[Posted 7:00 AM ET]
Iraq
A New York Times / CBS News poll reveals that only 34% of
Americans approve of President Bush’s handling of the war in
Iraq, 61% disapprove. The president’s overall job approval
continues to slide as well, while Republican Senator Chuck
Hagel said that “Bush is isolated…susceptible to bad advice
…inexperienced in foreign policy.” Fellow Republican Senator
Richard Lugar said there was an urgent need to repair and rebuild
our global alliances.
In response to some of the above, President Bush gave the first in
a series of speeches leading up to the June 30 handover of
sovereignty to the Iraqis. In it he laid out a five-step plan.
1) hand over authority
2) help establish security
3) continue rebuilding the infrastructure
4) encourage more international support
5) move toward a national election
You’ll forgive me if I was underwhelmed, though my immediate
thought was the president should have given this kind of speech
last summer, when it had already become apparent the ‘mission
was far from accomplished.’
So step-by-step…1) It’s wait and see on the handover of
authority. Exactly who is filling the key slots is being
established at the last minute. 2) Security is a mess; witness the
number of abductions on main supply routes, let alone the
constant barrage of rpgs and car bombs. This talk of an Iraqi
force of 200,000 is laughable and we still need more U.S. or
coalition troops on the ground. 3) The rebuilding effort will go
nowhere without step 2, witness the Russian firm working on
power projects that finally pulled all of its people following the
murder of two of its workers this week, after losing a third the
prior one. 4) I want to believe we’ll receive more international
support soon, but outside of perhaps Britain, I’m not holding my
breath. 5) A national election can not be held without security.
This week we also saw Fallujah, Act II, with the ‘surrender’ of
militant cleric al-Sadr and his band of devils. When I heard what
was transpiring in Najaf and Kufa, as once again forces melted
away because we let them, I was distressed. As you can imagine,
Ralph Peters weighed in anew as well.
“So much for our refusal to negotiate with terrorists. Our
diplomats and bureaucrats are tumbling over each other to cut
deals with those who kill our soldiers, slaughter civilians and
hope to derail the future of Iraq. Congratulations, guys.” [New
York Post]
I know some of the president’s supporters are tired of the Bush-
bashing from many quarters, including “60 Minutes,” but how
can you not but listen to retired General Anthony Zinni? He’s
right. This post-war phase has been all about “poor strategic
thinking… poor operational planning…incompetence and
corruption.” We have also been lied to.
But I differ with Zinni in his statement it was the “wrong war at
the wrong time.” It just sickens me that both our civilian and
military leadership have failed us so, though I keep praying we
learn from the mistakes and somehow turn it around.
—
Wall Street
It was a week of conflicting signals on the economy. Granted,
none of the data points were as important as what is coming over
the next 15 days – May employment and inflation data, for
starters – but two readings on consumer confidence were
decidedly uninspiring and durable goods orders for April were
down, while on the other hand personal income was up a solid
amount and the Chicago manufacturing data was much better
than expected. But while I have always hesitated to make too
much of one number, the figure for new home sales in April, off
11.8% for the biggest drop in a decade, can’t be totally
dismissed, especially since Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
Greenspan is undoubtedly waging his own internal battle; the
need to keep the housing bubble going vs. his stated mandate to
fight inflation.
Higher mortgage rates are beginning to bite, even though they
remain at historically low levels. If rates resume the uptrend
after this current pause, it will fly in the face of home values that
in some areas have witnessed staggering appreciation over just
the past year. For example:
Las Vegas, Miami and Sarasota have seen home values increase
20-30%, the D.C. area 19%, and California registered its
biggest one month increase in April in 26 years, up 25% year-
over-year. [Source: USA Today / Los Angeles Times]
Yes, since World War II, nationwide, housing values haven’t
declined in any single year, but tell that to California
homeowners during the period 1989-1997, or Houston residents
during the oil bust of the 1980s. No doubt, many parts of the
country have more diversified economies than they once did, as
in the above two cases, but the watchword is “affordability” and
in large swaths of America, folks are either stretching beyond
their means or simply can’t make the move.
Housing was the prime source of the wealth effect that helped
carry the economy through the post-2000 bubble period, as
people saw their #1 asset appreciate at 8%+ a year and then
borrowed against it. And heck, I know I’m a broken record on
this topic and have zero credibility by now, but the big gains are
in, and now we wait to see if the next move is down or sideways.
Either way, many won’t feel as wealthy a few years hence, if not
sooner, unless there is a spectacular rally on Wall Street, and
consumer spending is bound to suffer.
[Incidentally, last week I noted the housing bubble in the U.K.,
again. I forgot to mention Australia, which in the words of
strategist Marc Faber is in the midst of its own “gigantic
bubble.”]
So what is Greenspan going to do come the June 29-30 Open
Market Committee meeting? He’s waiting on employment and
inflation numbers like the rest of us.
Meanwhile, there is a chance the Fed, and consumers, catch a
break in the price of oil if Kuwait and U.A.E. are able to pump
substantially more crude as the Saudis have now promised. Oil
producers would still be barely meeting existing demand but the
psychological impact could be worth a few $dollars on the
downside. Pressure on OPEC to increase output, by the way, is
not just confined to the bigger consuming nations. This week in
Beirut, thousands protested over rising fuel costs, things got out
of hand, and at least 5 were killed.
Street Bytes
–It was a solid week for equities with the Dow Jones and S&P
500 breaking 4-week losing streaks, up 2.2% and 2.5% to 10188
and 1120, respectively. Nasdaq rose 3.9% to 1986, it’s highest
weekly close in five.
–U.S. Treasury Yields
6-mo. 1.38% 2-yr. 2.53% 10-yr. 4.66% 30-yr. 5.34%
Bonds staged a little rally on some of the weaker economic data
and potential prospects for more crude oil in the market, thus
alleviating a bit of the need for the Fed to initiate an extensive
tightening regime. But rates could resume the uptrend with one
unfavorable figure and all eyes are on Friday’s labor data.
–Spitzer vs. Grasso: In filing his suit over former New York
Stock Exchange Chairman Dick Grasso’s “excessive
compensation package,” New York Attorney General Eliot
Spitzer said he sought to “enforce the public’s interest in
effectuating the principle in New York’s Not-for-Profit-
Corporation Law, that officers…be paid only that compensation
that is ‘reasonable’ and ‘commensurate with the services
performed.’”
At issue is up to $200 million that Grasso received while running
the not-for-profit NYSE, but what Spitzer and others find
particularly galling is the $80 million Grasso was paid for the
four years 1999-2002, after receiving a cumulative $17.8 million
the prior four years, the latter a fair package in the eyes of
most familiar with the ways of the Street, including yours truly.
As the suit spells out, the staggering sums, including the August
2003 lump sum payment of $139.5 million, with a promise for an
additional $48 million later, were “attributable to an improper
methodology for determining the compensation of Grasso and
other NYSE executives over which Grasso exercised
considerable and at some stages, unfettered discretion.”
Grasso was painted as a tyrant who exhibited total control of the
Exchange, except when former SEC Chief Harvey Pitt asked him
to clean up the problems with Wall Street’s research and
conflicts of interest and he refused to do so.
For his part, Grasso replied to the suit through an op-ed in the
Wall Street Journal, where he wrote it was all about Spitzer’s
political ambitions. In blasting the attorney general and Grasso’s
successor, John Reed, Mr. Dirtball railed against the “immoral
and dishonest behavior of those who…besmirched my name.”
Well, you know where I stand. I nailed this guy in the aftermath
of 9/11, labeling him nothing more than a used-car salesman.
Dick Grasso is also an egomaniac; a conniving, despicable,
disgusting example of the worst of Wall Street. Or to put it more
mildly, I refer to a piece in the New York Post by Jon Elsen:
“The blatant corruption of the (compensation) arrangement, and
the extent to which Grasso secretly exploited it for his own
personal gain, is nauseating.
“And the arrogance and self-righteousness of his self-defense is
appalling.”
Grasso wasn’t alone, of course, he just happened to head up
Sleaze Inc., surrounded by what we are hearing continuously the
past week were the “captains of industry.” One of them, Ken
Langone, was the only director named in the lawsuit, Langone
having chaired the compensation committee for the four
prodigious years at the focus of Spitzer’s action.
Oh, how some of us pray this case proceeds right into the
courtroom. I don’t give a damn that Eliot Spitzer is running for
governor, nor do I care he represents a political party of which I
am unfamiliar when it comes to the voting booth. Were it not for
Spitzer, much of the Wall Street scandal never would have come
to light. You can argue that he has actually been too lenient, as
in the settlement with the brokerage community over research,
but that’s asking for a perfect world, one with three or four Wall
Street titans in the slammer. No, Spitzer has done alright, just as
Rudy Giuliani did when he was prosecuting cases against the
mob; good work that launched his own political career.
–Citigroup is selling its 20% interest in a Saudi Arabian
financial institution, thereby abandoning the country it has had a
presence in for almost 50 years. Citigroup denies it had anything
to do with security concerns and of course they are lying.
Separately, the Federal Reserve fined the bank $70 million for
abusive lending practices, just another part of Sandy Weill’s
legacy, he being a captain of industry, you understand.
–Former Rite Aid CEO Martin Grass was sentenced to 8 years in
prison for his leading role in the accounting scandal at the
company dating to 1998 and 1999, one in which a staggering
$1.6 billion in earnings was later restated. Rite Aid was
overshadowed by the scandals at Enron, WorldCom et al, but the
history books will feature it prominently. Six other executives
have been convicted alongside Grass.
–Grass, Grasso…what’s the difference? Pure scum.
–Italian prosecutors are looking into a case involving possible
kickbacks between GlaxoSmithKline and some 4,400 doctors
who prescribed Glaxo drugs. Coming on the heels of the
Parmalat debacle, authorities here deserve a ton of credit for their
aggressive actions in combating corruption in a country
heretofore well known for it.
–Shares in Russian energy giant Yukos are now off more than
50% from the high amidst the prosecution of former chairman
Mikhail Khodorkovsky and other associates. Yukos reiterated it
would have to file for bankruptcy if the Kremlin enforced its
demand of $3.5 billion in back taxes, though it seems clear to
this editor that Putin Inc. will simply seize the assets.
–Follow-up: Strong Funds was sold as expected for about $500
million. Acquiring this tarnished asset manager was Wells
Fargo. They can’t remove the name fast enough.
–The NASD fined a Merrill Lynch analyst $225,000 and
suspended him from the industry for a year for providing
“misleading” research on Tyco.
–Former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers faces six new charges
for filing false documents with the SEC.
–Internet advertising reached a record $2.3 billion in the first
quarter and appears to be well on track to surpass 2000’s peak. I
have to admit I’m spending as much as I did back then.
–Workers at SBC ended their 4-day walkout and reached
agreement on what appears to be a generous 5-year contract.
First and foremost, they get to keep their jobs. Secondly, as
noted last review, they ensured back-to-back long weekends.
Excellent work.
–My portfolio: No changes, but thankfully my spec holdings
rallied some along with the recent rebound in small caps in
general. I remain about 80% cash, which I left in the mudflats of
the Delaware River because I forgot to drive over to remove it
before the holiday partygoers found the greenbacks.
Foreign Affairs
Russia: President Vladimir Putin gave his state-of-the-nation
speech and focused on the economy, saying Russia is capable of
doubling output by 2010, a most ambitious goal. He also said
the aim is for a “mature democracy and a developed civic
society” as he seeks to “strengthen Russia’s position in the
world.” Then he darkly added, “Far from everyone…wants to be
dealing with an independent, strong and self-confident Russia”
and he issued veiled threats to human rights groups operating in
the country.
But aside from failing to address the disaster in Chechnya in any
detail, it now appears that neighboring Ingushetia, a dirt poor
territory of some 300,000, has fallen victim to the same kinds of
oppression that befell Chechnya. There has been a wave of
abductions, according to the Moscow Times, with human rights
groups counting at least 40 thus far in 2004. Most of the victims
are never heard from again and the incidents appear to be carried
out by the security services. Lovely.
North Korea: The New York Times reports that there is now
irrefutable evidence North Korea sold uranium to Libya in early
2001, which would make this the first known case of its kind. So
it begs the question, ‘Who else has Kim Jong il sold it to?’
Missiles are one thing, uranium is quite another.
Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi traveled to
Pyongyang where he was treated like crap, starting with his
being greeted at the airport by a mere mid-level official. There
was also a story Koizumi had a box lunch since a formal meal
wasn’t set up for him. The prime minister went to North Korea
to cut a deal for 5 children whose parents were abducted from
Japan 25 years ago. The parents had recently been released but
Kim held the children, the little bastard. Koizumi paid a ransom
of $10 million plus massive food aid and with no promise that
dozens of others presumed to have been kidnapped and still alive
will ever be returned. Reaction in Japan to the maneuvers
appears to be mixed according to the first polls I saw.
Israel: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is working on a new plan
calling for a now gradual pullout from Gaza, while Sharon
learned he will not face bribery charges in a well-publicized
investigation. But in perusing my periodicals I came across a
piece in Defense News concerning Israel’s pullout from south
Lebanon in May 2000.
Since then, Hizbollah has made tremendous strides on the
political front, winning 28 of 30 seats in a recent municipal
election and it is set to make further gains in the Lebanese
parliament. Couple this with the fact Hizbollah has about 12,000
rockets of various types and you can see what a growing threat it
is.
In a totally different vein, and tied to recent White House moves,
senior editor Robert Kaiser of the Washington Post had the
following comment.
“We have not made a ‘crucial advance in the campaign against
terror,’ the words President Bush used when he declared victory
in ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’ on May 1, 2003. Instead we have
stimulated new hatred of the United States in precisely the
regions from which future terrorist threats are most likely to
arise, while alienating our traditional allies. By embracing Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to withdraw unilaterally from
Gaza, we abandoned the ‘honest broker’ role that U.S.
governments tried to play for four decades in the Middle East,
and we confirmed the conspiratorial suspicions of every anti-
American Arab. Our credibility has been battered.”
Sudan: The possible peace deal here between the warring parties
does zero to alleviate the suffering of more than one million that
were uprooted by the Islamo Fascists.
Haiti / Dominican Republic: I’m a Weather Channel addict and
about a week ago I kept seeing the globs of dark green over these
nations and thought “this can’t be good,” knowing of the
mountainous terrain and destitute villages lying in the valleys.
But no way did I, or anyone else, contemplate the damage
wrought by an atypical weather system. It would also, for that
matter, be disingenuous of me not to acknowledge that I’ve been
less than kind to Haiti over the years, feeling the people largely
deserved their plight, at least from a political standpoint, but no
one deserves the death and destruction wrought the past few
days.
Random Musings
Abu Ghraib and Beyond: When it comes to this topic I continue
to be astounded at some of what I hear from the far right. It is
not smearing the other 99.9% of our troops to discuss the
realities of Abu Ghraib, so to hear some leading conservative
voices describe it as nothing more than the actions of a “few bad
apples” and “not that big a deal” makes me livid.
Here are the latest facts. The abuse scandal goes beyond Abu
Ghraib to include other facilities in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
At least 12 now face charges, according to the Pentagon, while
10 possible homicides are being investigated. Brig. Gen.
Karpinski has been suspended, Lt. Gen. Sanchez rotated out. But
the Pentagon is also still covering up crucial details, such as
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s role. Congress must
fulfill its oversight obligation and see this investigation through
to the end.
Abu Ghraib has created an unbelievable bitterness in much of the
Arab world. Whether it’s warranted, in light of Saddam’s brutal
track record, is beside the point.
“60 Minutes” commentator Andy Rooney weighed in last
Sunday in another controversial appearance.
America has had a lot of great days, Rooney said, but “The day
the world learned that American soldiers had tortured Iraqi
prisoners belongs high on the list of worst things that ever
happened to our country. It’s a black mark that will be in the
history books in a hundred languages for as long as there are
history books. I hate to think of it.”
“The image of one bad young woman with a naked man on a
leash did more to damage America’s reputation than all the good
things we’ve done over the years ever helped our reputation…
“One general said our guards were ‘untrained.’ Well, untrained
at what? Being human beings? Did the man who chopped off
Nicholas Berg’s head do it because he was untrained?
“The guards who tortured prisoners are faced with a year in
prison. Well, great. A year for destroying our reputation as
decent people.
“I don’t want them in prison, anyway. We shouldn’t have to
feed them. Take away their right to call themselves American –
that’s what I’d do….Find yourself another country or a desert
island somewhere….
“In the history of the world, several great civilizations that
seemed immortal have deteriorated and died. I don’t want to
seem dramatic tonight, but I’ve lived a long while, and for the
first time in my life, I have this faint, faraway fear that it could
happen to us here in America as it happened to the Greek and
Roman civilizations.
“Too many Americans don’t understand what we have here, or
how to keep it. I worry for my grandchildren, my great-
grandchildren. I want them to have what I’ve had, and I sense it
slipping away.”
I agree with 90% of the above. The fact I have had big problems
this year in particular with Mr. Rooney is irrelevant. I do pray,
however, that somehow the damage from Abu Ghraib lasts but a
generation; that America can recapture the moral high ground.
–Sorry, this isn’t a good week in this space for President Bush. I
am still voting for the man, taking solace in a new cabinet, but
for now more from Ralph Peters, retired lieutenant colonel.
“Has our president’s courage failed because he faces an electoral
contest against a spineless man who believes in nothing? It’s
painful enough to despair for Iraq. One begins to despair for
America….
“Is Bush willing to betray the future of Iraq, the War on Terror,
America’s security, and the sacrifice of our soldiers’ lives to win
in November?
“By assigning greater importance to an election than to the war,
Bush is apt to lose both. The winners will be the terrorists and
the forces of repression.” [New York Post]
–While Iraq is critical to President Bush’s reelection hopes, it’s
not too late for the economy to have a positive impact on his
campaign. As one study noted, many of the key battleground
states, particularly in the Midwest, are now seeing solid gains in
payrolls and with this week’s revision in first quarter GDP
upward to 4.4%, if I’m the president I would hammer away at the
economy’s performance the past year. Plaster these figures all
over the place…like in a television ad.
Q2 ’03…+3.1%
Q3 ’03…+8.2%
Q4 ’03…+4.1%
Q1 ’04…+4.4%
And the long-awaited employment gains are following.
–I maintain Ralph Nader will receive no more than 1-2% in
November – though admittedly this could still tip the election –
and not the 5-6% he’s currently receiving in the polls. But as
George Will points out Nader’s employment of the war issue is
his greatest strength, particularly with John Kerry’s position of
the day not differing one iota from Bush’s.
–No doubt, we are entering a scary period when it comes to the
threat of terrorism. Aside from the political conventions,
holidays and the election, you have a G-8 summit in Georgia, the
NATO summit in Istanbul, the D-Day ceremonies in France and
the Olympics. But the other day when Attorney General John
Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller had their press
conference concerning 7 specific terror suspects, while it wasn’t
necessarily news except for the identity of the American, since
the others had previously been mentioned, I saw nothing wrong
with getting the pictures out yet again in such a public forum.
However, upon hearing that Homeland Security wasn’t apprised
of the move beforehand, the whole deal is now more than a little
disturbing. Are the departments finally cooperating or not? Was
this merely a political sideshow? The truth lies somewhere in the
middle.
–The surgeon general has issued an absolutely devastating report
on the affects of smoking, including new research that shows it
damages essentially every major organ in the human body.
Smoking cuts the average life of a male by 13.2 years, 14.5 years
for females. Today, 22.5% of adults light up.
–Business Week had a sad cover story on America’s working
poor. 28 million earn $9 / hour or less, about $18,500 per year,
and many of these have zero benefits. Unfortunately, the above
report from the surgeon general reveals that about 33% of the
working poor also smoke, thereby compounding their problems.
–1 in every 75 American males is living in prison or jail.
Wonderful.
–Since I returned from my trip to Singapore it’s been in the news
a bit. One incident I took particular interest in was a collision in
the crowded waters off the coast that I wrote of. It seems a car
carrier collided with an oil tanker and while no one was killed,
the cars went down to the bottom…all 4,000 of them! A new,
fun reef for the fishes, as Trader George mused.
And then there is the issue of chewing gum. As of this week you
can purchase it again, but only one brand and by prescription.
Already, city workers are complaining about the mess on the
sidewalks and I don’t blame them. I was walking in the
downtown area around my office building the other day and it
was disgusting how much chewing gum was on our $mega-bucks
sidewalk project that is about two-years-old. Singapore had it
right the first time. Man, when given a choice, chooses to be a
pig.
–I was astounded to see that Mindy Herman, the disgraced CEO
of E! Networks, was receiving a severance package of $20
million. Frankly, I had never heard of her until reading some
recent pieces in the Los Angeles Times, but what a bitch. Ms.
Herman was involved in fistfights with fellow employees,
shakedowns at baby showers, and she even charged huge
redecorating costs on her home to the network.
–Conservatives such as yours truly certainly enjoyed Bill
Cosby’s comments to an audience commemorating the 50th
anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education. In case you
missed it they included:
“Ladies and gentlemen, the lower economic people are not
holding up their end in this deal. These people are not parenting.
They are buying things for kids – $500 sneakers for what? And
won’t spend $200 for ‘Hooked on Phonics.’ …
“They’re standing on the corner and they can’t speak English. I
can’t even talk the way these people talk: ‘Why you ain’t,’
‘Where you is’…And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother
talk. And then I heard the father talk…Everybody knows it’s
important to speak English except these knuckleheads…You
can’t be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your
mouth!”
In addressing the issue of imprisoned blacks, Cosby noted:
“These are not political criminals. These are people going
around stealing Coca-Cola. People getting shot in the back of
the head over a piece of pound cake and then we run out and we
are outraged… ‘The cops shouldn’t have shot him. What the hell
was he doing with the pound cake in his hand?’”
What I got a kick out of in the reaction to this diatribe was in
people forgetting that this is nothing new for Cosby. For decades
he has railed against the foul-mouthed comics of today, a topic I
touched on recently after viewing Chris Rock’s latest HBO
special.
But another thing you realize after reading Cosby’s comments is
that he is the real deal. Cliff Huxtable was popular for good
reason, yet critics of “The Cosby Show” said it wasn’t realistic.
It was Bill Cosby’s vision, for crying out loud, and a worthy one
it was.
–And I imagine Mr. Cosby would have a thing or two to say
about a story I saw in last Saturday’s New York Post, as reported
by Marianne Garvey and Carl Campanile.
“A bizarre new kids’ sex craze is sweeping the city’s elementary
schools.
“Girls as young as 11 are stacking colorful rubber ‘sex bracelets’
up their arms while their parents are unaware that each piece of
the cheap jewelry represents a different sex act, according to a
secret-code the kids share….
“The kids play a game called ‘Snap’ associated with wearing the
bracelets. In the game, girls wear the bracelets around their
wrists, and if a boy runs up and rips one off, he gets a ‘coupon’
from the girl to perform whatever sex act the color stands for.
“A black bracelet indicates sexual intercourse, blue is oral sex,
red is a lap dance or French kiss and white is a homosexual kiss
– and it gets more in depth.
“Green represents having sex outside.”
Again…these girls are 11. The rise and fall of Rome is not such
a far-fetched example of what could be happening in our country.
–So I saw this headline in the Financial Times. “BritArt’s finest
feared lost in blaze.” That’s sad, I thought, thinking fire had
destroyed some real classics. But then I learned it was only some
contemporary art, of which I’m not a fan, including an “Emin”
work titled “Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995.” No
need to cry over that one, I concluded.
–Violent crime is down yet again in New York City, and across
the river in beautiful Newark, New Jersey, the Crips and Bloods’
street gangs announced a truce this week, this after 32 killings in
Newark thus far in ’04. Yippee!
–The problems at Charles De Gaulle Airport are really
unbelievable. The architect and builders should soon be sleeping
with the fishes, err, poisson.
–Did some of you happen to catch Ann Coulter on Bill O’Reilly
Thursday night? What a vile, disgusting piece of trash she is.
Even O’Reilly was stunned at what an idiot, and cartoon, Coulter
has become. Actually, if she was placed in a ring with the Al
Gore we saw on display this week, it would rival anything from
“Gladiator.” Bloody, very bloody.
–Finally, congratulations to former senator Bob Dole for his
tremendous efforts on behalf of the World War II memorial. The
design isn’t universally loved – read Charles Krauthammer’s op-
ed in Friday’s Washington Post if you’re interested in such
things – but over time I imagine it will be accepted. More
importantly, let’s just pray that 100 years from now
schoolchildren and our nation’s decision makers will understand
the enormity of the sacrifice all Americans made in the Big One.
But as for Dole, unwittingly, perhaps, he has been performing a
valuable service of another kind this week. All of the
interviewers want him to comment on the criticism President
Bush is facing concerning the war in Iraq, looking for Dole to
bash the critics. Instead, he has reminded us all of what our
veterans have fought for in one conflict after another…the right
to speak out, to question our leaders, to dissent.
—
God bless the veterans on this most special weekend. I’ll have
further thoughts on the topic next week in conjunction with the
60th anniversary of D-Day.
God bless America.
—
Gold closed at $394
Oil, $39.90
Returns for the week 5/24-5/28
Dow Jones +2.2% [10188]
S&P 500 +2.5% [1120]
S&P MidCap +4.7%
Russell 2000 +4.1%
Nasdaq +3.9% [1986]
Returns for the period 1/1/04-5/28/04
Dow Jones -2.5%
S&P 500 +0.8%
S&P MidCap +3.2%
Russell 2000 +2.0%
Nasdaq -0.8%
Bulls 42.4
Bears 27.3 [Source: Chartcraft / Investors Intelligence]
Have a great week. I appreciate your support.
Brian Trumbore
