just downgraded and would yield in the double digits at the current price. The problem is huge and is not new - it is something that has been going on for a very long time and no one was willing to address because everyone on Wall Street was making so much money. The government has not bailed them out (yet) - but because they have been allowed to get so large with so little oversight they cannot allow them to fail because it would cripple the markets worldwide. There is no easy answer when the markets have been based on faith for so long and that faith fails.

July 17, 2008 at 3:47 AM Frankm3800 said...

Following up on Amycue's comment, I believe the "lack of faith" in the markets is a result of lack of leadership at the corporate level and lack of regulation at the government level. Corporate leaders are only interested in boosting todays numbers so their bonuses and options yield obscene remuneration for no leadership. The government (Congress and the Executive) is not interested in biting the hand that feeds them with huge campaign funding and perks and so there is little oversight or prosecution of corporate crime. There exists in this country and others a growing lack of INTEGRITY among so-called leaders, resulting in a growing burden on society to pay for their misjudgements. No longer do they have to pay the consequence, the taxpayer does. You and your generation will be paying for their party for a long time.

July 20, 2008 at 3:12 PM Kathy Hernandez said...

Seriously, though, I know you are crazy busy, but please post a new blog. We miss your fresh new words.

August 30, 2008 at 1:06 PM I love Monkeys!