Commenting on Hedge Funds, Mutual Funds, Sub-Prime Mortgages
or talk about State fiscal reform tend to make most peoples’
eyes glaze over and encourages them to think more clearly about
their scheduled two weeks at Sandal’s in Jamaica later this
year!
Having said that; the “Whirlpool”, “The Melt-down”, The
“Hardest Hit on the economy since 9/11!”, “Fed adds $38 Billion
into Markets”, “ECB (European Common Bank)adds 95 Billion Pounds
to Aide markets!”, “Only 1.78 of Mortgages are at risk!”, “Only
10 percent of the Sub-Prime loans will default!”, “Democrats
want to bail-out Homeowners with loans under $475,000!”, “The
Market and Stocks take a pounding..in the week that was!”
Let’s just say that all of these headlines have gotten the
attention of almost everyone! There are concerns but little
understanding of what in the world any of this means! We do know
that it is affecting areas of the economy that apparently or
normally wouldn’t have much to do with Sub-Prime Mortgages…but
the drain of the swamp is under way!
Who owns Hedge Funds? OK, who owns Mutual Funds? Oh, and who
owns Stocks? Or, who owns property? Or who owns collectibles
of any kind? Or, who has a Government Pension? Or, who has
Investment Funds at risk in a variety of Investment Pools….or
Unions….or Major Corporation Pension and Health Plans? As
you start to understand….these are just the localized problem
areas which may be affected. You bring into account the European
and Asian Investment communities at risk….and pretty soon you
get the idea that prayer may be in order!
The “Three Little Pigs” said it best: Building your house on Straw
is probably not a good idea, unless you can sell those straw houses
to a bunch of buyers who think that straw houses are going to go
up in value and buy that those properties at interest only…and
hope upon hope that the property goes up 20 percent a year…and
they can sell out quickly and have cash to buy a even bigger local.
This is called the “Great Pyramid Scheme”. If you can convince
someone to give you you $100,000 bucks….and then sell someone
else air, and then guarantee payment with how high birds fly on
Saturdays….you really have something.
Our point is, that much is at risk from some very greedy Mortgage
Bankers, Sub-Prime Home Buyers and Investment Bankers! There will
be a sizable fall out and selling our Classic Muscle Car in this
kind of market…may be a problem. We do know when this all started
but it will be very interesting to see when it will sweep out all
the losers and leave Pension and Health benefits in this country
depleted by between 20 to 40 percent. We can say flippantly, that
it should be just another Savings and Loan Bail-out, or another
Mexican Government Bail-out, or another Asian Tiger Bail-out
….but this time we are connected by computers not donkey trails
across the Himalayas. This time “The World” will be affected. This
time we will need to move our cash out of Hedge Funds, Mutual Funds
or anything that invests in these vehicles of self destruction.
Buy what is real and hold what is real. This is going to be a time
when the greedy may face their comeuppance! Watch the huge Pension
and Health Funds…this is the time to sweat! Watch the County
Investment Pool…..and sweat! Buy hey, it’s probably just a small
blimp….ya think?
How about folks that have more than the FDIC insured limit on deposit in banks and S & L’s, many of which engaged in sub-prime lending directly or through subsidiaries (this includes even Wells Fargo according to the press)? How secure are those deposits given this environment of a credit crunch, collapsing mortgages and home values? This could get scarier and scarier – A recession seems almost a certainty, but will it get worse than that?
Not to worry. As the law requires that the state and local governments fully fund their pensions with all the tax dollars they receive.
Even if that mean all the employees must be laid off and taxes will have to be raised to pay for the money changers thef.
Deeper than Chris Street I’m sure!