AH, WHAT A DAY

Just as I was about to tuck into my egg, bacon and mushroom breakfast with two slices of toast (ONE egg--cholesterol problems) and my second cup of Joe, S & P announced that the future of the debt rating of the United States of America now has a negative outlook. Futures tanked and when the market opened the Dow was down 150 which widened to down 250 before recovering this afternoon. The state of our credit situation seemed to catch everybody by surprise. I immediately added another egg to my breakfast deciding that would be the most pleasant way to commit suicide.

HELLO?!! ANYBODY LISTENING?

CNBC had a talking head on from the rating agency and was ask by Steve Liseman whether the negative outlook meant that there was an increased risk of default. And it was then that the reason we find ourselves in such a mess came to me: everybody involved in the financial business today is an idiot. What the hell connotation does he think "negative" has and you mean to tell me that until S & P made this brave call nobody in the stock market thought that there might be a problem? The Leader and company rushed out Austin Goolsblee, the head economic hummer for the Administration who pointed out that S & P was alone in this call thereby demonstrating that he, too, is an idiot. Everybody and his brother will pile on within the week...not that any of it makes any difference at all. Unless the debt ceiling doesn't get raised, the U.S. is not going to default and even in that case there's a question. What it does mean, however, is that the Euro and everthing else goes up against the dollar, maturities of Treasury debt ratchet in and once again, the wellness of the muni market gets put into question a fact which seemed to escape most of the commentary on the tube today.

So, while all this was going on the results of an election in Finland, which should have received more time, got lost. What happened was that following the results, the government, in order to stay in power might well have to enter into a coallition with a small political party that is completely against future Euro bail-outs unless private creditors share the pain. For private creditors, read the European banking system which, under the rules presently in place, ain't ready. It also means by-by Greece, Portugal and who knows who else. Really makes one smile and chuckle a bit. You see, on issues like spending money on bailouts any one nation in the Union has a veto. Quite a political concept. Exactly 150 years ago we sacrificed 660,000 men to avoid such a political result essentially over a single issue. 'Course that mob over there have been killing each other for 800 years so I guess it's to be expected. But make no mistake, this is big stuff and I have no idea how they are going to work it out.

Finally, the op ed page of the Times today took the cake. A regular, Ross Douthat, the Time's show conservative spoke on taxes. Problem is, he got it all wrong, while just above and to the right Little Paulie Krugman has demonstrated that he has gone completely and utterly starkers. Seems he wants The Leader to become more partisian and demonstrate more lack of breeding than he did in the speech last week. Just what we need at this stage. Negative outlook. Huummmmmm.