THE SLOWING OF THE TIDES

In case you missed the goings-on at the G-20 summit in Russia this past weekend--and I am sure many of you did--we here present as a public service exactly what occurred...nothing.  Well , that's not exactly correct because there was a joint communique (which is a tip-off that nothing important because if there were it would not be in anything "joint") concerning engaging in currency wars.  Not on, said the G-20 in unanimous formulation.  Of course it would be OK for nations to adjust the value of their currencies for a variety of different reason that would not constitute a currency war because that is a very bad thing but the adjustment of currencies to gain a competitive advantage is OK.  Now some of you may ask, "DUH?" but please understand that these are subtle and difficult issues not easily understood by folks like us but crystal clear to central bankers.  We must trust them and realize that they know what they are doing.  And thus ends our public service announcement for the day.

Over Here, The Leader, fresh from his three day golf trip with members of the 1% lectured everyone on the horrors of the sequester which is coming up next week.  This subject will dominate the news up until the moment of truth as The Leader will attempt to impress upon what a horrible idea the sequester is, blame it on the Republicans while at the same time trying to make everyone forget that it was his idea in the first place.  The fact is that if we had a budget which we don't because the Senate, controlled by The Leader's party refuses to pass one, it would be around $4 trillion with a deficit of $1 trillion of which a $60 billion sequester wouldn't amount to what my Massachusetts Yankee uncle used to refer to as "a pee-hole in the snow." Hell, 3 accountants named Schwartz with the aid of a slide rule could lose $60 billion from that mess in an hour.  But no, we are forced to listen to tales of teachers not teaching, cops not copping, borders becoming unprotected and worse.  And for over a week.   It's unfair. With  Euroland looking at the election of a new Pope and, oh, yeah, the Italian elections, the G-20 again entering into ANOTHER year without a new idea in their heads and this nonsense dominating out news, I'm dead.  Maybe I'll start a screen play, something about an old house in England or...what...it's been done?  See what I mean?  Dead.