[Posted 7:00 AM ET]
Iraq
The campaign of President George W. Bush was dealt a setback
this week with the release of the Iraq Survey Group’s report on
Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction program.
In a nutshell, following the first Gulf War Saddam destroyed
much of his WMD stockpile, including a clandestine nuclear
program that evaded Western intelligence until the war’s
aftermath. Right there was a clue that the intel apparatus was
probably capable of further mistakes and, as it turned out, went
from underestimating the threat to vastly overstating it.
Through the course of the 1990s, Saddam was most concerned
with Iran and while economic sanctions did a number on the
Iraqi economy and the standing army, he nonetheless kept in
place an infrastructure for reconstituting his WMD program
should he have been given another chance to do so following the
lifting of sanctions.
Saddam was boxed in during this time, yet he didn’t help himself
in refusing to cooperate with UN weapons inspectors who right
up to the war had unanswered questions. Saddam defied the will
of the UN one resolution after another, 9/11 occurred and the
world changed. Saddam failed to understand that while he
himself was not responsible for al Qaeda’s actions, he was now
facing a new adversary in President George W. Bush and thus
had become a direct target.
The Bush White House now had its excuse to do away with
Saddam once and for all and in so doing hopefully transform the
politics of the entire region. The pretext was Saddam’s apparent
WMD stockpile. Why Saddam didn’t see what was about to hit
him, and why he never came clean to save his country, and
himself, will probably never be known.
But why much of the world didn’t support the U.S. and its
coalition allies, in particular UN Security Council permanent
members Russia, France and China, is now clear beyond a
shadow of a doubt. These states were corrupted by the oil-for-
food scandal that saw high government and corporate officials
gaming the system for literally $billions in aggregate.
Documents show, for example, that in the case of Russia’s top
political officials, including the pro-Kremlin United party,
leaders benefited handsomely from Saddam’s oil voucher
system. In France it was energy giant Total (and before it Elf,
later a Total acquisition) that paid out $20 million in bribes to
win large development rights in both Iraq and Russia. And as we
all now know, the UN itself was dirty.
But once the war started, it became apparent almost immediately
that Saddam did not have the stockpiles he was reported to
possess. President Bush, Vice President Cheney et al then went
into denial. For some time British Prime Minister Tony Blair did
as well and the actual conduct of the post-war phase has been a
disaster.
Some of us recognized within weeks there weren’t enough troops
to secure the borders and the thousands of weapons dumps, let
alone for reconstruction. Former Coalition Provisional Authority
chief Paul Bremer is receiving a lot of publicity for his recent
pronouncements that he complained about the troop shortfall all
along, but this isn’t even a news story to yours truly. We now
know the vaunted U.S. military leadership blew it in being afraid
to confront the White House and tell the truth about conditions
on the ground. A nascent insurgency thus spiraled out of control.
And so we’ve come to today. Like any patriotic American I
hope for the best. I pray for legitimate elections this weekend in
Afghanistan that send a message to the rest of the world that
good can triumph over evil. I pray that Australian Prime
Minister John Howard, a great leader and friend of the U.S., is
reelected. And I pray that the vote goes off as planned next
January in Iraq.
But when it comes to U.S. credibility it’s shot. It’s no longer
enough to just say “everyone missed it” when it comes to
Saddam’s WMD program. We are the leader of the free world
and now it will be even more difficult to rally the others when it
comes to the threats posed by Iran and North Korea. This is the
true tragedy and it’s why more than ever we have to succeed in
Iraq.
The Debate
You’ll have to forgive me. It’s after 11:00 PM on Friday and my
old adage is ‘wait 24 hours’ before commenting on most major
issues. It’s “Week in Review,” not “How the World Changed in
the Last 30 Minutes.”
Nonetheless, I couldn’t agree more with NBC’s Tim Russert who
said after Bush / Kerry, Round II, that the questions were
outstanding and I’d rate the contest a draw.
I’m still voting for President Bush and nothing is going to change
that at this point. But I remain dissatisfied with his performance
on a number of fronts. President Bush has had four years, and a
Republican majority in Congress, to get an energy plan out the
door, and hasn’t. He’s had four years to push through much
needed tort reform, and hasn’t. He’s had four years to veto one
spending bill, and hasn’t.
North Korea and Iran have only gotten worse under his watch.
He misled viewers tonight when he talked about withdrawing
troops from South Korea, as I’ll point out later. [Then again,
understand only you and the readers of Defense News will know
this last bit.]
President Bush still can’t admit a single mistake. I understand
it’s too late in the political season for this, but it’s pitiful. His
post-war policy in Iraq is riddled with grave errors in judgment.
So why am I still voting for the president? Because I believe in
the big picture ideas that he gets credit for. I still believe that
taking out Saddam was the right thing to do and I have seen
nothing from John Kerry to convince me he would do a better
job in combating the war on terror. You should know enough of
me by now that this is all that matters. The issues of healthcare,
the economy, and education pale in comparison. One attack with
a weapon of mass destruction on America and it’s Depression…
and depending on the severity, possible anarchy.
Of course you know my real problem…I just wish we had a
better choice. We did have one, but he’s sitting down in
Arizona.
Wall Street
Most economists forecast growth in the just completed 3rd
quarter of 4.5-5% and I just don’t see it. The consumer has
shown increasing signs of holding onto his or her wallet and not
being as fast on the draw with the credit cards, witness Wal-
Mart’s tepid 2.4% rise in same-store sales for September. While
on the technology front, the week’s biggest news was Taiwan
Semiconductor’s announcement that it has seen its business slow
markedly the past two months. Considering this company is a
world bellwether, it doesn’t bode well.
Friday’s employment report also isn’t what the Bush camp had
hoped for, that’s for sure, as non-farm payrolls grew just 96,000
last month, far below expectations and, more importantly, the
150,000 needed just to keep up with the ever-expanding labor
pool. The White House can spin it all it wants but the fact is
when it comes to job creation, this administration has fallen
short.
But let’s focus on two other key economic factors…prices in the
energy sector and deficits.
No one, even T. Boone Pickens, foresaw $53 oil in October at
the beginning of this year (though it’s amazing how many now
claim they did), and by now you all know the culprits; constant
disruptions in the flow of oil out of Iraq, political strife in
Venezuela and Nigeria, labor issues in Norway, Hurricane Ivan
and surging demand, particularly in China.
And now the picture for the winter heating season looks
increasingly bleak, especially with forecasts of colder than
normal temperatures in the key energy consumption regions of
America. Home heating costs, for example, could rise 15-30%
according to the experts and I suspect will be greater than the
outside limit. Those who refuse to acknowledge the coming
impact on consumer spending are idiots.
Then you have New York Times columnist Tom Friedman. I
have long respected his judgment on foreign affairs but every
now and then he strays from the script to comment on the energy
scene where he is way out of his league. This week, in
advocating a $1 gasoline tax as a means of weaning us off
Middle East oil, he added the tax would “dramatically cut our oil
consumption and bring the price back to $20 a barrel.” No
Pulitzer prizes for inane comments such as this one, Tommy
Boy.
I do believe the price of crude will come down, substantially, at
some point in 2005 thanks to the global recession I have long
forecast. But you certainly won’t see $20 anytime soon thanks to
the simple fact that we (a) aren’t drilling anywhere near as much
as we need to and (b) thus can’t find enough supply to meet
demand. Eventually, though, the price curtails economic growth,
demand drops and the cycle starts all over again, though this time
from a much higher base…or higher low as the stock traders like
to say.
As for debt and the humongous deficits of all kinds we as
Americans continue to accumulate, particularly on the consumer
and government fronts, there is increasing talk from some rather
responsible folks that the $53 trillion (with a ‘t’) in total
accumulated debts and liabilities, including entitlements, that the
U.S. government is now responsible for could trigger a currency
crisis.
Fed Governor Robert McTeer, for example, offered that while
overseas investors now “finance” the current account deficit,
“theoretically some day that process will come to an end, the
flows will turn against us and there will be a crisis that will result
in rapidly rising interest rates and a rapidly deteriorating dollar.”
[Bloomberg News]
And while I discussed the potential scenario just a few weeks ago
I have to give you economist Jeffrey Garten’s simple take for
Business Week.
“Our balance of trade and investment flows is deteriorating fast,
heading toward an unprecedented 6% of gross domestic product.
This is a 25% increase from last year. We now owe $3 trillion
abroad, up 100% since 2000, and we need to borrow more than
$1.5 billion per day from overseas lenders. Right now, in fact,
foreign creditors are providing two-thirds of America’s net
domestic investment. If they lose confidence in the U.S.
economy, they could quickly sell billions of dollars worth of
Treasury bills and bonds, sending the dollar plummeting and
sparking a global currency crisis. The Federal Reserve would
then have to hike interest rates sharply to attract money from
overseas. American mortgages, car loans, and credit-card bills
would soar. The economy could go into recession.”
Lastly, if you’re looking for further evidence that the consumer
may slow down, I couldn’t help but note the publicity for Jean
Chatzky’s book on reducing one’s debt load, “Pay it Down.”
Basically, it’s all about our habit of buying a ton of things we
really don’t need. Or put another way, as investment strategist
Doug Cliggott said the other day, the American savings rate is
essentially zero which has been great for the markets in that
we’ve been buying goods, but eventually we’ll need to save more
and that’s less money being spent on consumer items which then
negatively impacts corporate profits, stock prices, etc. Ergo, I
just don’t see a big rally in stocks to new highs for the Dow
Jones and S&P 500 anytime soon.
Street Bytes
–It was going to be a solid week for stocks; that is until
Thursday and Friday. The Dow ended up finishing off 1.4% to
10055, once again approaching the 10000 level vital to President
Bush’s reelection hopes as I first noted this past spring. The
S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also declined, 0.8% and 1.1% to 1122
and 1919, respectively. General Electric reported earnings on
Friday, right on the money as far as expectations…I’m shocked!
But while GE put a happy face on things, its 2004 forecast is for
earnings of $1.58 vs. $1.56 in 2003 and it’s not as if 2005 is
going to be spectacular either. Ergo, at $33 a share it’s not
cheap, nor is it particularly expensive, which means that GE, like
other heavyweights such as Microsoft and Dell, will continue to
tread water. More like death by water torture. The latter two
haven’t done a thing in years.
–U.S. Treasury Yields
6-mo. 2.00% 2-yr. 2.58% 10-yr. 4.13% 30-yr. 4.90%
Yields on the long end rose sharply early in the week primarily
on dollar concerns, but Friday’s punk jobs report led to a rally on
the belief the Federal Reserve may not be increasing rates much
longer thanks to the feeling that the economy is not as strong as
once thought. At the same time commodities continue to rock,
which is inflationary, isn’t it? Not if you can’t pass along the
increases to consumers.
–Now I can’t begin to know what it’s like to be in Florida and
have your home destroyed or damaged this hurricane season, but
I found the following comments in Barron’s (10/4) particularly
inane.
“Florida’s rain-soaked real estate will rebound.” Then, citing the
post-Andrew experience, the reporter went on to say “After
several months, an upbeat energy comes with the whole process
of rebuilding…what is rebuilt will be better than what was
knocked down, and prices will go up.”
Right. Zippity doo daaa! Zippity aaa. My oh my, what a
wonderful day…………
–Barron’s (which I do like) also offered up this incredibly stupid
advice regarding shares in Merck, post-Vioxx. “(It) looks poised
for a big rebound.” You know I steer away from individual stock
advice, but if you’re a trader, well, you can take your shot getting
a dead-pharm bounce, but the lawsuits, many legitimate in this
instance, will inundate Merck for years, a subject the Barron’s
piece tossed away with a casualness that simply belies the facts.
–Along the same lines as the above, Pfizer clearly has its own
problems with its cox-2 inhibitor / Vioxx knockoff in Celebrex
and a piece in the New England Journal of Medicine, a rather
reputable publication I think you’d agree, calls into question the
whole cox-2 category of medications and the potential
cardiovascular side effects.
–And still on the medical front, U.K. authorities suspended
Chiron’s license to produce flu vaccine, creating a potential
public health crisis in both Europe and the U.S. should a
particularly virulent strain emerge this season. Of course if the
current bird-flu working its way through parts of Southeast Asia
becomes more widespread, hundreds of thousands could die
regardless since there is no vaccine as yet for this variant.
–Sorry, Barron’s, but I also saw this piece of asinine advice in
the 10/4 edition, though this isn’t Barron’s fault, rather it’s the
opinion of ‘gold expert’ James Turk.
“Americans have to start positioning themselves by starting to
think globally. People have to start thinking about opening
brokerage accounts overseas, opening bank accounts overseas,
owning foreign currencies that they are comfortable with and
generally expanding their horizons beyond the U.S. and diversify
their assets outside the U.S.”
Oh yeah, that’s just what the typical Barron’s reader should do,
open brokerage accounts overseas and dabble in currencies.
–The only hope for the U.S. economy is that for every job lost in
the airline industry as it drowns in a sea of red ink, the energy
sector then generates enough new jobs to replace them. But that
means the large integrateds (like ExxonMobil) have to spend on
new projects and I’m just not convinced they will to the extent
some think.
–Hedge fund assets have doubled in just the past four years to
$870 billion. [Wall Street Journal] Since many of these folks do
the same thing with their portfolios, it’s why when the panic hits
it will be exacerbated by this fast money crowd.
–I told you last week that AT&T was going to reduce its
workforce by another 10,000. So I got a kick out of CNBC’s
David Faber who reported in an “exclusive” on Tuesday that the
company was preparing a new round of layoffs. Ah, David? I
picked up on this in a little wire service story somewhere. As for
AT&T, the layoffs will mean the company has shed another 20%
just this year as it struggles with a formula that ensures its
survival.
–Merrill Lynch laid off about 25,000 following the bursting of
the Bubble, but now has slowly begun to hire again, around
1,200 according to Crain’s New York Business. But as Crain’s
points out, Merrill is getting right back into businesses that are
peaking, a long-held criticism of the brokerage firm. For
example, Merrill is scrambling to have a presence once again in
energy trading after getting rid of this business in 2001, along
with a renewed push into investment banking, another area it
slashed to the bone post-2000.
–South Korea’s financial regulators are looking into Citigroup’s
business practices following Japan’s suspension of Citigroup’s
retail operation. It’s good to see these two nations cooperating
given the historical enmity between them, don’t you think?
–Shares in Pulte Homes slid following the homebuilder’s
comment that sales of its Las Vegas properties had peaked.
Bubble bubble….pop!
–Wal-Mart announced it still plans to open 500 more stores over
the next 12 months. Good for local makers of asphalt, I imagine.
–One of President Bush’s proposals for keeping the housing
bubble going is to eliminate the 3% down payment on insured
mortgages. Who said there’s no free lunch?!
–Howard Stern signed a 5-year, $500 million deal with Sirius
Satellite Radio to begin broadcasting his popular show in January
2006, a blow to Infinity Broadcasting, an arm of Viacom. But
it’s a huge gamble for Sirius which currently has only 600,000
paid subscribers and is looking to Stern to add one million more.
[Stern, by most estimates, has an audience of around 8 million on
free radio.] And in case you’re wondering about the $100
million per year and how it’s to be divvied up, Stern should take
home at least half (a portion of which is in Sirius stock), while
the other half goes to production costs, including the salaries of
his staff.
–Inflation update: Sure, you have energy, healthcare, college
tuition, all going up. But Mark R. is particularly distressed that
his cleaning lady has bumped her fee another 14%, making it
about 30% in one year. Now Mark and I didn’t discuss this in
any great detail but I imagine she used the cost of gasoline as an
excuse. And Mark had to admit she does a good job. Me? I
fired mine for lack of effort. Yup, doing it myself these days,
aided by the spectacular Shark mini-vacuum with the power of a
jet engine. Remember, Shark makes for a perfect Christmas
gift…available at all Bed, Bath & Beyond outlets.
–My portfolio: I added another speculative holding, giving me
12 stocks that now comprise about 30% of my assets, including
some decent appreciation of late. The rest is cash; $10s and $20s
hidden at the Meadowlands Arena since there is no hockey this
year and the New Jersey Nets won’t draw. [Upper deck, row
12.]
–Finally, we note the end of “Louis Rukeyser’s Wall Street.”
On the air for over 30 years, Uncle Lou is one of the greats of
modern journalism and did more to promote financial literacy
than anyone in the history of this nation. Alas, his recovery from
back surgery, and the discovery of cancer, has led CNBC to
make the decision to suspend the program as of year end. We
wish Mr. Rukeyser the best. He is missed.
Foreign Affairs
Iran: The mullahs announced they had converted uranium into
gas, another critical step toward producing nuclear weapons
(though they still maintain it’s for nuclear fuel). And the
government said it has a new missile with a range of 1,200 miles,
perfect for delivering a nuke to Israel or southern Europe.
Israel: The government warned citizens to stay away from
Egypt’s resorts in the Sinai but up to 15,000 ignored the advice.
Tragically, at last count about 30 were killed (and an equal
amount missing) in a series of attacks Thursday night that have
all the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda operation.
The bombings overshadowed earlier developments, including
Israel’s allegation that 13 Palestinians working for a UN relief
agency were actually aiding terrorists, with Israel in possession
of a surveillance video that shows UN ambulances being used to
help set up attacks.
And the issue of Palestinian statehood has supposedly been
shelved by Prime Minister Sharon. This goes against the road
map, though Sharon denies the peace process is dead.
North Korea: I forgot to mention this last time but in a little
publicized item the head of cyber security for the Department of
Homeland Security resigned, supposedly over his frustration
with the seeming lack of commitment in resources to combat this
serious threat. What makes this even more important is a story
out of South Korea that its intelligence shows Kim Jong-il has
been training some 600 computer hackers for the purposes of
launching cyber-war against South Korea, Japan and / or the
United States. South Korea in particular is highly vulnerable
because it has the highest percentage usage of broadband in the
world. [Always on…always a target.]
South Korea: Separately, Seoul appears to be successfully
lobbying Washington to delay the Pentagon’s planned troop
withdrawal from the South for at least 3 years over the threat
posed by the North.
China / Taiwan: On Sunday, Taiwan’s President Chen Shui-bian
is to give his National Day speech so we’ll discuss this in some
length next time. In previewing his remarks, Chen said he’d hold
down the level of rhetoric on independence and that he’d be
“positive and constructive” concerning the relationship with the
mainland.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Hu Jintao told President Bush this
week that the U.S. should not sell advanced weapons to Taiwan.
“We hope that the United States would…oppose Taiwan
independence by not selling advanced weapons to (them),” Hu
told The People’s Daily. Bush reminded Hu that by law the U.S.
must sell weapons to Taiwan to defend itself even as the U.S.
continues to support a “one-China” policy. Hopefully, President
Bush also told Hu, ‘If you weren’t targeting Taiwan with 600
missiles, well, this wouldn’t be necessary now, would it?’ Click.
Russia: European Union officials, including the Austrian foreign
minister, have been openly talking of Russia’s “backsliding in
democracy” as the people are stripped of their power to elect
regional leaders. And one independent Duma member, Vladimir
Ryzhkov, even went so far as to say that President Putin is
violating 10 articles of the Russian Constitution. In other words,
there is “no legal foundation” for his recent actions.
While the press touts Putin’s supposed 73% approval rating in
his battle to combat terror, there is growing dissatisfaction in the
hinterlands as the people have lost any direct control in their own
political lives. Pavel Felgenhauer, a defense analyst, weighed in.
“(But) rather than rebuilding the past, Russia is evolving into a
fascist state along the lines of Benito Mussolini’s Italy. As was
the practice in Mussolini’s fascist corporate state, Putin on the
one hand is dismantling representative democracy, while on the
other he has announced the creation of an unelected ‘public
chamber’ that would oversee the government bureaucracy.”
[Moscow Times]
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov had some
interesting comments concerning the armed forces. Ivanov said
they were on the verge of collapse because “people were
avoiding the draft and less than 10 percent of those eligible were
showing up at enlistment stations.” [Defense News] One reason
Russians fear the draft is potential service in Chechnya.
European Union / Turkey: As expected, the European
Commission finally voted to begin talks on Turkey’s admission
to the European Union. However, all 25 member states must still
approve the move on December 17 and beforehand there are
rumblings that France may hold a referendum to gauge public
sentiment. Even if approval is granted in December, it will still
be a minimum of 10 years before Turkey is formally part of the
club.
In the meantime, some European leaders will seek to impose
restrictions on Islamic Turkey, such as one placed on it this
week, a provision restricting the movement of Turkish workers;
in essence treating them as 2nd-class citizens. Turkish Prime
Minister Erdogan had initially blasted the move but has given in
for now to keep the process going forward.
One cannot discount the enormity of the decision to admit
Turkey. We have to promote the Muslim moderation espoused
by it or the West will never successfully defeat radical Islam. At
the same time the other Muslim nations need to see Turkey as a
shining example of what they too can achieve.
[Note: There are 3.8 million ethnic Turks already in the
European Union, 2 million of which are in Germany. Also, this
week the E.U. reaffirmed the candidacies of Romania and
Bulgaria, each now slated for membership in 2007.]
India / Pakistan: Separatist and sectarian violence claimed over
100 lives in the two nations over the past week; in the case of
Pakistan the result of continuing violence between Shias and
Sunnis.
Britain: A memo out of Scotland Yard was leaked that warns of
“catastrophic” terror attacks while talking of the necessity to
minimize the initial death tolls in order to prevent panic.
Brazil: Amnesty International is warning of a “bloodbath” unless
the government takes action against drug gangs in Rio de
Janeiro. Amnesty blames police for not dealing with a threat that
could cripple the city.
Random Musings
–One thing you learn on Wall Street is how to identify those
with the money. I did a ton of seminars in my time and I would
like to think I was never condescending to an audience member
because of their appearance. The man with the muddy shoes and
overalls is often the millionaire, remember.
So I found Senator Kerry’s observation during the debate that the
president, moderator Charlie Gibson and himself were the only
three who probably made over $200,000 to be absolutely
incredible. That was the lead gaffe of the evening and sure
enough my friend Johnny Mac (an old Wall Street pro himself)
sent me an e-mail late Friday voicing the exact same sentiment. I
imagine a few good Missouri reporters will have fun with that
one.
–By the way, I used to jog with Charlie Gibson. This was a
typical nightly conversation. “How you doing, Mr. Gibson?”
“[Grunt]” Yup, not a lot of heavy discussions in those days.
–I was listening to Pat Buchanan on Imus and loved Buchanan’s
description of John Edwards as “the dauphin.” I also agreed that
Dick Cheney looked like he was about to “call in an airstrike”
during their debate. For his part, clearly Edwards is not ready for
prime time, the presidency.
–John Kerry is back to a 47-40 lead in New Jersey, more in line
with past history in my state.
–Blacks comprise 15.6% of the U.S. Army, down from 21% in
2002.
–House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, El Corrupto, was rebuked
again by the House Ethics Committee on yet another conflict of
interest charge involving campaign donations. He’s becoming an
issue for both campaigns and Republican leaders may have to
address this before the election.
–So last week I said the new National Museum of the American
Indian looked like a total bore but I really didn’t explain myself.
I have probably read at least 10 stories on this place and my
conclusion is the museum is a fraud. All that’s in it is a bunch
of arts and crafts crap along with some insipid exhibits on
the plight of Native Americans today. [Ching ching…the sound
of Indian casinos.]
Anyway, there are supposedly zero exhibits on the Indians’ past,
with apparently nothing on Sitting Bull, Red Cloud and other
leaders of their people. There is no self-examination of the
record. As one who has visited Little Bighorn twice in the past
three years and has been on more than one Indian reservation in
my life, I can’t help but comment. By all indications this
museum is a joke and a disservice to Native Americans…though
I promise to go next year when I head down to D.C. for my
annual visit.
–I also mentioned last time that I couldn’t believe how soon kids
could apply for early admission to college these days. My friend
Jimbo then notified me that he spent all last Saturday on
applications for his son Liam…………………age six.
–I don’t know why so many want to vote early. Heck, you miss
out on the bake sales. I love the competition to see who can
make the best cupcakes.
–A few weeks back I noted how much of the fish we buy in
restaurants is purposefully mislabeled and recently the local
news reported on Red Lobster and how it was mixing crawfish
into its lobster and shrimp dinners, without saying so on the
menu. Of course crawfish are a poor substitute for the Barbarian
King, Larry Lobster. Well, corporate headquarters finally fessed
up that the lab reports were right and they said crawfish was used
to provide “texture and color.” Then, under further questioning,
Red Lobster added that it used cod and pollock in the same
dishes, again without noting this on the menu.
So this week the New York Times had a report that some tuna is
being sprayed with carbon monoxide to give it that bright red
color that consumers crave, the carbon monoxide preventing
discoloration. The FDA (the same folks who approved Vioxx)
say the spray is harmless but other nations banned the application
of the poisonous gas because it can mask whether the fish is
spoiled or not.
You know, ever since the voice for Charlie Tuna passed away
earlier in the year, the credibility of the entire fish industry has
taken a nosedive.
–Finally, God does work in wonderful ways sometimes. At least
I choose to believe He may have had a hand in this one. On
Friday in Afghanistan, a huge truck bomb, designed for Election
Day or Eve, was sniffed out by a dog. Officials say it could have
killed hundreds and obviously greatly shaken confidence.
Hopefully, 50 years from now the history books are filled with
talk of the first free vote in Afghan history…and the role a
simple dog played in helping put this nation on the right path.
—
God bless the men and women of our armed forces.
God bless America.
—
Gold closed at $424
Oil, $53.31
Returns for the week of 10/4-10/8
Dow Jones -1.4% [10055]
S&P 500 -0.8% [1122]
S&P MidCap -1.3%
Russell 2000 -1.6%
Nasdaq -1.1% [1919]
Returns for the period 1/1/04-10/8/04
Dow Jones -3.8%
S&P 500 +0.9%
S&P MidCap +3.2%
Russell 2000 +3.4%
Nasdaq -4.2%
Bulls 52.6
Bears 24.2 [Source: Chartcraft / Investors Intelligence]
Have a great week, sports fans. I appreciate your support.
Brian Trumbore
