Yoga Lovers

I love Yoga. I do not practice it often enough. I just want my friends who doubt we are facing a rising tide of Islamic extremism in the world to read this:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/22/malaysia.yoga.banned.ap/index.html

Poor Denny

I was wondering how Denny Hecker was doing. During the boom just about every bus in the Twin Cities had his smiling face on it. Mortgages, auto loans, and selling cars is his game. Denny Hecker is his name.
This is just to remind you that auto prices will not be going up anytime soon, even if The Pathetic Three go under.

No, really, we need more cars.

What A Day; Thank God

Wow, I certainly got my hat handed to me today in the market. Humbling to say the least. I was short, very short. The appointment of Geithner threw everything off. The market soared on the news. He will change everything. He will be able to do what Paulson has not. The sky's the limit from here.

Sure. Ok. Riiiiiiiiiigggghhhhhtt,

But, I don't care. Even though we are probably entering the next Great Depression, tonight I am in a mood to be thankful. A mood of gratitude.

How wonderful I have a husband who truly loves me. How lucky I am. How wonderful I have two children that make me smile at least once a day. How wonderful I have a house to live in, food to eat (good food too), a fire in the fire place. I got to play a game of UNO Attack with my daughter in front of that fireplace tonight. A Mom, Dad & sister who love me and my family. A fabulous extended family. Friends that are like family, and would give me the shirt off their backs. Tonight I am filled with love & gratitude. I don't care about anything else. I am going to enjoy what is here in front of me right NOW.

I hope you will take some time to do the same.

Politics & Pies

I realize it may seem to readers that I am a Republican. I am not. I don't have a convenient label for my political views. I believe in freedom. I want the government out of economics and out of religion. I think markets should be as government-free as possible. I am pro-choice. I am pro-choice not because I am not the decider. God, or the Universe, or the Life Force, or whatever you want to call it is the decider. I have no business telling someone else what to do with their own body. I also have no business deciding whether life begins at conception. The Republican platform is strictly pro-life. That is fine, I can see how reasonable people could disagree about when life begins. If you truly believe in your heart of hearts that life begins at conception, then abortion is murder, and you must use the power of the government to stop it. Or must you? Remember that movie with Tom Cruise where the government puts people in jail before they commit murder? (Forgive me for not remembering the name.) Anyway, I am pro-choice.

I am also in support of gay marriage. Being a very spiritual person (I believe true salvation lies within), but not particularly religious (institutionalized spirituality), I do not understand what the hell people are threatened by when they say, "Marriage is between a man and a woman". What does that mean? Perhaps they could explain it to me. As if being married to someone of the opposite sex guarantees happiness. What if you happen to fall in love with someone of the same sex? Why would anyone want to stop two people who truly love each other from getting married and enjoying the same legal benefits as heterosexual couples? What could there motivation possibly be? I bet most of you didn't know Obama is against gay marriage too. This is how Obama felt about gay marriage in 1994:

Gays should not face discrimination but should not marry
Q: [to Keyes]: You've criticized homosexuality throughout your career. What would you say to your child if he or she were a homosexual?
KEYES: Marriage is based upon heterosexual relations because they are connected to procreation. Where procreation is impossible, marriage is irrelevant. And that is the civic explanation against homosexual marriage. It is irrelevant. And the idea that one should have legislation that is regulating private friendships for no reason is a degrading of those friendships.
OBAMA: Well, to answer the original question, I would love that child and seek to support them. I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman but I detest the bashing and vilifying of gays and lesbians. Most gays and lesbians are seeking basic recognition of their rights so they're not discriminated against in employment or renting a house, so they can see their partner in a hospital. These are rights for everybody, not just some people.
Source: Illinois Senate Debate #3: Barack Obama vs. Alan Keyes Oct 21, 2004
From ontheissues.org

Anyway, for these reasons I can't call myself a Republican. However, I voted for McCain because I believe their are two problems facing this country that are much more pressing than abortion or the gay marriage issue. Our economy is in the midst of a full scale collapse. The US Government must not go bankrupt. Yes, yes, I can hear it already. "George Bush and his policies are responsible for all of our economic problems." No, they are not. It simply isn't true - even if you want it to be because you hate Bush. Our economy is on the verge of collapse because American consumers don't like the word "no". Truth does matter.

The second factor is Islamic extremism. I have simply read to much on this subject to think it is not a problem. It is. We cannot let our guard down. The extremists do not care how "enlightened" you far left liberals think Obama is. They will not decide to back off because he is our president. 9/11 happened BEFORE we invaded Iraq.

If we lose all our money and all our freedom we will only have to worry about where our next meal is coming from. Economics is just too important to every human being in this country to ignore. Obama is just plain wrong when it comes to economics. He believes in splitting up the pie fairly, so everyone will have a piece. Sounds good on the face of it. Sounds great.

But as you lay your head on the pillow tonight before you close your eyes, ask yourself a few questions:

Who made the pie?
Why did they make the pie in the first place?
When the pie is gone, who will make more pies?
Will they want to make any more pie at all?

Goodnight.

KNOW YOUR HISTORY

Please take a look a this. This is why I say if we break 7400 on the DOW we are in trouble.

http://stockcharts.com/charts/historical/djia1900.html

Thank You & Goodnight.

The Pathetic Three

I know - I know. It is mean to say anything bad about the big three. It is Anti-American. Look, these guys don't deserve to be saved. Neither did the bankers. I actually heard some guy testifying before congress today say that if we let the pathetic three go under, the American consumer will suffer because auto prices will go up. WHAAAAAAT??????? Has this fool ever studied basic economics - and I mean BASIC. I am assuming he means that the supply will drop so severely, that this will cause prices to rise. WRONG! Why the hell does he think the pathetic three aren't selling any cars? Because demand has fallen off of a CLIFF! How do we get back to equilibrium?? By having a dramatic reduction in supply! But with all those unsold vehicles sitting on the lots prices have to come down. By asking to be bailed out the pathetic three are essentially asking the government to keep the prices of their cars artificially high. It is because of this fact, their involvement in shady financing (GMAC finance), and sky high labor costs that the pathetic three are failing. People are broke - they can't buy any more cars! This does not even begin to touch on the fact that they made horrible decisions. They didn't invest enough in fuel efficient cars. They didn't have the balls to take on the unions. Etc., Etc. They didn't follow Toyota's example.



It is easy to be for Capitalism when things are going well. It is not as easy when you are the guy losing your job or going out of business. I love how all the "Capitalistic" bankers on Wall Street ran to the government with their hands out when their models failed. How dare they call themselves Capitalists. How dare they call this system Capitalism.



Real Capitalism has nothing to do with the hybrid government/business model we have seen for the last 25 years.



Let them fail.

Thoughts of The Day

Parenthood: My daughter did not want to go to school today because she has short hair and "everyone else" has long hair. She ended up having a good day. My son is learning to read and it is so fun that it reminds me that sometimes the things that seem most difficult in life (parenting) are the most rewarding. Easy does not always translate into good.

The Market: Day trading is the only strategy that is working for me. I don't like to day trade, but it is simply the only thing working right now. Don't try it at home kids. I truly believe we are stuck in a range. I think 7400 is about the bottom. If it is not we might as well all pack it up and move to New Zealand because the next stop is around 4000 on the DOW. If you have $ in stocks and are not an investment professional it is time to realize "buy &and hold" was a lie. If you were lucky enough to get out before the crash you might want to SLOWLY increase your exposure to the market to about 30% or so.(If your time horizon and financial situation are appropriate.) However, please don't be one of those people who gets worried about missing the upswing (unless you are a trader). In my opinion, we are entering one of the longest, most protracted bear markets in history. Save your $, pay off all you debt, & find a way to produce income. BY THE WAY, if we bailout the carmakers we will end up with a country full of YUGO's - remember te YUGO? Ahhhhhhhh, THE YUGO. GOD HELP US.

Hello!

I am a mother of two who loves economics, stocks, and politics. I decided a blog would be a good idea when I realized I was spending way too much time talking to my poor friends and family about economics. I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.A. in Quantitative Economics in 1994. I worked in retail banking for about five years before having my first child and then went on to complete an MBA with a concentration in accounting and finance. For the last five years I have been home with my children full-time. So, when people ask me, "What do you do?" I always hesitate before answering. Do they really want to hear; "I care for two children, run a household, study economics, stocks, predict things like the dot com crash, the recent oil price run up and subsequent decline & the housing crash and subsequent stock market decline, take care of a dog, cat, rabbit, crayfish, fish, and try to remain sane peaceful and centered while I explore the inner depths of my psyche? The answer is NO.

However, if you would like some free information about the economy delivered in language that anyone can understand, you have found the right site.