Back in the summer of 1973, I was fortunate enough to be with
my parents on a trip to Eastern Europe, quite an education for a
15-year-old. In addition to stops in places like Moscow,
Leningrad, and Warsaw, we also visited my mother”s cousins in
Prague and Budapest.
In Budapest, cousin Geza came to our hotel room, accompanied
by an interpreter. I had been told he was a bright man. Geza was
one of the “intellectuals,” the term always used to describe those
who were often battling against the Communists back then.
Our hotel room overlooked the Danube and as we stood on the
balcony, admiring this beautiful scene, Geza began to cry.
Through the interpreter he went on to explain to us that he had
fought the Russians from the other side of the river during the
Hungarian Revolution in 1956.
But remember, this was 1973, the time of the Senate Watergate
hearings which I had been mesmerized by all summer long.
And Geza was also crying because he couldn”t understand why
America was going through so much internal strife back then.
“Why do so many of you want to throw out Richard Nixon? At
least you are free!”
I was fuzzy on one detail of this story so I double-checked with
my mother this week. She reminded me that Geza, because of his
political activities, was banned from traveling outside of Hungary.
All of us have one or two defining moments in our lives. If you
ever wondered where I get some of my ideas, it all started from
this one.
Freedom. Democracy. Important words these last few weeks.
Yet living in a democracy requires that each citizen act in a
responsible manner, particularly its leaders.
Much was made of Al Gore”s concession speech. Quite frankly,
while I am well aware of the media”s bent in this country, I was
still amazed at the fawning praise for an act which he was simply
required to perform as a leader in a democracy such as America”s,
especially at a time like today”s. I respectfully submit that for
Gore to have done anything less would have been treasonous.
I apologize to many of you for the partisan bite to this
commentary during this historic campaign. Presidential elections
have a tendency to do that. I have tried to be as objective as I
possibly could be and, you”ll recall, I was about the only
Republican blasting George W. a year ago when he couldn”t
remember significant world leaders names.
But what upset me all over again this week was the sudden
emergence of Al Gore, American Hero. The New York Times”
Thomas Friedman wrote of the concession speech, “Gore took a
bullet for his country.” That”s sick. Al Gore is not a great man.
He broke the law during the ”96 campaign (as proven by all
those memos) and he continually lied about it. Oh well,
forgiveness is often viewed as one of America”s strengths. But
all that really does is weaken us as a people.
Now we have a new administration. Americans should be proud
that on Saturday the first black secretary of state in our nation”s
history will be appointed. And I hope that Democrats can take
some solace in recognizing that Bush”s administration should be
loaded with highly competent, experienced hands.
Lastly, I hope you”ll join me in a prayer, one which I”ll be
repeating each week at church…Dear Lord, KEEP CHENEY ALIVE!
Wall Street
I hope you kept your powder dry, because for the umpteenth time
we had been told by many of Wall Street”s experts that we had
seen the lows. I have a good friend who tells me, never admit
when you are wrong. Well, it”s not in my nature to embrace such
a theory so I”ll admit one area where I was off. I was expecting a
change in consumer sentiment long before it began to occur. I
pored over all the numbers and marveled at America”s ability to
keep piling on debt (including of a corporate nature) without a
seeming care in the world. Heck, I understood that life was good
(and hopefully still is for all of you), but why did we need a third
home, or a 2nd Range Rover?
Well, the worm has turned, my friends. Sentiment is sliding
(except, seemingly, among some financial markets strategists) and
since the consumer represents two-thirds of the economy, I”d say
that”s rather important.
And it also begs the question, does the Federal Reserve get it?
We”ll find out this coming Tuesday. The evidence is piling up
that this isn”t exactly your father”s slowdown. [For most of you,
if you want to refer to your grandfather, he”d spell out
depression.] Economist Stephen Roach of Morgan Stanley Dean
Witter commented on the steep deceleration in all activity.
“(We are witnessing) a recession-style compression in the growth
rate. It”s coming with great speed…(and this is) destabilizing in
influencing business decisions with respect to capital spending,
and could even be unsettling to consumer expectations.”
And Roach sees no new sources of growth worldwide. Again,
does the Fed get it?
Also, all-star economist Ed Hyman (ISI Group) raised his odds of
a full-blown recession to 50% on Friday. [Professionals don”t
slough off Hyman”s pronouncements.]
Alan Greenspan and Company have had the opportunity to look
at more economic data the past week prior to their confab. The
inflation numbers are tame while industrial production and retail
sales are falling steadily. They can”t just change the inflation bias
on Tuesday, they must move to lower interest rates. And even
then, it may now be too late.
And if Greenspan needed more encouragement to get out of his
favorite tub and get to work, he certainly found it on the earnings
front. Wall Street had been encouraged the past few weeks with
the resilience exhibited by stocks like Intel which were finally
beginning to shrug off bad news. Well, that all turned around
with a vengeance by mid-week. [More details later.]
And then there is the looming debt crisis. The Bank of England
issued a stern warning that some of Europe”s biggest telephone
carriers may have trouble refinancing some $90 billion in debt that
rolls over in the coming 12 months. While this will primarily
impact smaller companies, even the big boys will feel it. For
example, Deutsche Telkom”s total debt outstanding is expected to
reach a staggering $57 billion by year end. And the situation with
telecom companies in the U.S. is just as bad.
The fact is that this slide we are in won”t just level off at a
moment”s notice. It”s like a lousy skier (moi) who finds himself
on a slope far more difficult than his experience level dictates.
The only way to stop is to fall on your butt, or pull a Sonny
Bono. Either way, in Wall Street terms that”s a hard landing.
Summation: This editor isn”t changing his tune. Pay off your debt
and keep that powder dry. And while you”re caroling with your
neighbors, add that old ditty to your repertoire. You know,
“Cash Is Not Trash!”
—
For the week, the bad news on the earnings front came from
every angle, with all verifying the slowdown in significant ways.
UPS and FedEx are being hit by sluggish Christmas sales.
Microsoft (just a few people own this) spoke of a global softening
in issuing its first profit warning since Bill Clinton was hitting on
Gennifer Flowers.
And there were others with similar stories. Chase / J.P. Morgan,
Sun Microsystems (the handwriting is on the wall), General
Motors (laying off 15,000 and phasing out Oldsmobile),
Whirlpool (laying off 6,000), Lands”End, DoubleClick, Compaq,
Clorox (my hair turns gray naturally, thank you), and McDonald”s.
Regarding the latter, Micky D”s said European sales fell 11%,
blamed in part on mad-clown disease…or was it mad-cow?
What the Nasdaq gained last week, it gave back this one, losing
9% to close at 2654. The Dow Jones fell 2.6% and now stands at
10434.
Bonds rallied once again with Treasuries at levels not seen since
the winter of ”99. The bond market is counting on Greenspan to
lower rates immediately.
U.S. Treasury Yields
1-yr. 5.65% 2-yr. 5.37% 10-yr. 5.18% 30-yr. 5.42%
Street Bytes
–From analyst Tony Crescenzi (and Barron”s), foreigners
purchased $173 billion of U.S. stocks for the 12 months ending in
September. By way of comparison, total equity mutual fund sales
in 1999, a super year, were $187 billion. And foreign holdings of
U.S. Treasury securities are now a record 41%.
Obviously, a reversal in these trends is of major concern on Wall
Street. Then you would finally see a crack in the Dow which
would garner frightful headlines and kill any semblance of
consumer confidence that may be left. And I would further add
that this is another reason to keep your ear to the ground for the
purposes of monitoring anti-American rhetoric that could
manifest itself in a flight from our shores.
–Goldman”s Abby Cohen issued “all clear” signal #915, calling
for the S&P 500 to rise to 1650 over the next 12 months, about
25% from current levels. We here at StocksandNews wish Ms.
Cohen luck with her forecast.
–Don”t believe one word you hear on Internet traffic this holiday
season, either from the companies directly or third party
providers. Online sales are weak, particularly versus
expectations. And on Friday, eToys announced its sales were
well short of their own forecast. This is especially depressing
news for all e-commerce players. And it should send shivers up
and down Amazon”s headquarters ranks. They have so much
debt that if it was laid end to end, it would wrap around the world
6,034 times…approximately.
–Here”s a sign of the times. On Friday, a Hewlett-Packard
employee jumped out the door of a company plane…at 2,000
feet. Sacramento police said they found what they believed was
the woman”s body in a field. Geezuz, if it isn”t her, who is it?
–MicroStrategy”s Chairman and CEO Michael Saylor, along with
other executives at the software company, were fined in excess of
$10 million by the SEC, the largest amount ever levied for
accounting-fraud.
Saylor is the boy genius / dirtball who last spring touted the
virtues of a new online university he was going to develop with
his newfound wealth. His company”s stock was the epitome of
the whole technology bubble, peaking at $333. Today, it”s
around $15.
–Business sentiment in Japan is sliding once again. Now more
than ever the world needs Japan to get its act together so it can
serve as a counterweight to weakness in the U.S. But the Land
of the Setting Sun is awash in a sea of red ink. And the
government is increasingly helpless to do anything. The potential
for a tsunami is real.
–For the one-year period ending Thursday, the average
technology mutual fund is now down 18%. In other words, we
are beginning to roll out of last year”s portion of the tech bubble.
And Large Cap Growth Funds now have a one-year average
performance of -5%. The numbers will steadily worsen from
here. As the damage sinks in, the fund industry, in general, will
see large outflows from these once high-flying offerings. So you
will now be shown more and more bond funds. A word of
advice. Be careful. Ask your financial advisor to explain the
concept of “duration” to you so that you can best ascertain the
risks inherent in each particular bond product. And, while I shy
away from specific product endorsements, I have every
confidence in my former employer, PIMCO, and their family of
fixed income funds. They know what risk management is all
about. [And, again, I receive absolutely nothing from PIMCO for
saying this.]
–Dumb comment of the week on the energy crisis out West, from
the New York Times” Paul Krugman. “True, part of California”s
problem is an unexpected surge in electricity demand, the
byproduct of a booming economy.” Unexpected?!
–Note to the Wall Street Journal. Save some trees and eliminate
your monthly supplements on e-commerce. No one cares
anymore.
–“When Wall Street trashes the hotel room, the whole country
pays the bill.” — Jeff Osburn, Internet venture capitalist and
entrepreneur.
–The AOL-Time Warner merger cleared its biggest hurdle in
obtaining FTC approval. But I think I”m the only one among
those who are supposed to care about this deal, who doesn”t. In
a nutshell, this is NOT going to change your life in any significant
way, regardless of the amount of ink spilled over it. And by the
time we face a Citizen Kane-type scenario, you will have
forgotten I wrote this!
–Energy: Another volatile week but I”ll give both of us a break
on the explanation. I”ve said it all before. But, since I”m in a
self-congratulatory mood (which I realize is extremely tacky for
someone in my position), it”s truly amazing how many Wall Street
analysts and corporations are blaming the now two-year rise in
energy prices for problems on the earnings front. I told you in the
spring it would be a serious issue, while these same jokers were
saying in their best Bart Simpson impersonation, “No Problemo!”
And we all know that Bart always gets caught in the end.
International Affairs
Welcome Secretary of State Colin Powell…we need your clear
thinking now more than ever.
Israel: Last Saturday (after this column had been posted), Prime
Minister Barak resigned, setting up early elections in 60 days.
Barak will, however, be running for prime minister again as he
seeks a new government with a “renewed mandate.”
But there was more to Barak”s act than just calling for an early
election. Under Israeli law, only members of parliament can run.
Barak”s main presumed opponent, Benjamin Netanyahu, is not
currently a member. Barak immediately said he would support a
change in the law allowing Bibi to run and, at week”s end,
parliament took the first step towards making this a reality.
Meanwhile, Barak”s own Labor party is miffed that he has
effectively blocked a challenge from within.
And it wasn”t a good week on the peace front as the death toll
continues to mount. Israeli forces are targeting extremists for
assassination (with success, I might add), but this obviously
makes Yasser Arafat”s job a little more difficult, as you can
imagine what the hardliners in the PLO are muttering in his ear.
Russia: While President Putin was releasing a bitter prisoner,
American Edmond Pope, Spanish police were doing his bidding
by arresting Russian media mogul Vladimir Gusinsky. The latter
move appeared to flout most international norms of justice. And
then Putin called off the investigation into Boris Yeltsin”s inner
circle, even though evidence is overwhelming that corruption was
rampant.
Pope, in a news conference on Friday, blasted Russian authorities
and the judicial system while continuing to proclaim his innocence
on spy charges. For his part, Putin had no other choice but to
release him if he wanted to keep an open dialogue with the U.S.
But the other moves show you where Russia is headed…into a
deep, dark alley.
While Putin was traipsing about Cuba this week, former Foreign
Minister Andrei Kozyrev said the president”s “foreign policy
looks like a red-star cocktail…It”s the old stuff of anti-
Americanism spiced by the support of rogue regimes from
Slobodan Milosevic to Saddam Hussein.”
In the underreported war in Chechnya, the Chechens killed 21 in a
car bomb attack near Grozny, many of the victims being Russian
soldiers. You have to feel pity for the Russian mothers who
seldom hear about the fate of their sons until months after the
fact (if ever).
China / Taiwan: Strategist Richard Fisher has a story in Defense
News detailing China”s elaborate battle plans for an attack on
Taiwan. But Fisher makes it sound like China needs 5 years to
build up to a viable force. As I”ve argued, China could topple
Taiwan in a few days, now, if they desired. The main reason
being the U.S. is in no position to retaliate…if we wanted to.
Meanwhile, inside China, the corruption scandal that is wracking
all levels of government claimed the top official in Fujian
province. 100 government leaders have now been implicated in a
$10 billion-plus smuggling scheme. Many of those arrested are
sentenced to death as the Communist Party leadership tries to
send the message that this will not stand. If Party discipline
breaks down, chaos will ensue.
And then there is the Falun Gong movement. This week,
hundreds attended a funeral for one of the followers, the mere act
of attending heroic, in and of itself, as they all faced arrest. The
deceased was a 32-year-old woman who died of neck injuries
while in detention (the government claimed she smashed her head
against her cell wall!). Incredibly, 74 Falun Gong adherents have
died in custody in 17 months. I hope I”m not the only one who
finds this staggering. And what the hell is the U.S. doing?!
Wouldn”t want to upset the apple cart, would we, Mr. Clinton?
South Korea: Corruption…corruption…over 100 government
regulators are suspected of taking bribes, badly shaking President
Kim Dae Jung”s administration. The perception is that the
scandal reaches into Kim”s administration. One 27-year-old
entrepreneur allegedly amassed $20 million by rigging stock
prices and defrauding banks in taking illegal loans. This whole
episode obviously shakes the confidence of foreign investors,
desperately needed for the South”s economy to gain some
stability.
Separately, it wasn”t a good week for North / South relations.
North Korea got all bent out of shape over a South Korean
defense ministry report which described the North as the “main
enemy.” [Which they are, of course.] The North accused the
South of warmongering (as the North sits on the border with
enough firepower to kill 100,000 residents of Seoul within
minutes…mused the editor).
Romania: Former president, and ex-Communist, Ion Iliescu
defeated the scary guy, Vadim Tudor, by 70-30 percent in the
runoff for president. The country, however, is now split into 4
main political factions and, despite the significance of keeping
Tudor out of power, pre-election coverage was interesting, to say
the least. For instance, one television station led off the newscast
the day before the vote with the story of a shepherd who was
gored by a wild boar. [I hate when that happens.]
Ukraine: Now here is a scandal that would rip any so-called free
nation apart. President Leonid Kuchma is being implicated by
parliament in the disappearance of a leading journalist this past
September. The reporter frequently criticized the government.
Evidently, a member of the presidential guard has been secretly
taping Kuchma”s conversations and the evidence has been
forwarded to European Human Rights officials. Also, a
decapitated corpse found along a country road is believed to be
that of the journalist.
But Friday, the main story out of Ukraine had to do with the final
shutdown of Chernobyl. No word on this other, far more
important powderkeg.
France: President Chirac has his hands full with the ongoing
corruption scandal involving the practices during the time he was
mayor of Paris, 1977 to 1995. Allegedly, his political party
received a share of all contracts with the city. [The Communists
and Socialists shared in the spoils as well.]
You can count on one hand the number of nations in the world
that are basically “clean.” Now I ask you…how can one be
optimistic? Answer: Bury your head in the sand and not give a
damn.
Serbia: Tension returned along the border with Kosovo as
President Kostunica is receiving increased pressure to act against
the ethnic-Albanians who keep stirring things up, launching cross-
border attacks.
Northern Ireland: Long-time readers know of my deep affection
for Ireland, though in eleven trips there since 1989, I have only
been to the North once. Nonetheless, I feel more than qualified
to offer the following. President Clinton thought he could force a
peace in the North by dint of his personality. The vast majority of
the Irish people revere him (much to my consternation when I”m
over there).
But in his farewell tour this week, Clinton was rebuffed by hard-
line Protestant leaders who told him that U.S. policy has unfairly
favored the Roman Catholic minority. We are now close to being
back to square one.
Now I”m Catholic (but not Irish) and I”m certainly not a fan of
the Brit”s brutal action in Ireland over the centuries. But I would
advise President-elect Bush not to waste too much time and
political capital here. True peace in Northern Ireland would be a
beautiful and uplifting thing but it”s up to the Irish people to make
it happen. And in the grand scheme of things, Bush”s foreign
policy sessions better be filled with talk of how to handle China,
Russia, North Korea, the Middle East, Iraq, Iran and India /
Pakistan, for starters. So I apologize to my Irish friends whom I
may have just offended. It”s just that my President”s Big Picture
doesn”t include this mess.
European Union: So the E.U. wrapped up this grand summit and
in case you were wondering like me what the heck happened, the
answer is nothing. The 15 member nations rebalanced the votes
and divvied up the rights for 12 new members admitted in 2004.
All I learned is that Germany, Britain, France and Italy each get
29 votes and it”s scaled down from there. Actually, it now looks
a lot like our electoral college.
Iran: The hardliners forced President Khatami to accept the
resignation of the last “reform” member of his cabinet. I”d put
this in the “Not a good thing” category.
[Actually, each week here at StocksandNews, the trash bin
marked “Not a good thing” overwhelms the one filled only with
“good things.” You should see the pedestrians scatter when the
bins are put out for collection.]
Final Election Musings…thank God, mused the readers…
–A NBC / Reuters poll taken after Al Gore conceded contained
the following.
50% said “No,” the country won”t unite; 46% said “Yes,” it
would.
59% saw a Bush presidency as being legitimate; 37% felt it
wouldn”t be.
Economist Robert Samuelson (he”s actually more than an
economist…and perhaps the best commentator today) wrote the
following regarding the election debacle.
“What I fear is something less identifiable and more corrosive…a
spreading contempt for national leaders in both parties; a growing
belief that no one in a position of power (including a judge or
Supreme Court justice) can rise above partisan and personal
preferences to defend some larger concept of national interest.”
Justice Stevens, in his dissent, of course echoed this.
“The big loser is the Nation”s confidence in the judge as an
impartial guardian of the rule of law.”
Hopefully, as I stated earlier, most Americans will be reassured at
the competence and leadership of individuals like Dick Cheney
and Colin Powell.
–I love John McCain and I would have voted for him for
President. But right now he is still one bitter dude. He has got to
get off this campaign finance reform kick of his. We don”t care!
[At least 90% of us don”t.] He is taking his maverick style a bit
too far. If he doesn”t want to be a team player, he should declare
himself an Independent. Then run as one in 2004. [I will expound
on the campaign finance topic next week. It”s not as simple as
many make it out to be.]
–I am going to miss NBC”s “Decision 2000” theme music.
Rousing, I tell ya. It”s kind of like when NBC first lost baseball;
I mourned the loss of the music more than the network.
–I won”t miss the following: Doris Kearns Goodwin, Mario
Cuomo (what an ugly, nasty person…and now we have Andrew
to deal with), Orrin Hatch (stop whining), Professor Arthur Miller
(“Death of a Law Professor”), Chad Everett, David Boies, Boyz
II Men, Alan Dershowitz…
–Black leaders like Jesse Jackson can”t prove one voting
irregularity in Florida, yet they keep leveling charges. John Leo,
writing in U.S. News, commented on this constant talk of
conspiracy against minority voters. “The long-term fallout, of
course, will be even more racial distrust and polarization.”
And then there is the example set by Newark, N.J., Congressman
Donald Payne. “The way (the Republicans) had blacks paraded
across the stage at the (Republican) Convention was almost
demeaning.”
This is part of the spin now, of course. On Friday morning, Matt
Lauer interviewed Jackson for the “Today Show.” Lauer asked
the fake Reverend what it meant for Bush to name Colin Powell
and Condoleeza Rice to two of the most important cabinet
positions. Jackson sloughed it off. “That”s not important.”
Unbelievable.
–Does anyone honestly have more respect for Joe Lieberman as a
result of his actions during this campaign? I know I lost a ton of
respect for him.
–From George Will: “Clinton”s and Gore”s practice of playing
fast and loose with the truth and law is a communicable disease.”
But at long last, we found a cure.
Bill Clinton
I”m amused by all of the talk about Al Gore”s future. Folks,
within weeks he is a non-factor. Sure, he will do a few “60
Minutes” and “20/20” type interviews, but the real force post-
January 20 is Bill Clinton. And, after all, who would you rather
book?
What should be a little worrisome to some of you is the fact that
we can expect to see a former president who is totally reckless,
even worse than before.
This man who craves the spotlight like no other in American
history can be expected to spout things like the following, in an
interview granted to the Daily News.
When asked what will happen if a re-examination of the Florida
ballots shows Gore won, Clinton responded, “Then America
looks like a fraud. They”d kill us around the world. It will be
harder to trust us from that point on.”
As The Weekly Standard put it, this “probably qualifies as
Clinton”s most irresponsible statement ever. So basically…if Al
Gore does not succeed him in the White House, America”s
government will be ”a fraud” in the eyes of the world. Thank you,
Mr. President.”
I guarantee you one thing in 2001 and beyond. Bill Clinton will
be totally out of control and, because he will be an ex-President,
his words and actions could be harmful.
And a note on Hillary which you may find surprising. As you”ve
heard, she will be signing a record book contract of $8 million to
write her memoirs. This time, she”ll gladly accept the bulk of the
money to help pay their enormous legal bills…and start her 2004
campaign war chest. [The Senate Ethics Committee may have a
say in all of this, however.]
But I have to be objective about a poll I heard about. 70% of
New Yorkers said retiring Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan did
an “excellent” job for New York. Earth to New Yorkers…name
one thing he did for you?…I”m waiting….time”s up. Zippo.
Moynihan”s bloated reputation is amazing.
On the other hand, I suspect that Hillary will be a good Senator,
in the purest sense of the word. [Rick Lazio would have been
solid as well.] She”s on a mission. And I can already hear her
2004 campaign theme song. “Ain”t No Stoppin” Us Now.”
[McFadden & Whitehead]
Now…do you still think Al Gore”s a player?
Random Musings
–Clarence Thomas spoke before a group of high school students
the day after the Supreme Court”s historic ruling. Thanks to an
alert from Dr. Bortrum, I caught it on C-Span. Thomas was very
forthright in his answers to the students questions but one
response, in particular, stands out.
Thomas said he is always frustrated by those who shout, “That
was a bad decision,” whenever the Court rules against their
wishes. His response is a simple one. “But have you read the
opinion?” The point being that no one wants to do the work
anymore. Just let the spinmeisters tell you what the deal is.
–The U.N. stated this week that criminal gangs are increasingly
turning to trafficking in humans as a safer alternative to the drug
trade.
–Regarding my new citizens group to merge the U.S. and
Canada, Harry K. from Toronto responds, “A hard currency,
lower tax rates, and the downside is I have to join the NRA?
Where do I sign up?” Harry does assume that “Canadian beer
will be the new national standard.” A fair trade-off.
–Discount laser eye surgery chains are cropping up all over. Be
careful, folks. The Dean of Yale Medical School decried this
trend as eye surgery entails “too many risks, with too much at
stake, to be treated as just another commodity.”
–Happy retirement to Mike Jensen, NBC News”s business
reporter for most of the last 22 years. He was good, in the
fashion of the great Irving R. Levine, the first one to focus, solely,
on the economy.
–Rembrandt”s “Portrait of a Lady Aged 62” sold for $28.7
million. I offer myself for anyone who wants to do “Portrait of a
Web Editor Aged 42.” 200 years from now, who knows what it
would be worth. What was the Web?, they”ll ask.
–I do most of my shopping at The Mall at Short Hills here in
New Jersey, where opulence rules. [I”m just going into Borders
and Record Town, mind you.] It”s easy to lose perspective when
you walk past a $220,000 Bentley, such as the one which has
been on display there.
Which leads me to a note on A-Rod”s $250 million contract to
play baseball for the Texas Rangers. Much has been made of the
fact that his average annual salary of $25 million comes out to
about $42,000 per at-bat (should he step to the plate 600 times
over the course of a season).
Well, I have a different take. $25 million is equal to the total
annual earnings of 119,000 rural Chinese peasants, or 35,000
urban workers. [They earn $210 and $700, respectively.]
Actually, baseball is digging itself one deep grave. A strike in
2002 looks like a certainty right now. No problem. I”ll read the
Constitution instead.
–Timothy McVeigh proclaimed this week that he was
withdrawing his appeal and wanted to proceed with his death
sentence. Having recently reflected upon the memorial to the
destruction he wrought in Oklahoma City, I have just one thing to
say. Kill him now.
–Finally, on a brighter note, I took one of my little sojourns
this week to the state of Ohio. Due to the weather, I didn”t end
up where I intended to, but I did make it to Wapakoneta, the
home of Neil Armstrong. There is a great little air and space
museum there and I was amazed to find that I was the only visitor
my whole stay. I sat in this theater watching a terrific film of the
space program; America at its best. I get a little emotional at
places like this. I just wish more of my fellow countrymen gave a
damn as well.
Gold closed at $270
Oil, $28.87
Returns for the week, 12/11-12/15
Dow Jones -2.6%
S&P 500 -4.2%
S&P MidCap -6.4%
Russell 2000 -4.4%
Nasdaq -9.1%
Returns for the period, 1/1/00-12/15/00
Dow Jones -9.2%
S&P 500 -10.7%
S&P MidCap +11.2%
Russell 2000 -9.3%
Nasdaq -34.8%
Bulls 55.6% [These guys are idiots]
Bears 25.9% [Source: Investors Intelligence…or lack thereof.]
Note: If you want a little list of Internet-related stocks that have
taken it on the chin, you may want to check out my “Wall Street
History” piece of 12/15.
Don”t rush too much this last week of shopping mayhem. At
least let the older folks cross the street!
Brian Trumbore
