Much the same thing today which is good because tomorrow I have what will hopefully be my final eye surgery it what has been a near-year long saga. As a result, I'm out of action until next week which works out fine if things stay in place until then. Actually it works out fine even if things don't so who am I kidding.
It was interesting, however to see today Chrissie of the Fund expressing considerable concern at the state of things, particularly the state of the Emerging Markets, and inparticular the state of corporate credit quality. Good call on her part because if this thing called the "global economy" doesn't start to perk up...well, you've heard me wax poetic on that before. Right now the U.S. seems to be the only economy that is perking along, albeit at a pretty slow pace, but how long can that continue with no global support? The Brits are doing OK as well but somehow I get the feeling that all is not well politically or socially with our brethren.
And speaking of them, Mark Carney the Canadian Governor of the Bank of England made quite a bit of press today with last night's speech on global climate change (or is it warming?). Seems the dangers away out there are a financial concern as well. Now Carney is a pretty smart guy but like so many others, he has reached a point in his career where he simply has to run his mouth in order to hear what kind of sound it makes. The concern as to the credit worthiness of energy companies should--as he put it--"governments become serious as to greater fossil fuel restrictions," seems to me a bit of a waste of Mr. Carney's considerable intellectual resources inasmuch as I have seen nothing, even in the most extreme climate change supporting documentation that suggests that more than 30% of TODAY'S energy needs could be supplied by renewable resources in 50 years. May I suggest, Mark, that governments are not about to turn the lights off on the future population of the world? That idea is what up in Canada could elicit a response of DUH, eh? I might, if I be thee, start worrying about the credit worthiness of a few institutions in our eon. At a million nicker a year is that too much to ask?
Next Monday if all goes well.
Showing posts with label CHristine Legrande. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CHristine Legrande. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Friday, November 29, 2013
THE DUTCH?
On the day after Thanksgiving the lead story out of Europe was the downgrade handed to the Dutch by S & P from AAA to AA+. The Dutch? The DUTCH???! Seems as though either Mr. Poors or Mr. Standard didn't like the prospects for growth…which of course has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the credit of the Dutch for the next ten years who must be holding on to a gazillion in reserves of some sort--so much that I doubt if anyone has really looked for God-knows how many years. But it is a bit of fun in any case and one can only hope that the next to fall will be Germany…Any bets as to when?
And as promised, here cometh the remarkable tale of Mrs. James' little boy Charlie agreeing with the IMF. Seemingly out of no where comes this august organization suddenly deciding that in the next sovereign debt crisis bond holders will have to take a hit. Quell awful. Like somebody, somewhere, decreed way back when that "countries don't go broke…" hang, on, somebody did. Of course, if you happened to be the Chairman of the biggest international bank in the world that might seem to be a perfectly logical position but after the debt crisis of the eighties some dissension seemed to slip into the ranks to the point that in the following crises, damn few American banks got caught with their knickers down having learned the lesson of Gen. Patton that it was better if the other dumb S.O.B. died for his bank rather than you for yours, leaving the Europeans holding the can in the latest go-rounds, thank you very much indeed.
Now of course what our Euro banking buddies have been doing is financing the welfare state for the politicians with whom they have been in bed since the Big One, which is not to say that we create banking geniuses by the bucket load but at least we piss away shareholder value in far more creative ways than simple sovereign lending. We are far too smart for that. But over there, when the piggy bank finally broke a couple of years ago, the poor dumb-ass populace was forced to pay for the, ah, misdemeanors of the banker/political classes (and are still paying) and woe to him who suggests that maybe it might be a good idea if we learned something from all of this like it will be the banker who loses his job and pension and status rather than the poor schub who must sacrifice at the altar of "belt-tightening." I mean, after all, look at the tragic demise of Westdeutsche Landesbank Girocentrale. How many of these human tragedies can we bear? Quite a few one would hope, and fearing that, maybe, just maybe, we can keep corrupt politicians and dumb and greedy bankers apart. Dodd/Frank without 2800 pages of regulation. Of course, if anybody Over There gets it into their heads to create a diversified capital market, maybe some of this risk might in the future be disintermediated. I'm not holding my breath with this monetary system from hell. So go get 'em Chrissie baby! Might cost you a banquette in Le Grande Vefour but boy, will it be worth it!
And as promised, here cometh the remarkable tale of Mrs. James' little boy Charlie agreeing with the IMF. Seemingly out of no where comes this august organization suddenly deciding that in the next sovereign debt crisis bond holders will have to take a hit. Quell awful. Like somebody, somewhere, decreed way back when that "countries don't go broke…" hang, on, somebody did. Of course, if you happened to be the Chairman of the biggest international bank in the world that might seem to be a perfectly logical position but after the debt crisis of the eighties some dissension seemed to slip into the ranks to the point that in the following crises, damn few American banks got caught with their knickers down having learned the lesson of Gen. Patton that it was better if the other dumb S.O.B. died for his bank rather than you for yours, leaving the Europeans holding the can in the latest go-rounds, thank you very much indeed.
Now of course what our Euro banking buddies have been doing is financing the welfare state for the politicians with whom they have been in bed since the Big One, which is not to say that we create banking geniuses by the bucket load but at least we piss away shareholder value in far more creative ways than simple sovereign lending. We are far too smart for that. But over there, when the piggy bank finally broke a couple of years ago, the poor dumb-ass populace was forced to pay for the, ah, misdemeanors of the banker/political classes (and are still paying) and woe to him who suggests that maybe it might be a good idea if we learned something from all of this like it will be the banker who loses his job and pension and status rather than the poor schub who must sacrifice at the altar of "belt-tightening." I mean, after all, look at the tragic demise of Westdeutsche Landesbank Girocentrale. How many of these human tragedies can we bear? Quite a few one would hope, and fearing that, maybe, just maybe, we can keep corrupt politicians and dumb and greedy bankers apart. Dodd/Frank without 2800 pages of regulation. Of course, if anybody Over There gets it into their heads to create a diversified capital market, maybe some of this risk might in the future be disintermediated. I'm not holding my breath with this monetary system from hell. So go get 'em Chrissie baby! Might cost you a banquette in Le Grande Vefour but boy, will it be worth it!
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