Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Stupid Banks!

I heard yesterday that none of the banks that are sittin' on the nearly $350B (that's gigabucks) have no inclination to share with those of us givin' 'em the money exactly what they're doing with it. I ask the bank for 50K for my house and they're telling me all sorts of things I can't do with the money, or the house, for that matter. But give the banks 350B and its all "nooo, we can't tell you where it went" and "we're too busy to count the dollars" and "you're not worthy to know such important things".

I got pissed. I called my senator....I encourage you to as well.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Loving the Global Financial Crisis (GFC)

There's upsides to this faux creation of crisis capitalism. You just gotta look at the upside.

1. The price of gas.
Everybody complained endlessly abou the price of gasoline. The sheiks were rollin' in the dough, and we're getting the shake down. I bought a hybrid in early 2004, so I've riden the price rise with a bit of a smirk. But now, I can fill my tank for 18 bucks! I'm loving this GFC!

2. Customer service in the airlines makes a comeback
I took a filght not too long ago. I miscalculated my travel time to the airport and hit the front door with 10 minutes before my flight's scheduled departure. We all know that the smug airlines have been locking the door somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes before "departure" (which I never understood). So I'm thinking I'm on standby and I'm gonna be late. But my instinct says "Do an OJ!", so I run...and run...zip thru security and get to the gate (at the furthest end of concourse, of course) with 3 minutes before "departure". The gate agent (who was incredibly still there) says "Oh, we can get you on the plane, let me rebook your reservation". Wow...I'm _loving_ this GFC!!!

3. Bad earnings that aren't so bad are actually good
My company warned on our Q4 results the other day. The bean counters figure revenues are somewhere between 10 and 20 percent off the numbers we gave as outlook at the beginning of the quarter. In a real economic environment, this would result in a market blood bath the next day. Not so. Our stock went UP 17% the next day. Bad news that ain't so bad becomes good news....I am absolutely Loving this GFC!!!!