Supercommittee: Will We See More Downside Next Week?

I wonder if any FWFOCH are shorting the market right now?

I heard many are long BAC and I'm going to look for an opportunity to buy again - perhaps @ $4.99.

A Stitch In Time Saves Nine...

...on this wardrobe malfunction of an economy?

Obama Enlists Bill Clinton's Aid on Economy


Recall that even Sarah Palin mentioned the importance of job creation during campaigning. Sarah Palin...

Bill Clinton better get this right, or his legacy is basically ruined. We'll then only remember him for the dress and maybe the cigar...

BP: Political Discrimination

Being just semi-Republican, I'm also on the Obama email list, but isn't everyone? Anyway, I noticed a few instances of political discrimination from Obama with regard to the BP incident. Other than having admired BP from afar for pulling off what was then a brilliant marketing campaign, I can't really care less about BP.

It really got to me, though, when reports started coming in about how the oyster industry will be adversely affected for years to come due to the oil spill. BP not only ruined the entire Gulf Area, but our beloved oysters?

I'm really not defending BP and I hate the fact that there's more environmental damage going on, but why do the Democrats have to go pointing fingers and making this a political play? Is it only because after the Big Bad Wolf Bailout, nothing else has been done by the Obama Administration to create more growth opportunities anywhere? What has Obama done but point fingers at the Republicans for policy failure? And the Big Bad Wolf Bailout... wasn't that more Bush's thing? Not that I'm giving any kudos to Dubbaya either.

In my bimbo opinion, the BP incident could be used by the Obama Administration as a job creation opportunity. Rather than going through criminal proceedings and pointing fingers, BP should be required to go into the confessional booth and repent for their sins by creating a certain amount of high quality jobs for the US economy. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation? We need some more change we can believe in and those two cents were not enough, Obama.

Of course BP has got to continue cleaning up the area. But from a marketing perspective, their brand would require some major Windex as well - if not a complete rebranding exercise and even an outright change of name. Apparently, their shares do not need any such resuscitation. I liked how Shell Oil tried to take advantage of the market void left by BP after the aftermath and came out with a mediocre campaign to try to win some green "new energy" credibility. The execution didn't look too appealing to me. One can't be half pregnant with a strategy like this.

The UK has already implemented fiscal responsibility measures and their Hung Parliament is still fresh in my memory. Fiscal responsibility is just what the US needs.

I should like to look at the GOL a little more seriously later today. I've been trying to get in their car for a while, but there has been no meaningful retracement for literally weeks. What? My prices are not seductive enough to the GOL, which is just an indication that I need to either look at a new pair or... pay up?

The Swiss Model of Excellence

This morning, I opened up FT.com and received a major shock after seeing the headline: "Obama looks to target overseas tax breaks." I immediately thought I was going to be affected, but thankfully, it's not the case. I'm under enough financial stress already and I really don't like what Obama's doing to the tax system - especially not the part about tax cuts expiring for the top income brackets. I'm far from being affected, but here's why we should all care.

Higher income should be what everyone aspires to. And if we allow the government to increase taxes and penalise people for aspiring to a better lifestyle today, what are they going to do next? Are people living in poverty because others are living in luxury? No! Moreover, if we cut the inefficiencies in the US government today, taxes wouldn't even have to be so high. Recall the article I posted here some while back citing the massive salary boosts US government employees received throughout the financial crisis. If Dubbaya did anything good for the US, it was lowering taxes. And that's possibly the only good thing he's done. Lower taxes are why I'm semi-Republican. Everyone should be Republican when it comes to taxes! In a socialist regime, the only direction taxes could head is higher.

But look at what the Swiss are doing. Apparently, the Swiss healthcare system is amongst the best in the world and their federal corporate tax rates are only 8.5%. I have to say the Swiss should be lauded as models of excellence - at least when it comes to taxes. But that's almost a given since their watches are so fantastic.