Hedge fund guru George Soros told Bloomberg that "It's a bear-market rally because we have not yet turned the economy around. This isn't a financial crisis like all the other financial crises that we have experienced in our lifetime."
Mr. Soros had generally kind words for President Obama's performance but was cautious on housing: "There are some signs of hitting bottom, but we are not there yet. A lot has been done to forestall foreclosures."
Soros also blasted the loosening of fair-value accounting standards, arguing that it will keep "zombie banks" alive longer than they should be and stall a real economic recovery. He also said that the fear of nationalization is misplaced. He referred to the "bugaboo of nationalizing banks" and was critical of the alternative course Obama appears to be guiding us on: "we are nationalizing only one side of the balance sheet. We gradually take over the deficits on the balance sheet. But we aren't actually going to benefit from the banks recovering."
That's exactly right. By opting for minority stakes in insolvent banks, we've provided a bailout to creditors and even shareholders, without allowing taxpayers to benefit from a turnaround as much as they should be allowed to.
Once again, the taxpayer gets screwed.
Nuclear power is on the comeback trail
Apple backs AT&T in continuing spat with Verizon
Closing Bell: The recession is still over, still... do you feel it?
