Monday, October 6, 2008

Bounce the bankers and the market rebounds

The market voted today against Central bankers. I won't even get started!

Our former Chairman, Allan "the maestro" Greenspan, spoke in riddles, pretended he understood derivatives, and mastered revisionist history. Our current Chairman, Ben "the fiddler" Bernanke, is tone death to the markets, studied the depression but never mastered it and passed the derivatives test to Tim Geithner who failed it miserably with the Fed's action on Lehman.

Now we have a 35 year old Goldman alumni, Neel Kashkari appointed to run the $700 billion bail-out program. His greatest qualification is his name!

And tomorrow we are supposed to have some coordinated interest rate cuts around the globe.

I wouldn't bet on that.

Bernanke's giving a speech and it's not option expiration week!

But since today was such a trying day, here's some levity from Prudent Bear:

Sung to the tune of Margaritaville, with apologies to Jimmy Buffett (With extra verses because so many are needed)

Greenspan wasted away

Staring at cheese cake
Gotta a new speech to make
All of those bankers covered in sweat.
Shuffling my note cards
Responding to blowhards
Tellin’ them, “Really, I have no regrets.”

Wishin’ today for a bail out bill.
No more banks hurtling toward default.
Some people claim homeowners must be to blame
All I know…
This thing ain’t my fault.

The hedge funds got leveraged
While I sipped my beverage.
They bought tons of stuff no one understands.
But it was their duty
To rake in the booty
They bought Hamptons mansions, torpedoes be damned

Wishin’ today for a bail out bill.
No more banks hurtling toward default.
Some people claim Congress must be to blame
But I know
It’s still not my fault.

Those swaps were all hidden
From my field of vision.
My buddy Phil Gramm said it was all cool.
Regulation was evil
So his bill made them legal.
Now buyers and sellers are feeling like fools.

Wishin’ today for a bail out bill.
No more banks hurtling toward default.
Some people claim realtors must be to blame,
But I know,
No way it’s my fault.

Mortgage brokers went crazy.
Appraisers got lazy.
Homes “created wealth” and things were just fine
But it really was funny.
They’d loan you the money.
If you picked up a pen and were able to sign.

Wishin’ today for a bail out bill.
No more banks hurtling toward default.
Some people claim Fannie must be to blame
But I know,
This can’t be my fault

Now Fannie and Freddie
Lobbied hard, lobbied steady.
Executives knew how to play all their cards.
Then company earnings
Crashed and went burning.
They took none of the risk and kept the rewards.

Wishin’ today for a bail out bill.
No more banks hurtling toward default.
Some people claim to blame
Now I know,
No way it’s my fault.

Before telecom busted
Back when “in dotcom we trusted”
It took me by surprise when that bubble burst.
But I took some action
I cut rates to a fraction
Who knew the next bubble that burst would be worse?

Wishin’ today for a bail out bill.
No more banks hurtling toward default.
Some people claim it was me that’s to blame
Now I know,
It’s Bernanke’s fault.
http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/commentary/randomwalk?art_id=10127

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