Lightning commentary round: I can’t stay away

You thought I was on vacation? Well, I am, but I want to make a few comments about the goings on today as a lot of data came out. Here is the lightning round in no particular order (sorry Cramer, I’m stealing your tag line)

• Thousands face sack in California: Should we have expected anything less. Look, California has been hit the hardest of all of the U.S. states. Will they eventually declare insolvency? Who knows. But, many local and state government will. And in the process they will cut services to the boe in order to meet budgetart constraints. ‘Nuff said.
• Barrick Gold profit rises on bullion price: Buy Gold! No, seriously, one should consider it as a store of value. As for the miners, that is a proposition fraught ith company risk.
• Japan’s industrial output slides: Can’t they turn the corner after two decades of misery? Apparently not. Japan will falter with the rest of the global economy. The U.S. should look in the mirror: the face staring back at them is Japan circa 1994.
• Windfall tax: Ministers to consider action on massive energy profits: bad idea. See my post.
• ISM shows no factory growth in July: Doesn’t anybody care about manufacturing anymore? No chatter about this as the jobs report got the big news.
• Jobless Rate Climbs to 5.7% as 51,000 Jobs Lost in July: Didn’t see the details. Watch the birth/death model for phantom jobs. Expect unemployment to hit 6% by year-end. If one takes into account part-timers and discouraged workers the numbers are way higher.
• Wachovia Rallies on Speculation Goldman Sachs May Make Bid: Didn’t I mention some like this a few days ago?
• Iran Heads Toward Nuclear `Breakthrough,’ Israel Says: This is some seriously frightening sabre-rattling.
• Going to Mexico? Better pack more dollars: Mexico is rising and America falling? Sad state of affairs for the dollar
• Your Friday Bank Failure : Uh, isn’t it obvious many of these are to come?
• What do the Germans Think of Obama?: Der Obama ist gut!
• How is GM Still Alive?: I was wondering the same thing.

That’s it. Have fun. Viel Spass. Salut.

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