BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[What system is all this fiscal stimulus supporting?]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/01/10/what-system-is-all-this-fiscal-stimulus-supporting/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/01/10/what-system-is-all-this-fiscal-stimulus-supporting/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/01/10/what-system-is-all-this-fiscal-stimulus-supporting/#commentsFiled under: , ,

With the U.S. economy in recession and getting weaker by the month, and with the financial system stabilized but credit conditions hardly ideal, the United States over the next few months will embark on policy initiatives that are likely to be historic.

Both fiscal and monetary policy will be used. The incoming Obama Administration is expected seek approval from the new U.S. Congress of a record $700-$850 billion fiscal stimulus package. Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve will continue with its quantitative easing plan, including $500 billion in purchases of mortgage/asset-backed securities instruments as part of its effort to improve credit market liquidity.

The need for stimulus: incontrovertible

The above initiatives will forward a pair of numbers that some Americans will undoubtedly find hard to imagine, let alone accept: a budget deficit for this year and the next of at least $1 trillion and a Fed balance sheet rising past $2.5 trillion. Most economists argue that the actions are needed to jump-start a U.S. economy that shows almost no signs of pulling out of its deepest and longest recession in decades: corporate earnings are forecast to decline, job losses continue at an alarming rate, with unemployment rising.

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What system is all this fiscal stimulus supporting? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Congresscorporate capitalismDemocratsfeaturedFedfiscal policyfiscal stimulus packagegdpObamaquantitative easingRepublicansU.S. economySat, 10 Jan 2009 18:10:00 EST<![CDATA[Martin Wolf: Wall Street and Main Street are streets that meet]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/02/martin-wolf-wall-street-and-main-street-are-streets-that-meet/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/02/martin-wolf-wall-street-and-main-street-are-streets-that-meet/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/02/martin-wolf-wall-street-and-main-street-are-streets-that-meet/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf inquires, do Americans understand their financial and economic system?

Anger at Wall Street's - - and regulators' - - lapses is justified, but at the end of the day to oppose the rescue package is at once self-defeating, contradictory, self-punitive, and borders on nihilism, Wolf states. Take your pick regarding which is the most damaging.

Congressional representatives, particularly conservative Republicans, but also others, opposed the flawed rescue plan as a bailout for the rich, and as a statement against 'socialism.' Socialism? Yes, the plan is flawed, Wolf states, but the ruin that will result from rejecting the plan will destroy the legitimacy not of socialism, but of the market economy. Exactly what are the packages' opponents fighting?

The Congressmen/women also say that they are 'taking a stand for Main Street and against Wall Street.' A contradiction, Wolf writes. Wolf: Wall Street and Main Street are streets that meet. That is what streets do.

Then there is the future. What is the opponents' alternative? The loudest voice here appears to be 'let the market sort things out by itself,' under the assumption that the damage, costs, and negative consequences really won't be that bad. Wolf: This is not prudent, if the early 20th century's experiences are a guide.

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Martin Wolf: Wall Street and Main Street are streets that meet originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bailout billbanking sectorbond marketcapitalismcorporate capitalismcredit marketsDemocratsEuropean Unionfeaturedfiscal policyforeclosuresgdpglobalizationinterest ratesMain Streetmain street u.s.a.MainStreetMainStreetU.s.a.Martin Wolfmixed capitalismmonetary policymortgage backed securitiesRepublicansrescue billsocialismU.S. CongressU.S. economyU.S. TreasuryThu, 02 Oct 2008 14:16:00 EST<![CDATA[Rescue package: Oil change for U.S. economy; next up: tune-up ]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/29/rescue-package-oil-change-for-u-s-economy-next-up-tune-up/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/29/rescue-package-oil-change-for-u-s-economy-next-up-tune-up/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/29/rescue-package-oil-change-for-u-s-economy-next-up-tune-up/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Metaphors sometimes oversimplify, but think of the U.S. Congress' 2008 bailout bill (pdf) as a long-overdue oil change for the U.S. economy.

Still, as any driver knows, an oil change is not enough to keep a car running well. You need to have it tuned, and keep all of its engine, transmission and related systems maintained for the car to perform safely. So next up for the U.S. economy: a tuneup.

But regarding the rescue, if it goes reasonably according to plan, the U.S. Treasury, and the companion agencies the rescue creates, will slowly remove distressed / bad assets from the financial system, and in the process both stabilize the credit markets, and equally important, restore confidence in the financial system.

Of course, there's no guarantee the rescue will work as intended, but there was near unanimous agreement in economic and investment circles about what would happen without it: a freezing-up of the credit markets, contagion in stock and bond markets, panic, and a substantial reduction in the ability of companies small and large to function. In short, the worst financial panic since the stock market crash of 1929 that led to the Great Depression.

Continue reading Rescue package: Oil change for U.S. economy; next up: tune-up

Rescue package: Oil change for U.S. economy; next up: tune-up originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Sep 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>19291929 stock market crashbailout billbond marketcapitalismcorporate capitalismcredit marketsDemocratsfinancial crisisgdpGreat DepressioninthenewsPaulsonRepublicansrescue billU.S. CongressU.S. economyMon, 29 Sep 2008 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Who or what caused this financial crisis? ]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/18/who-or-what-caused-this-financial-crisis/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/18/who-or-what-caused-this-financial-crisis/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/18/who-or-what-caused-this-financial-crisis/#commentsFiled under: ,

Investors and readers are no doubt aware of the benefits of the free enterprise system as practiced in the United States: entrepreneurship, innovation, ingenuity, dynamism, risk taking, wealth building, and commerce are chief among these benefits.

But readers also know that corporate capitalism has its drawbacks, including (but not exclusively) financial crises that have resulted in devastating economic and social upheavals.

1893, 1929, 1987, 20??

Moreover, despite technological change, productivity increases, and massive increases in wealth, it's remarkable how similar both the crises and the public policy responses have been over the hundred-plus year period: excesses occur, bad debts mount, some regulatory changes are implemented by the U.S. Government (and sometimes by state governments), and then corporate capitalism resumes.

Further, whether it's due to America's culture, its vast natural resources, something innate in Americans, human nature in general, or some other factor, or a combination, every time a crisis occurs, the American people, by and large, reach the same conclusion regarding what caused the crisis or problem: bad decisions or incorrect decisions. Basically, that people, mainly executives and other business leaders (sometimes federal/state regulators), made mistakes or bad decisions.

Continue reading Who or what caused this financial crisis?

Who or what caused this financial crisis? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>banking sectorbond marketcorporate capitalismcorporationscredit crunchcredit marketsfeaturedfinancial crisisfree marketstock marketU.S. economyU.S. GovernmentThu, 18 Sep 2008 14:49:00 EST<![CDATA[Could U.S. economy, American people tolerate more government intervention?]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/05/could-u-s-economy-american-people-tolerate-more-government-int/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/05/could-u-s-economy-american-people-tolerate-more-government-int/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/05/could-u-s-economy-american-people-tolerate-more-government-int/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Could the U.S. economy tolerate, and, equally significant, will the American people push the nation's chief executive, the president, in the direction of more government intervention?

The view from here is: probably not. Everything in the American ethos and culture speaks against it.

Unlike in France, where the French Government is simply, "France," Americans, for the most part, view their government -- save defense spending -- usually as part of the problem, not the solution. 'Government is best which governs least' is a longstanding Americanism. And most investors/readers know about candidates who say they want to "get the Washington bureaucrats off the backs of the American people" and "clean up the mess in Washington!"

Americans are anti-central government, and they are anti-state (they generally dislike the limited federal government that exists). In the United States, it is always private first, public second.

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Could U.S. economy, American people tolerate more government intervention? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>1930scapitalismcorporate capitalismcredit crunchFDRfederal governmentFranceFranklin D. Rooseveltfree marketsgdpGreat DepressionMcCainNew DealObamaprivate sectorpublic sectorU.S. economyU.S. GovernmentU.S. presidencyFri, 05 Sep 2008 17:08:00 EST