What are the biggest stories in the market today? Consider the following . . .

1. Warren Buffett makes his single largest acquisition ever with the $34 billion purchase of Burlington Northern

2. Ford posts surprisingly strong auto sales

3. Royal Bank of Scotland becomes the biggest banking bailout yet with another injection of capital

4. Johnson & Johnson announces plans to layoff 7% of its global workforce

Each of these developments is truly meaningful. Interestingly enough, numbers one and two are decidedly constructive while numbers three and four are clearly quite bearish about global prospects. Despite the magnitude of these stories, in my opinion, they pale in comparison to developments in the precious metals and bond markets today. What is happening? Let’s navigate.

The Treasury yield curve is steepening dramatically today with yields on longer term notes and bonds rising by 6 to 8 basis points, while shorter maturities are unchanged. A snapshot of the Treasury market is provided by WSJ Market Data.

Why is the curve steepening? What does that mean? What are the implications for other markets? All great questions. Let’s navigate further. Read the rest »

Since tonight is a bad night if you are Barack Obama (the candidates he stumped for in Virginia and New Jersey are getting an ass kicking), I though it appropriate to share with you some good news about Barack Obama that you may find surprising. Barack’s kicking some major ass on the counter terrorism front.

I know you may be shocked but the U.S. military force that has the counter terrorism mission is doing some grand things and the results are indisputable. So far this year, at least publicly, you have had the successful rescue of Captain Philipps (he was nabbed by Somali pirates) and the killing of one of the masterminds of the bombings of the US Embassy in Kenya and Tanzania. Here’s the good news that is not getting a lot of press. Read the rest »

UPDATE: A.P.: “AP: Christie Gives GOP Stunning Win In N.J.”

How are races sizing up around the country? Fox News has called Virginia for the Republicans — both Governor and Lt. Governor. And the Attorney General GOP candidate is in the lead.

Now for New Jersey. So far, they say, exit polls look good for Christie over Corzine. Who do you think will win?

And here’s some fodder for the Dems to chew on: Read the rest »

A little quiz. Who recently compared President Obama to a chick just now pecking its way out of its egg? Your choices are:

Rush Limbaugh
Glenn Beck
Sarah Palin
Lou Dobbs
Chris Matthews
Read the rest »

Reprinted from Consortium.com with the express permission of Mel Goodman, whose bio is at the end of this article.

Consortium Editor’s Note: Given the Bush administration’s imperial overreach and the massive U.S. budget deficits, a new realism would suggest that President Barack Obama get serious about pulling back American troops stationed around the world and pushing harder for diplomatic openings.

In this guest essay, former CIA analyst Melvin A. Goodman notes how Obama’s decision to retain Bush’s Defense Secretary is impinging on his administration’s ability to achieve change:

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates played the "ugly American" in Tokyo, cast in a quasi-diplomatic role he should not be given. This performance speaks to the need for a demilitarized national security policy.

Read the rest »

You may recall that when Bush was president, it was like pulling teeth trying to find out just who had visited the White House. Let’s just say he dug in his heels a bit on releasing that information. Maybe it had something to do with Cheney’s “secret” Energy Meeting, who knows, but it was a battle.

I am sure you will be SHOCKED to learn that Obama is acting in much the same way. I know, I know - what a surprise. Ahem. Well, it seems some one has been doing a little investigative journalism, something in VERY short supply of late. But get this - I tell you, you better be sitting down - in this case, it was - WAIT FOR IT -
MSNBC. YES, the very network to which we routinely refer as “MSNBO”! Once I recovered from the shock of it all, I couldn’t wait to see just how transparent President Obama was compared to Bush. (I wonder if there is a way for us to do a pool on these kinds of things, like for NCAA basketball or something?)

This is what MSNBC uncovered in this report:

Obama Names 110 White House Visitors

The White House on Friday released a small list of visitors to the White House since President Barack Obama took office in January, including lobbyists, business executives, activists and celebrities.

No previous administration has released such a list, though the information out so far is incomplete. Only about 110 names —and 481 visits —out of the hundreds of thousands who have visited the Obama White House were made public. Like the Bush administration before it, Obama is arguing that any release is voluntary, not required by law, despite two federal court rulings to the contrary.

Read the rest »

BUMPED UP FROM Sunday for today’s Election Day || Reprinted from The Daily Beast with the express permission of John Batchelor.

On Saturday, Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava suspended her bid in the special election, citing a lack of funds. John Batchelor on the ugly food fight for a New York House seat and why the cynical celebrity endorsements of Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, and the Club for Growth will hurt the GOP.

The news arrived this morning like the report of a mugging that the Republican Party choice for the 23rd, the sturdy, dull, dutiful Dede Scozzafava, was quitting the campaign for Congress and releasing her supporters without a recommendation. Scozzafava’s late decision, with less than 66 hours until the polls open, hints at backstairs deals, whispered pay-offs, promises from Albany, all of which is likely untrue and romantic rubbish.

Scozzafava leaves the race and returns to her New York Assembly seat as a Republican. Not a Club for Growth libertarian “Too Big to Fail!” Republican; not a Tea Party “Mad as Hell!” Republican; not a Fox News or talk radio “We report!” Republican. Just a Republican like me and a few others who pay mind to the fact that the party comes from a philosophy that is tolerant, obedient, respectful, curious, generous, kind, liberty-loving, and not much in fashion just now.

“No one pretends that the celebrity endorsements of novice Doug Hoffman have much to do with the people of the hardscrabble North Country of the (NY) 23rd. The district could be South Waziristan, and the game would be played just as cynically.”

Read the rest »

Sunday night’s game was quite a doozy. CC Sabathia took the mound for the NY Yankees on just 3 days rest against Joe Blanton of the Philadelphia Phillies. He did pretty well, the same as the first game, giving up only two runs through 6 2/3 innings. And then, Sabathia faced Chase Utley int he lineup again, though this time, Utley took Sabathia yard. Yep. It was reminiscent of the first game Sabathia pitched in the World Series when Utley got two homers off of him. This time, Utley smacked a big ol’ homer, a “no doubter,” as we say, into the right field stands. And, Sabathia’s day was done, though he left with a 4-3 lead. Demaso Marte came in to get the last out, which he did, and then Martes’s day was done.

The hard-throwing reliever(then starting pitcher, now reliever again) Joba Chamberlain came in for the 8th inning, and tried to preserve the Yankees lead long enough to get it to Mariano Rivera. He was hurling 97mph fastballs, and doing his job, getting two relatively fast outs. Until Pedro Feliz stepped up to the plate. Oh, Chamberlain threw some 97mph fastballs his way, too, even got a couple of strikes on him with that fastball. But Feliz was ready for the last one, and smashed it into the left field stands. The score was tied at 4 all.

Then came the craziest ninth inning I have ever seen. The Philies reliever, Brad Lidge came in, hoping to keep the Yankees scoreless so the Phillies would have their chance to even up the series in the bottom of the ninth. Lidge got the first two outs, then came Johnny Damon. Well, this was a battle. Lidge threw 9 pitches to Damon, with the 9th turned into a single by Damon. This is where it just got wild. Damon stole second very early in the count against the next batter, Mark Teixeira. In the most amazing steal I have ever seen, Damon realized that Lidge was not covering third. Feliz had come from third to cover second when Damon stole second. Damon popped up from second, seeing Felix there with the ball, and no one on third, Damon took off. He stole third safely, and was now 90 ft from home plate.
Read the rest »

The LATimes has a fascinating article comparing California to Texas. William Voegeli basically argues that the Texas model of low taxes / low-benefit works better than California’s high-benefit / high-tax model.

In America’s federal system, some states, such as California, offer residents a “package deal” that bundles numerous and ambitious public benefits with the high taxes needed to pay for them. Other states, such as Texas, offer packages combining modest benefits and low taxes. These alternatives, of course, define the basic argument between liberals and conservatives over what it means to get the size and scope of government right.

It’s not surprising, then, that there’s an intense debate over which model is more admirable and sustainable. What is surprising is the growing evidence that the low-benefit/low-tax package not only succeeds on its own terms but also according to the criteria used to defend its opposite. In other words, the superior public goods that supposedly justify the high taxes just aren’t being delivered.

———

One way to assess how Americans feel about the different tax and benefit packages the states offer is by examining internal U.S. migration patterns.

Read the rest »

Of letting you know when it is time to be still and just be. I say this not just from being a bit bleary eyed after staying up late to watch my beloved Yankees. No, I got up Sunday morning as always, thinking about what I was going to write today, then I walked outside. This is what I saw:

Read the rest »

Paulie wants you all to know that she is still battling H1N1 and has cancelled tonight’s show. Paulie has had this illness for @ two weeks, and says that the “headaches and joint aches are just completely incapacitating.” One of her children has fluid in his lungs. Read the rest »

Reprinted from TheDailyBeast.com with the express permission of Amy Siskind, founder of The New Agenda, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls.

The brutal gang rape of a 15-year-old girl in Northern California last weekend is a wake-up call for all parents.

You’ll be curious to know how I first learned of the gang rape of a 15 year-old girl in Richmond, California.

A few days ago, the blog for The New Agenda, a women’s advocacy organization that I helped co-found, got hundreds of hits from search engines looking for “gang rape teenage girl.” Regrettably, our stories show that the Richmond attack, while horrific, is not an anomaly. Young women are more vulnerable to violence than any other age group.

Parents beware:

Read the rest »

After a long rain delay, the 3rd game of the World Series got under way. Both pitchers started out pretty well, until the second inning, when the Phillies got to Andy Pettitte for 3 runs, including one he walked in. But then, Alex Rodriguez woke up. He smacked a two run homer off the outfield camera, which involved the use of Instant Replay of a home run by the Umpires for the first time in a World Series game. That cut the Phillies lead to 3-2. And the Yankee bats continued to swing. Outfielder Nick Swisher, like A-Rod, also awoke from his long slumber, hitting both a double and a home run of his own, making up for his missed catch in the outfield. Hideki “Godzilla” Matsui came in and hit a pinch-hit home run as well.

On the Phillies side, Jayson Werth smacked two home runs off of eventual game winner Andy Pettitte (now 17 postseason wins), a bright spot for Phillies fans. Yankees reliever Philip Hughes gave up a homer to Carlos Ruiz, which got the fans back in it, but the joy was short-lived. The final score, which came in the wee hours on Sunday morning, was 8-5. The Yankees now lead the best-of-seven series 2 - 1.
Read the rest »

Did FINRA invest its own funds from its internal investment portfolio with Bernie Madoff? Would FINRA’s head Mary Schapiro invest with her “dear friend” Bernie? Stick with me on this and let’s navigate the newest development in this ongoing scam. My concluding remarks provide insights you won’t find in many mainstream media outlets.

High five to JD for tipping me off to a segment about Bernie Madoff that just aired on CNBC. While little is truly new in this segment, Bernie’s assessment of his relationship with former FINRA head and current SEC chief Mary Schapiro is startling. While Ms. Schapiro and her colleagues at FINRA have downplayed any sort of relationship with Madoff, Bernie has a different take.

There’s something about Mary as Bernie calls her “a dear friend.”

Will the government powers have the cojones to more fully explore this relationship? Or, are they already aware of it? Read the rest »

Most of us know that there are many positions, like being an ambassador to, say France and Monaco, is often a payback for the person giving tons of money to the candidate. Well, guess what? Not only is Obama doing just that, but the man who claimed to bring “change to Washington” has hit a new high - the highest in FOUR DECADES, in fact. Well, I guess that IS a change, isn’t it?? Wait until you see all of the numbers.

Oh, and these positions aren’t just “fun” ones, like being the Ambassador to the Bahamas, for instance. You may have heard of this position: US Attorney General. Yes, indeedy, Eric Holder was an Obama contributor, though comparatively speaking, he and Susan Rice got their jobs for not a whole lotta green (between $50 - 100,000). Ain’t politics GRAND?

Naturally, rhese are paid positions - and the pay is mighty nice, as you will see below. What you might not realize is that there are actually professional diplomats. You know, people who know how to play the game of diplomacy. They would not be in this group of folks Obama is putting into these plum roles, either. Oh, you know they’re happy about that - not.
Read the rest »

(Bumped up from Friday night.)

“[R]ecognizing the last full measure of devotion from these soldiers is the right thing for a President to do,” writes Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey. Curiously, like most pundits, Morrissey believes Obama’s trip to Dover was about a nod to the military in Afghanistan and to Gen. McChrystal.

Then Morrissey adds, “Let’s hope that politics won’t play a part in this recognition at all.” Huh? Why the tiptoeing around the real reason for Obama’s Dover photos? Let’s see this for what it is: After days of bad press about the amount of golf that Obama plays — see NoQuarter stories here and here — Obama needed to stage a photo op that most obliterated that image of him playing the links while soldiers and goverment employees die.

I am not being cynical:

Read the rest »

Tune in to John Batchelor’s West Coast show by 11:00 p.m. EDT. From John Batchelor’s schedule for tonight’s show:

Sunday 1105P (805P Pacific Time): LARRY JOHNSON, NO QUARTER, John Fund, WSJ, Diana West, NationalExaminer.com, re public option option option, re NJ, re White House abandons Va, re 23rd NY.

Sunday 1120P: (820P Pacific Time): Continued re Ken Feinberg theatrics, re POTUS skips Copenhagen Climate pow-wow.

Read the rest »

Although I compared Obama’s treatment of Afghanistan’s President Karzai today with that meted out to Vietnam’s Diem back in the early sixties, I do not mean to suggest that Afghanistan is just another misadventure like Vietnam. That is utter nonsense.

Here is Theodore Sorenson’s misreading of the current situation. Read the rest »

Well, it being Halloween and everything, I thought about doing some snarky kind of post about politicians who are particularly scary, like Nancy Pelosi, or Barney Frank. But then I thought, “Why ruin a perfectly nice holiday?” Ahem.

So - for your enjoyment, I have the following photographs, sent to me by my cousin, who got them heaven-only-knows-where (somewhere on the internet). The headline of the emails was, “When Farm Kids Get Bored,” and who happen to be a bit creative (who knows if these were even done by kids?). Anyway, for your Halloween Viewing Pleasure, here they are:

Read the rest »

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! Is the clock getting ready to strike twelve? Is it time to get home? Is the magical ball that has enchanted many market participants about to end? How so? As quantitative easing programs around the world end and global governments start to increase interest rates, will we experience a double dip in the global economy?

Or, are the Uncle Sam economy and numerous global economies blazing new trails and redefining the economic landscape?

As with most things economic and market related, the answers are never ‘crystal’ clear nor do they fit like a ’slipper,’ but let’s do our best to read the October market moves and project our way forward. Read the rest »