THIS SHOULD PUMP UP YOUR CONFIDENCE IN OFFICIALS

One Wall Street wag is really in the wrong business. He recently penned a blog warning Cyprus could be the next Detroit.

Now we don't claim to be particularly devout. But we hope nobody tells Cyprus. We don't have any idea how much Paxil is available on that tiny Mediterranean island. But talk about bummers.  

In case you've not been paying attention the Motor City just went bankrupt, though for now it's being called technically something else. A lot like California it's a place that's been run by the Democratic party since the days of The Edsel, one of Ford's most memorable snap, crackle and flops.

Now before anyone gets their panties twisted into a big Murphy, the facts are the facts. And here's another fact. Michigan Governor Rick Synder, a Republican, apparently with sloppy due diligence, vetted Orr before picking him, a fact that raises issues about Synder. But now questions are surfacing about a possible conflict of interest with the Washington law firm where Orr was once a partner, JonesDay.

On another burner Orr apparently had some back taxes due, taxes he claimed he only found out about recently when he read about it in the newspapers. Orr was appointed as emergency manager in-March this year.

Here's a quote about Orr from Wikipedia:

Between 2009 and 2012 the state of Maryland’s Office of Unemployment Insurance filed four liens against Orr's $1 million Chevy Chase, Maryland, home, for unpaid taxes on child care for his two children. Two liens totaling $15,797.68 from 2011 and 2012 were listed as unpaid at the time of Orr's appointment as Detroit emergency manager. Upon learning of what he described as an "embarrassing" oversight, Orr stated that he promptly paid off the liens the same day.[22]
[edit] 

Orr's hiring might represent a conflict of interest. Here's a link to the rest of the story from today. 

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/detroit/detroit-city-council-examines-contract-between-city-and-em-kevyn-orrs-old-law-firm

WEDNESDAY READS

Lithium Battery Rethink
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/10/us-boeing-battery-lithium-ion-idUSBRE93904420130410

Beware Of The Obvious
http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2013/04/09/the-great-rotation-that-isnt-so-great/

Hope Nobody Tells Gloria Allred
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/09/feminism-destroy-russia-patriarch-kirill

Another Currency Swap
http://blogs.reuters.com/globalinvesting/2013/04/09/dim-sum-looks-tasty-for-africa/

Wake Up And Smell The Dependence
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2013/04/10/Thatcher-Was-Right-A-Dependent-Society-Will-Fail.aspx#page1

Dow 18,000?
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-well-see-dow-18000-before-this-bull-run-ends-2013-04-09

Wasted Revenue
http://www.newsmax.com/US/billions-wasted-gao-report/2013/04/09/id/498682

Rising Too Fast
http://t.ritholtz.com/bigpicture/#!/entry/are-home-prices-are-rising-too-fast,516423c2d7fc7b5670a36101

JUST THE FACTS PLEASE

Today is Equal Pay Day.

Let's celebrate it with a smidgen of the truth, something you'll have a difficult time finding anywhere on MSM or PC blogs like the Huffington Post today.

However you feel about it, read the article in the link below. This is just one more example why you'll never get the real truth from MSM.

For all their honking their horns about getting the facts correct they seldom, if ever, do. Facts are just atmosphere for these people.

Backgrounding the news and interpretive reporting are and have been the tools of MSM. That's a polite but arrogant way of saying you and I never took Reading 101.

http://www.moneytalksnews.com/2013/04/09/its-equal-pay-day-but-is-gender-gap-real/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=email-2013-04-09&utm_medium=email

THE PRESSURE BUILDS

 This is the way most things that finally change start out.

A lone wolf or two long before anyone else starts howling. At first he's just a lone wolf. Most ignore, some even try to marginalize.

Change never goes down easy.

A few days ago I had a conversation with a physician I respect, a doctor who's been practicing for more than 35 years. We were discussing medicines and their side effects.

A particular name came up, one we both had much experience with though mine had been somewhat different from his. At one point he jovially told me he'd been prescribing it for more than 20 years without any problems and he wasn't about to change it now.

People who bring change are usually received with the same affection as whistleblowers. Check out the history behind gastric ulcers and H-pylori.

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/04/09/blackrock-to-fed-time-to-ease-up-on-the-dull-hammer-of-qe3/

TUESDAY READS

Too Big To Not Fail
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/04/08/too-big-to-fail-banks-still-likely-to-fail-nobel-winner-says/

One Indicator That Apparently Gets It Correct
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/04/08/spotlight-on-the-economy-the-indicator-that-predicted-the-weak-jobs-report/

New Rule
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jitters-as-flash-crash-response-rules-take-effect-2013-04-08?dist=afterbell

So You Think Your Retirement Funds Are Safe
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-04-08/next-domino-australia-doubles-tax-retirement-savings

Dangerous Stuff
http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/08/technology/security/shodan/index.html

Change Coming
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/07/us-broadcaster-threats-idUSBRE9360E220130407

What's In A Renaming? 
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/04/us-usa-meat-names-idUSBRE93312620130404

Keep Inflating http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/08/us-spain-ecb-idUSBRE9370KY20130408

New Roth-401K Rules
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/encore/2013/04/08/new-rules-for-roth-401ks/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/04/us-usa-meat-names-idUSBRE93312620130404

BELIEVABILITY TEST

Here's a smell test for you. Bank deposits, just how safe are they, especially after Cyprus?

The following quote is from Ollie Rehnquist, the EU Commissioner For Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro.

Read it and let us know if it passes the olfactory test. 

"But there is a very clear hierarchy, at first the shareholders, then possibly the unprotected investments and deposits. However, the limit of 84,890 pounds is sacred, deposits smaller than that are always safe."

You can read the full story here. http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2013-04-08/eu-says-bank-moneys-safe-after-threats-take-it-ireland-still-looks-next-conta

THE PRESIDENT'S IRONY

I have never come to this president's defense before.

And I seriously doubt if in this lifetime I ever will again. 

But some people, left and right, never tire of the PC nonsense. To begin with, the nation has bigger problems. And what the president said is a fact: the attorney general of California is an attractive lady. And so are many other hard working women in this country.

Does anyone really want a nation where all the female attorneys look like Gloria Allred? No offense intended, just a standard for comparison, like hamburger and filet mignon or Republican and Democrat or liberal and uber-liberal.

 In the last few years television has more than a handful of attractive female attorneys spouting legalese into the tube. Just about every network has at least one. Though the television executives on the left or right won't admit it, that's at least one of the reasons they're there.

And how about most of those attractive female and male television anchor people around the country? That just happens by chance? Attractive sells. It's in the human genetic code. And all the king's horses and all the king's men ain't going to issue an estoppel certificate. Though one knows lots of folks would like to.

And about those attractive male anchors, are we to believe every female who watches tuned in strictly for the news?  Truth is women chatter about men's butts, maybe not anywhere to the degree men focus on female anatomy. But it's a fact, one mostly likely in their female DNA.

How many does it take to establish a fact, 5 of 10, 8 or 9 of 10? Do what psychologists and other study-lovers love to do, slip in an unnamed photo of the California Attorney General with several other photos of females and take a survey from both women and men. 

How many women watch George Clooney movies strictly to see his acting skills? Not too long ago a national tv commercial ran of a guy wearing a particular brand of blue jeans walking down the street with several girls ogling as he went past. 

Though the commercial didn't say it, the implied message did. He looked good in those jeans and jeans are about butts. Just ask any woman.

If there's a real irony here and there is one: the president gets caught up in the PC nonsense he and his party are most responsible for foisting on society.

THE FEEL GOOD NUMBERS

Here's another one of those great quotes, this time from a story about last week's pitiful new job numbers.

The Labor Department revises the numbers at least twice after they're initially released. Of course there are numerous reasons or excuses, some might say.

Yet frequent revisions to employment data suggest investors shouldn’t put too much faith in any one report. In the last 26 months extending to the start of 2011, the government has revised 19 monthly jobs reports to show bigger gains than initially reported. In some cases, job creation turned out to be much higher.

It's difficult to keep a straight face, but we'll try. The suggestion we shouldn't put too much faith in any one report is a misprint. It should read: investors shouldn't put much faith in any report.

Nineteen revisions, all of them upwards, in the last 26 months.

That's nearly 75% revision rate, again all upwards. Any hidden messages in there? Those are the kind of numbers most of us would love to have in Vegas, winning 75% of the time.

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/04/05/was-job-growth-in-march-really-that-weak-well-know-in-a-year/

MONDAY READS

The Week Ahead
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/07/us-usa-stocks-weekahead-idUSBRE9340XA20130407

Debate Fizzles
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/krugman-stockman-tv-debate-fizzles-2013-04-07?pagenumber=1

Mortgage Mods
http://t.ritholtz.com/bigpicture/#!/entry/california-housing-still-bouncing-along-the-bottom,51608166d7fc7b56709e3e01/2

If You Won't We Will
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/07/hundreds-texas-educators-take-free-handgun-class/

Slower Growth
http://www.futuresmag.com/2013/04/05/pimcos-gross-says-us-growth-wont-beat-2-in-2013?ref=hp

Big Bull Markets
http://www.moneynews.com/newswidget/Mobius-tremendous-bull-markets/2013/04/07/id/498173?promo_code=125A8-1&utm_source=125A8Moneynews_Home&utm_medium=nmwidget&utm_campaign=widgetphase1

Up Date
A few days ago we posted a brief about a deal between China and Brazil cutting a currency arrangement. Well, here's another story. Could China's end game be to derail US dollar as currency of international trade?
http://www.scmp.com/business/economy/article/1209560/china-looking-direct-yuan-trade-aussie-dollar

COMING ATTRACTIONS

Maureen Dowd, the NYT columnist, recently penned a piece about Hillary Clinton becoming Obama's successor, a real possibility if the American electorate don't soon awaken from their long slouching-towards-Brussels slumber.  

"Don't need your well-thought-out advice. Though I thank you all for being kind. I can make mistakes myself just find," go the words of a popular song some years ago.

Now this is not so much about Dowd. Or her column. She's a big girl and can spew her drivel without any help just fine. And here's a brief example. 

Dowd, trying to cast the old-take-no prisoners Hillary into a softer, more-human-electable light, writes "... her new haircut sends a signal of shimmering intention: she has ditched the skinned-back bun that gave her the air of a K.G.B. villainess in a Bond movie and has a sleek new layered cut that looks modern and glamorous."

Somewhere on this planet there's still a substance known as truth, though one usually doesn't expect to find it coming from anyone remotely associated with the NYT. Skinned-back bun or otherwise, no slight intended, Hilliary in her best days couldn't pass for a K.G. B. villainous in a short short let alone a Bond film.

So let's get real. The real concern isn't Dowd's column. Everyone by now knows what and where she is. Here's the real concern, a comment sent to Dowd from one her followers.

The problem, as I see it, is that we need, desperately, a Democratic president who will be a Democratic president. That is to say, we need the successor to Barack Obama to be unafraid of pushing for statutory changes that would help the labor movement, go after climate change, do something about the hollowing out of public education, and restore a real progressive cast to the tax code. I know that entitlements have to be tinkered with and I, personally, don't have a problem with doing that. But it is not realistic to expect long-term political success for the Democratic party if it continues down the path of Republican-lite, catering more to Wall Street than the middle class that so desperately needs a return to the policies of the 1930s-1960s that built it.

Now what part of that-we're-going-to-shove-it-down-your-throat-whether-you-like it-or- not agenda don't you recognize? There are some sick puppies out there. And make no mistake they intend to bring that sickness to a venue near you.

To set the record real we don't have a dollar's worth sympathy for either party. Both are more bankrupt than the country.  And if our informal surveys are even slightly accurate, millions of other Americans feel the same. They just have not been pushed to the point of expressing it yet.

But then that's why theaters everywhere show those coming attractions.