Money and Investing Thoughts

Great video on Nixon before his resignation speech. Too bad that side of the guy did not come across to the public.

I found this quote and link on the site of Otto Rock. It very succinctly puts the worth of the current crop of economic advisors and experts in their place:

It acknowledges that the discipline is subject to three critiques:

1) it helped cause the current economic crisis

2) It failed to see it coming

3) It doesn’t know how to fix it.

via naked capitalism: Guest Post: Linda Beale on What Went Wrong With Economics.

I find it quite amusing that the powers in government are following the advice of these same economists to get the economy out of the current problems.

Forbes.com: Digital Rules By Rich Karlgaard.

Linked above is a thought provoking article by Forbes’ Rich Karlgaard. His discussion revolves around the following premise:

Wriston said capital (meaning both money and ideas), when freed to travel at the speed of light, “will go where it is wanted, stay where it is well-treated.”

By applying Wriston’s Law of capital and talent flow, you can predict the fortunes of companies (and countries). All predictions about future performance must start with this most basic question: Do companies (and countries) attract money and talent, or repel it?

The rest of the article is good historical background on the rise of U.S. entrepreneurial and economic power over the last century. I spend most of my time in a country where the government has a tighter control on jobs and money which stifles new business and job formation. However, the country is friendly to foreign investment so cash is torrenting in from the neighboring countries to buy up land and homes as parking places for cash. It is interesting to watch the processes at work here and in the U.S.

My goal is not political. I think the path the U.S. is on is the almost inevitable result of democracy. Iwant to work to make mine and my family’s life happy and prosperous. Read the article.

Auto production and sales in Brazil surge as confidence returns — MercoPress.

The article linked above chronicles the increases of auto production and sales following the governments tax reductions on auto purchases. Auto sales hit a record in June. From the article:

A combination of tax breaks, lower prices and improved confidence has sent consumers flocking to showrooms, industry executives said last week. The June data underscore the success of President Lula da Silva’s tax breaks on vehicles and home appliances to revive industrial production and pull the economy out of recession.

Contrast the result of tax breaks in Brazil against the “stimulus package” path being followed by the U.S. government.

March Lows a “Textbook Bottom” Buy the Dips Says Schwab Funds CIO: Tech Ticker, Yahoo! Finance.

March 9 was a “textbook bottom” and investors waiting for the retest may never get back in, says Jeff Mortimer, CIO of Charles Schwab Investment Management

Go to the article. Watch the video. Ignore doom-and-gloomers.