Kara Crawford at kara@traderplanet.comadmin@traderplanet.comhttp://www.traderplanet.com/TraderPlanet.com offers its popular content for commercial syndication via RSS. The feeds include backlinks for the full articles and automatically assign author attribution, which is required. To syndicate these RSS feeds on a commercial Web site, TraderPlanet.com, LLC requires the execution of standard linking agreement. Contact Kara Crawford at kara@traderplanet.com for further details.en-ushttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/93834-medicare_reports_it_will_reach_insolvency_5_years_ahead_of_schedulehttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/93834-medicare_reports_it_will_reach_insolvency_5_years_ahead_of_schedule<p>Medicare trustees revised forecast for insolvency estimates Medicare will be insolvent by 2024, 5 yrs sooner than they thought Medicare would become insolvent a year ago. What changed their forecast, namely the “slower economic recovery will reduce Medicare payroll tax revenues”.</p><p>Apparently the McJobs recovery isn’t from the Great Recession is accelerating the pace of Medicare’s impending insolvency. The GOP no doubt already have a handle on this. They will work hard to reduce Medicare spendin...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/93834-medicare_reports_it_will_reach_insolvency_5_years_ahead_of_schedule'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/832/?a=1073><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/jobman.gif border=0 /></a></p> john bougeareljohn bougearelFri, 13 May 2011 21:23:43 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/87129-lobbyists_succeed_in_gutting_dod_frank_financial_reform_mandate_to_cap_credit_card_feeshttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/87129-lobbyists_succeed_in_gutting_dod_frank_financial_reform_mandate_to_cap_credit_card_fees<p>Why is this news no surprise at all? From today’s headlines</p><p>Senator moves to delay new debit fee rules<cite>at Reuters</cite></p><p>Visa, MasterCard Jump on Possible Delay of Debit-Card Curbs<cite>at Bloomberg</cite></p><p>MA, V Pop As Fed Delays Debit Fee Ruling<cite>at Barrons.com</cite></p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/87129-lobbyists_succeed_in_gutting_dod_frank_financial_reform_mandate_to_cap_credit_card_fees'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/815/?a=1071><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/murphy.gif border=0 /></a></p> john bougeareljohn bougearelWed, 30 Mar 2011 19:01:25 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/83374-behind_today_s_2_rally_in_the_financial_sector_a_27_page_fraud_closure_gate_bailout_by_50_ag_s_to_the_bankshttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/83374-behind_today_s_2_rally_in_the_financial_sector_a_27_page_fraud_closure_gate_bailout_by_50_ag_s_to_the_banks<p><span>The financial sector is the strongest sector in the stock market today. Part of this +2% strength in the financial sector today can be viewed as a relief rally, attributable to the latest effort to let the banks off the hook again. </span></p><p><span>Karl Denninger, Barry Ritholtz and Yves Smith, and several other market commentators have had a chance to parse the latest “Settelment Terms” that 50 Attorney Generals are making with the banks. The Settlement Terms can be viewed here: http://cdn.americanbanker.com...</span></p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/83374-behind_today_s_2_rally_in_the_financial_sector_a_27_page_fraud_closure_gate_bailout_by_50_ag_s_to_the_banks'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/815/?a=1071><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/murphy.gif border=0 /></a></p> john bougeareljohn bougearelTue, 08 Mar 2011 18:36:53 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/78036-our_new_jobs_czar_jeffery_immelt_has_to_change_existing_tax_incentives_to_achieve_otherwise_impossible_goalshttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/78036-our_new_jobs_czar_jeffery_immelt_has_to_change_existing_tax_incentives_to_achieve_otherwise_impossible_goals<p>Jeffery Immelt is our new “jobs czar” on Obama’s new Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Emptywheel at Firedoglake is calling it a “kabuki jobs council,” noting GE had just signed a deal with China to share our jet technology that will allow China to compete with GE and Boeing. Emptywheel also noted GE has been shutting plants and repurposing them in China.</p><p>From Empty: “Recently, [mid 2009] ATI made $30 million worth of investments to buy, convert, and modernize a shuttered factory in economi...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/78036-our_new_jobs_czar_jeffery_immelt_has_to_change_existing_tax_incentives_to_achieve_otherwise_impossible_goals'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/834/?a=1070><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/wyckoff.gif border=0 /></a></p> john bougeareljohn bougearelThu, 27 Jan 2011 19:03:57 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/76937-the_stock_market_is_unhinged_from_its_fundamentalshttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/76937-the_stock_market_is_unhinged_from_its_fundamentals<p>The market is always “unhinged from its fundamentals.” It never trades at some fictional level of “equilibrium.” The markets only concern is how high is high and how low is low. That is the only “discovery” that it cares to ever make. And so, like a pendulum it swings from one extreme to the other. While swinging to and fro, the market is certain to pass through so so-called “fair value” areas, but fair value is of no concern to it.</p><p>While the baseline scenario for a muddle-through recovery may...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/76937-the_stock_market_is_unhinged_from_its_fundamentals'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/832/?a=1073><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/jobman.gif border=0 /></a></p> john bougeareljohn bougearelWed, 19 Jan 2011 18:04:39 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/73011-madoff_mistletoe_the_perfect_christmas_gift_for_your_favorite_ponzi_artisthttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/73011-madoff_mistletoe_the_perfect_christmas_gift_for_your_favorite_ponzi_artist<p>Hang this unique mistletoe from the hallways our most beloved ponzi artists and banksters frequent. And may the sweet visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads become nightmare visions of nooses dangling above their heads!</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/73011-madoff_mistletoe_the_perfect_christmas_gift_for_your_favorite_ponzi_artist'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/834/?a=1070><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/wyckoff.gif border=0 /></a></p> john bougeareljohn bougearelMon, 13 Dec 2010 15:20:42 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/65777-is_the_dollar_excessively_overvaluedhttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/65777-is_the_dollar_excessively_overvalued<p>Naked Capitalism’s Yves Smith pointed to an Oct 10 2010 article written by Tim Duy  as a “must read.” Coming as it was from Yves, I made it a point to read it first thing. Here is the link:</p><p>http://economistsview.typepad.com/timduy/2010/10/the-final-end-of-bretton-woods-2.html<br />Tim Duy’s argument contends that “an excessively high dollar is the explanation for the simultaneous existence of a sizable current account deficit and excessive unemployment.” I hadn’t thought of that before but it intuit...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/65777-is_the_dollar_excessively_overvalued'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/834/?a=1070><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/wyckoff.gif border=0 /></a></p> john bougeareljohn bougearelTue, 12 Oct 2010 12:45:34 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/62014-judge_posner_argues_for_wealth_maximization_rather_than_utility_maximizationhttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/62014-judge_posner_argues_for_wealth_maximization_rather_than_utility_maximization<p>FireDogLake.com published an article this week titled <strong><span><span>Economic Nonsense Infects Courts. </span></span></strong></p><p>In closing comments, the article concluded ”</p><h2><strong><span><span>“There is no protection for individuals. We are at the mercy of corporate decisions about safety”</span></span></strong></h2><p><span><span>In Yves Smith’s Econned, she touched on the judicial system having been recruited into the school of neoclassical economics supporting efficient mkt and invisible hand theory. But of course, the theory ignores what Nobel Prize winner Herbert Simon argued, namely “that...</span></span></p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/62014-judge_posner_argues_for_wealth_maximization_rather_than_utility_maximization'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/815/?a=1071><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/murphy.gif border=0 /></a></p> john bougeareljohn bougearelTue, 14 Sep 2010 03:15:36 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/57611-econned_by_yves_smith_a_book_reviewhttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/57611-econned_by_yves_smith_a_book_review<p><strong>Building Castles in the Sand</strong></p><p>Not often is the public permitted the opportunity to see the chicanery and of the financial industry exposed. Yves Smith, in her timely new title <em>Econned,</em> takes us behind the walls of Jericho that the financial industry hides behind to provide us a rare glimpse of the predatory, criminal, or borderline criminal activity embedded in Wall Street’s behavior.</p><p><em>Econned</em> makes a bold claim that the “hard science” of economics has conned not only their own devotees and polic...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/57611-econned_by_yves_smith_a_book_review'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/815/?a=1071><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/murphy.gif border=0 /></a></p> john bougeareljohn bougearelSat, 07 Aug 2010 15:03:49 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/50579-larry_summers_says_public_debt_failure_begets_failure_but_prescribes_more_u_s_debt_anywayshttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/50579-larry_summers_says_public_debt_failure_begets_failure_but_prescribes_more_u_s_debt_anyways<p>While  Tim “Kemosabe” Geithner has been in the headlines this past week stating that the sovereign debt crisis in Europe is contained and won’t spillover into the US, his sidekick Larry “Tonto” Summers stated this week that spiralling public debt is dangerous. “Ultimately failure begets failure in fiscal policy as the logic of compound interest does its worst.</p><p>“However, Mr Summers said it would be “pennywise and pound foolish” to skimp just as the kindling wood of recovery starts to catch fire...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/50579-larry_summers_says_public_debt_failure_begets_failure_but_prescribes_more_u_s_debt_anyways'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/834/?a=1070><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/wyckoff.gif border=0 /></a></p> john bougeareljohn bougearelFri, 28 May 2010 21:54:21 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/48092-stock_market_is_already_in_recovery_mode_after_spectacular_one_day_banking_chicanery_wipe_out_oscilating_now_between_2009_yr_close_at_1111_and_2009_year_high_at_1128http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/48092-stock_market_is_already_in_recovery_mode_after_spectacular_one_day_banking_chicanery_wipe_out_oscilating_now_between_2009_yr_close_at_1111_and_2009_year_high_at_1128<p><span><span>The spike down to 1056 today in the SP500 was related to bank trading desks unwinding their overleveraged positions.They really are jackasses with regard to categorically understating and underestimating risk via their VAR models and such. Excuse me, but the same assholes who assumed stability in financial markets before the credit crisis still haven’t learned jack shit yet about mkt instability! </span></span></p><p><span><span>A day like today should put lawmakers on notice that banks should no longer be allowed to use ris...</span></span></p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/48092-stock_market_is_already_in_recovery_mode_after_spectacular_one_day_banking_chicanery_wipe_out_oscilating_now_between_2009_yr_close_at_1111_and_2009_year_high_at_1128'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/815/?a=1071><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/murphy.gif border=0 /></a></p> john bougeareljohn bougearelThu, 06 May 2010 22:05:24 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/45807-how_should_traders_and_investors_weight_the_goldman_sachs_fraud_case_for_their_investment_and_trading_decisionshttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/45807-how_should_traders_and_investors_weight_the_goldman_sachs_fraud_case_for_their_investment_and_trading_decisions<p>&lt;!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline;} p {margin-right:0in; margin-left:0in; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”;} span.EmailStyle17 {font-family:Arial; color:windowtext;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1....</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/45807-how_should_traders_and_investors_weight_the_goldman_sachs_fraud_case_for_their_investment_and_trading_decisions'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/834/?a=1070><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/wyckoff.gif border=0 /></a></p> john bougeareljohn bougearelMon, 19 Apr 2010 00:24:45 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/40799-senator_dodd_says_his_reform_bill_won_t_stop_the_next_crisis_from_cominghttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/40799-senator_dodd_says_his_reform_bill_won_t_stop_the_next_crisis_from_coming<p>by John Bougearel author of Riding the Storm Out: What Do Investors Do Now?</p><p>I can’t believe that Dodd just said “this legislation won’t stop the next crisis from coming”</p><p>What a total jackass Dodd has been and always will be!</p><p>Jon Stewart retort to Dodd: “You can’t short your own reform bill.”</p><p>Later, and more disturbingly, CNN correspondent Christine Romans who summarized Lehman’s bankruptcy examiner report as “Lehman imploded because of a lot of mistakes that had been made.”</p><p>As Yves has repeatedly ...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/40799-senator_dodd_says_his_reform_bill_won_t_stop_the_next_crisis_from_coming'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/815/?a=1071><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/murphy.gif border=0 /></a></p> john bougeareljohn bougearelWed, 17 Mar 2010 23:40:37 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/40548-gruesome_headline_coal_beats_solar_as_analysts_favor_peabody_amid_shrinking_green_subsidieshttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/40548-gruesome_headline_coal_beats_solar_as_analysts_favor_peabody_amid_shrinking_green_subsidies<p>From Bloomberg:</p><p>Wall Street’s contribution to the debate on how to curb global warming: Buy coal, sell solar.<br />While investors including T. Boone Pickens and Warren Buffett are pushing cash into green technologies, the tilt toward Peabody and away from First Solar is the widest in two years. It reflects a sense that government support for reducing air pollution may be waning, said Kevin Landis, whose Firsthand Alternative Energy Fund outperformed the solar index this year.</p><p>“Until government polic...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/40548-gruesome_headline_coal_beats_solar_as_analysts_favor_peabody_amid_shrinking_green_subsidies'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/624/?a=1067><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/dinapoli.gif border=0 /></a></p> john bougeareljohn bougearelWed, 17 Mar 2010 15:07:55 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/39140-the_president_s_working_group_is_oppossing_fdic_reform_proposalshttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/39140-the_president_s_working_group_is_oppossing_fdic_reform_proposals<p>Chris Whalen reports that the PWG is preparing a white paper in cahoots with the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller to thwart and block FDIC reform efforts. The white papers prepared by the PWG are never released to the public, so its all behind closed doors activity.</p><p>Whalen goes on to inform us that the PWG was created in 1988 by President Reagan. The informal group allows the execs at the biggest banks to influence public policy in Washington. This groups is also sometimes ref...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/39140-the_president_s_working_group_is_oppossing_fdic_reform_proposals'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/815/?a=1071><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/murphy.gif border=0 /></a></p> john bougeareljohn bougearelMon, 15 Mar 2010 01:08:33 +0000