Well, we made it. Two weddings and a week of grandkids didn't do us in. The dog is happy to see us, we're happy to be back and my tomatoes are happy for the conversation. You have to talk to tomatoes you know. The things you learn here.
While we were off wandering The Leader signed the Financial Services bill. It is the longest piece of financial regulation in the history of the world and we are promised that it wont be long before we know what's in it. It will create thousands of new regs and the paperwork that goes with them, increase confusion by a tremendous factor and in the end accomplish very little. One thing that will happen is that the monster financial institutions that have arisen in the past couple of years will get bigger and dominate the financial scene; there will be a shrinking number of midsiaze banks who will bitch and moan that they are being overwhelmed by the giants while trying to become giants themselves through mergers and a shrinking number of "community" banks about whom few pweoplw gave a damn and less will do so now. Consumer protection will grow to a monsterous and expensive size without doing much to protect the consumer and be headed by--or perhaps not by--Elizabeth Warren who by this time everyone has realized that she's a nutter although a lot smarter than Poo Bair but who knows nearly less about the finance business than Poo if one can imagine that. More and more of the business banks do will be done outside of the jurisdiction of U.S. Regulators and the afor-mentionedd increase in size will guarantee that the doctrin of Too Big To Fail remains alive and well for all eternity.
While all of this was going on not single thing was done about Fan and Fred. I await the latest from these two jokes as to how much they lost in the last three months--remember, we are at 145 BILLION and counting--with that no limit line of credit from the U.S. Taxpayer. I still have a bid of $1 TRILLION in total losses before all is said and done. Lift it and if you win it's the best steak anywhere you live. Imagine, financial reform and not a word on this. One of the great jobs of butt covering ever seen as demonstrated by Chris the Crook and Barney. At least they are good for something...all occuring as the loyal opposition looked on.
Over on the other side, the stress test on the European banking went off without a hitch causing the Euro to have a tremendous rally above that which could be ascribed to the weakness in the dollar and a call from pundits far and wide that all is again well in Euroland. Except...remember that E1 Trillion in soverign risk debt held by the banking system? That wasn't counted apparently on the Walter Wristen (he used to run Citibank) theory oft expressed that, "Countries don't go broke." Walter, who was one of the smartest guys ever, was right of course; they don't go broke but they do have an annoying habit of not paying you back on time or at all as to a percentage of their obligations. Forgive me if I suggest that the stress test wasn't all that stressful; indeed, it was a load of crap designed to accomplish what occured: a lessening of tention in the markets and a buying of time before the reschedulings start. Yes, I said it again and if you look not too closely, Greece blew up again today and if you look VERY closely, the short-dated auction of Iberian debt of a few weeks back was taking up to the extent of a full 33% by...guess who? Can you say Moo Goo Gai Pan?
We shoulda stayed on vacation
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