Archive - Jun 27, 2009

San Francisco Fed providing their 2 cents on classical Keynesian economics as pertains to the efficacy of the $787 billion Obama Stimulus Plan. In summary: "The uncertainty ... remains high. Several economists remain skeptical that fiscal multipliers—whether from spending or taxes—are very large (see, for instance, Barro 2009). Moreover historical relationships may prove much less reliable during this downturn. Faced with a large decline in wealth and tight credit availability, households may very well respond differently to tax cuts today than they have in the past."

June 22, 2009 Dear Friends & Supporters: Now that all of the media attention and inquires have lessened, I wanted to thank all of you for the supportive phone calls, kind notes, and encouraging e-mails regarding Indiana’s involvement in the Chrysler, LLC bankruptcy proceedings. I have tried to respond to each of you individually, but given the enormous number of letters, calls, and emails have made that impossible. Forgive me for this impersonal note, which may read like a form letter, but please know that I have been personally touched by the incredible response of kindness by all of you.

June 22, 2009 Dear Friends & Supporters: Now that all of the media attention and inquires have lessened, I wanted to thank all of you for the supportive phone calls, kind notes, and encouraging e-mails regarding Indiana’s involvement in the Chrysler, LLC bankruptcy proceedings. I have tried to respond to each of you individually, but given the enormous number of letters, calls, and emails have made that impossible. Forgive me for this impersonal note, which may read like a form letter, but please know that I have been personally touched by the incredible response of kindness by all of you.

Claudine De La Villehuchet, widow of Rene?Thierry Magon who commtited suicide on December 23 after losing everything in the Madoff scheme (over $1.4 billion in personal and client capital), has spoken out for the first time. In an interview with Fox Business Network's Adam Shapiro, Claudine calls Madoff "a murderer" and for the first time comes clean with her own personal tragedy.

With headlines like this, who can argue that the media machine, in full control for the past 3 months, has gotten skewered on its own (lack of) propaganda:

1:00 pm : A lack of upbeat headlines has allowed participants to take control of the session. In turn, losses have been deep and broad-based, leaving stocks to test a major technical hurdle.

Moody's has released its April Moody's/REAL Commercial Property Price Indices (CPPI) update and it is a doozy: -8.6%, after what many had expected was a shooting green reading of just -1.7% in March. The problem that many don't grasp, that even Moody's has finally caught on, is that once capitulation in CRE sets in, the bottom will be torn out.

Not a single buy-program in da house today.

Trust GM to try to slide a fast one. In an attempt to get all the dealers who did not receive the "thin letter" to get on board with the restructuring process, the bankrupt automaker had sent to the surviving dealers highly secretive amended Participation Agreements (presented below) with extensive "No Protest" clauses, which would require dealers to stock more inventory, stop selling non-GM vehicles and accept new or relocated GM dealerships nearby without protest. Any disagreement with the Agreement, and the dealer would find himself joining the 1,300 dealers already terminated. However, if GM was hoping this one would simply slide with nobody noticing, it was quite wrong.