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    • Tue Jul 15th 14:39 PM
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      Foreign Investment in the United States: Reverse Globalization?
      The biggest issue is non-investment into domestic business. Investors will go to the biggest opportunity. Rapid wealth building coupled with more open markets in the 1990's allowed much bigger money to be invested overseas in the early part of this decade. While there is responsibility for not applying some tarrifs or taxes by say 2005 or 2006, government's biggest failure was to not invest in small business, a full 49% of GDP.

      The best analogy is the forest and how the old tall trees with wide branches hogged all the sunlight, while the entrepenuars and innovation being the seedlings not being able to grow. In a liquid market of billions, no one wants to hear about start-ups.

      So while globalization was pushed to the hilt, investment is needed in innovation. The free market does work however, because government and multinationals of 51% of our GDP have no choice to invest into Main St. or face deteriorating conditions here or collapse and the U.S. is still the safest play over the long-term.

      Attitude toward other nations can be solved with research. Like many major companies, our government uses 5 page pamphlets that it disseminates to government staff about another culture. Lazy and incompetent. But the humility factor is going to be forced on our nation. Keep all trade open but regulate. A massive diplomatic effort will be necessary. Agree with expanding the G8 to G20. Offer membership to the entire globe for that matter, many empires crumbled not because of resentment against the empires, but because people wanted IN. End the global policemen role. If we are so worried about the sovereign wealth funds we should accelerate our exports and give the world what it wants to buy in raw commodities. And to do more of this we certainly must have a sane energy policy including ALL options and do this immediately. This will create skilled jobs in the U.S. and if backed by Treasury, will be heavily invested in by the global market bringing a lot of the money back home. I don't believe too many non-producing oil nations would complain about competing products. But we leave this to Brazil and Canada? Sheez. Talk about lack of self-centered narcassist on the Hill and both political parties!
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    • Tue Jul 15th 13:37 PM
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      Proposed Solution to Decline in American Wealth: Free Trade
      Some tarrifs yes. Taxes on multinational companies escaping tax burden but reaping all the benefits of being an 'American' company yes. Agree with Duuude that a tighter monetary policy caused the Great Depression to worsen. Tighter monetary policy yes, but very, very marginal increases like 50 per year.

      Our Central Banking policy should not attempt to directly mirror the EU's, China's etc. Different nations, vastly different policies but it should move up slowly over time. But first, massive capital infusions should go into energy independence, education and healthcare to become far more efficient while creating two or three million jobs. If such infusions by government were launched now and backed by Treasury, you would begin seeing accelerated investment back into the country and along with skilled job creation, this would help the banks.

      And the government will indeed cut it's spending considering it has won in Iraq (it HAPPENED, my good buddy is a journalist over there and served in Operation Desert Storm, interesting part is we more or less bribed the entire population to do it). Beyond that, trimmings on the defense of Europe and Asia will also occur. Why do we need so many boots on the ground to defend these nations? We can build 5,000 Predator drones armed with stuff from science fiction and still nuke this globe several times over. What we need is intelligence boots on the ground, far less expensive. Pork will be reduced because America is now watching, although I am sure it won't dissapear entirely, fear not you dilligent public servants you reading this up on the Hill :)
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    • Tue Jul 15th 13:20 PM
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      Commented on:
      The Case for Cutting Fannie and Freddie Loose
      It will become nationalized after the elections and be privatized later. Our current crop of political and economic leadership will be considered in history as the most selfish and mean-spirited since the railroad & banking tycoon era of the 1870's. The depression will hit hard and fast and will dwarf the 1930's where many of the 97% of the U.S. population will go from perceived riches to literal rags. It's going to be harsh and ugly for about four years but our nation is not in the 1930's.

      America has far better communications and private equity money to focus on energy, healthcare and education to become extraordinarily efficient in a short amount of time. This is what Treasury and Congress should be doing RIGHT NOW, but there is no investment into innovation, just more socialism to feed sunlight to the dead rotting trees blocking the light from reaching the seedlings which will become responsible leadership someday. It has become about preservation of power, not different than other socialist/commie nations like China and Cuba. Now we must fight the enemy within and the enemy without and with far less resources so it will be a tough deal for many people to do the heavy lifting.
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    • Tue Jul 15th 12:57 PM
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      Commented on:
      The Fannie / Freddie Bailout: Necessary, But Don't Expect a Happy Ending
      Unfortunate indeed. While the Bush Admin focused on foreign matters and preventing a nuclear 911, domestically the hogs ran wild. This was indeed the President's biggest mistake: Trust but DON'T verify and I can say that choosing a splintered cabinet was pure folly. But all political guys fell for the failed economic theory put into place over these past 15 years. Government is the last to still remain in denial.

      There will be much rebuilding to do. I am not leaving the country as some are, I will run toward the problem. I have no doubt many other bright-minded guys will also that love this country. I will run for Congress in 2012, I have worked for many a candidate on data mining, fund-raising and advertising. I don't need the special 'sponsors' from the RNC or DNC. I am also setting up a fund for bright, motivated guys who want to run but can't take a year off from work and to avoid the lobby dough. That will require philanthropists of the American dream. We all know how that will be to raise the investment money, challenging will an understatement.
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    • Tue Jul 15th 01:17 AM
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      Why Google Rules the Online Ad Market, and How That Could Change
      1) Yahoo was dominant and ran lots of banner ads. Decent model but the ads began dominating more then the content. The writer has this point correct. Social networks are having this problem now also.

      2) Site usability studies is something every major web property should do, but doesn't. Same as in any sector, lack of research kills.

      3) Google will lose market share when marketers as a whole learn about value propositions. Google is still very cost effective at generating qualitative sales leads for an organization.

      I know these things because I run a Consumer Healthcare website as a business and marketing model. Grabbing market share is easy now on a price-per-lead model that relies on a client's acquisition targets. The lack of marketing competition whom knows Economics 101 and is willing to use business intelligence to gather all the targeted sites for banner purchases is stunning.

      Google won't cannibilize there pay per click model until they have to. Same with MSN for that matter. Right now both companies have time.

      Meanwhile, a small competitor like me grabs major Fortune 1,000 accounts because my company knows how to eliminate advertising risk. It's not really amusing marketers in general are so dense, but I am asked constantly what the catch is when I am on conference calls with senior marketing management with our sales team. I tell them I remembered how to use a spreadsheet to calculate media buying to target and put up my personell costs to prove it in a small test budget. Then most importantly, my company does what it says.
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    • Tue Jul 15th 00:47 AM
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      Commented on:
      Preferred Stocks Get Crushed
      I'll invest in financials when the Fed stops telling me they may keep the discount window open into 2009.
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    • Mon Jul 14th 13:13 PM
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      Commented on:
      Plan B: Nationalization
      So... much talk of nationalizing everything from energy to banks, from real-estate to agriculture. Sounds like Cuba to me...
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    • Mon Jul 14th 12:47 PM
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      Commented on:
      Should I Buy Fannie or Freddie Stock Today?
      If you were part of Lehman's upper-management team, you had the inside information you needed to know exactly when to dump. So if your comparing the two scenerios, perhaps my statement tells you something.
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    • Mon Jul 14th 12:22 PM
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      U.S. Government Is Heading for a Slippery Slope
      It has become exceedingly easy for a few bright guys with no ethics to force risk onto the U.S. taxpayer while extracting profits from hyperinflated ANYTHING. The game can be kept up for awhile until the tax bill hits the U.S. citizenship, in 2011 when the Bush tax cuts expire and new taxes to facilitate failed social states like California emerge. This is when the manipulated musical chairs game ends.

      At that point, the dollar will collapse or we will be labeled as a fascist regime by the outside world as we default on public debt, and they will be correct. It's not nice what has been done to America. Fixing it is going to be rather unpleasant no matter which path the nation takes but any nation needs innovators and entrepenuars which shall someday be solid leadership. This is where money should be going in the burning forest, the seedlings, not preserving the old rotten trees stifling growth by stealing the sunlight.
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    • Mon Jul 14th 11:55 AM
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      Commented on:
      Treasury Secretary Paulson Wants Fannie, Freddie Stocks Higher
      Ahh, the American taxpayer. All 100 million of us get to do all the heavy lifting in rebuilding while 10,000 people see the sights of the world on yachts that would make Caligula blush. Sad, but ultimately predictable of every government. It's a shame our politicians think our current government is too big to fail and will be the last place meaningful cuts occur (when it should be first as an example to it's populace).
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    • Mon Jul 14th 11:46 AM
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      Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      The 'Canary in the Coalmine' for Fannie, Freddie
      Note to all investors:

      Executive Summary:

      Business model:

      Planning needed to build businesses too big to fail. I'll write the business plan. The head staff requirement is shown in our fiscal forecasting in the G&A bracket and includes D.C. lobbyists and overpaid beaurocrats as managers that have more failures then successes.

      There is no break-even horizen requirement for our success nor do we include net profit forecasts, only top-line revenue. All profits will be taken from marked-to-market assets on inflated assets.

      Investor risk: The investor risk is that the Federal government will actually show a spine and serve there constituents but we feel this risk is minimal. At some point in our plan, we'll be scrutinized by the open market and Federal regulators. To minimize these risks, we'll follow our business model as outlined above. The plan itself is designed to fail this is a risk but we feel confident we can extract our profits and reinvest them into other viable sectors to repeat our model to scale.

      Investment Requirement: 60 T in notional monopoly money

      Equity: 50% direct investor seeding, 50% taxpayer passive investment.
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    • Mon Jul 14th 11:27 AM
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      Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Treasury Bailout of GSEs: Laissez-Faire In Serious Jeopardy
      Yeah, it is getting to look a lot like post WWI Germany in our economic policies. This was very cheap of those at the top, taking it all out on the little guy. What remains to be seen is if 60 million armed 'little guy' just rolls over and takes it. There is a very big difference between today and 1929 in terms of education to get at the truth. In between, I'll focus on harnassing entrepenuars and innovators that will work for low wages and there are now lots of them just cropping up. That and dirt cheap real-estate to rent out seek good opportunities for a buy and hold cycle of about 5 years.
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    • Mon Jul 14th 10:59 AM
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      Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Much to Like About the GSE Rescue
      That guy with nuts is Porter Stansberry. I am in with his camp, let the forest fire rage so we can reseed. Our economy passed the tipping point into non-sustainable. All American's not in the 3% of the nation's wealthiest are sufferer and will continue to suffer. Better to accept we will be feeling 3rd degree burns then to ignore the forest fire has already started to burn alive slowly because we have a squirt gun in our hand (the Fed & Treasury).
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    • Mon Jul 14th 10:47 AM
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      Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      US Economy Still Has a Ways to Go
      (higher=higher ed)
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    • Mon Jul 14th 10:46 AM
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      Commented on:
      US Economy Still Has a Ways to Go
      That's a good point Paul, but there I think most of us are in 'wait and see' mode. Many fell for the bear rally these last three months thinking the worst was over. Accelerated job losses and lack of lending to NOBODY except for the bigs with substantial collateral told me this was a bear rally. Can't have 51% of our GDP (multinationals and government) barely feeling pain and 49% of Main St. bilked dry and still think our national economy will remain strong. History tells a lot. The real question and one the writer takes a stab at, is will we see depression conditions before it's all through? Times always get better, I predict a massive Bull market in 2020!!!

      Now, what we appear to have is deflation/inflation. We are feeling stagflation at this stage of the pain but it appears things are getting worse. The writer and I feel the same way, there is ample opportunity to make money. Watch the politics of NYC and Washington.

      They are coming to the conclusion JOBS must be created and we must increase our energy supply. How fast this occurs is anybody's guess because neither political candidate looks strong on the economy and nor do we know how taxes will change in the short or mid-term until after elections.

      Overseas looks decent still as does alternative energy, consumer healthcare and tech still holding up and higher will be a big story next year, especially online. Gold should be decent short term and go up nicely in the mid-term. Oil? Yeah... no comment. Those going ultra long wager against the American consumer themself which has been discounted already as fodder. Yes to some extent but Main St. votes and the ire from the constituents cannot nor should no be ignored.
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