Dear rss free blog,
Gott
ist im Detail. Alternatively: der Teufel ist im Detail.
Either way, our President cannot stay above the fray. This is not
being talked about as the Volcker Plan or Glass-Steagel II. It is the
Obama plan.
The
snafu over health-care reform should teach the Obama White House an
important lesson: you cannot get coherent legislation without
leadership. Now that Paul Volcker has managed to persuade the
president to back his proposal to keep FDIC-insured deposit taking
banks from risky market bets, and to cut the growth of banks into
entities too big to fail, we have to see the White House take the
lead in getting effective laws written and passed.
Leaving
the details to be hashed out by Congress is what went wrong with
health care reform. It is a bad precedent.
I
also worry that French and German authorities are applauding the
measure without knowing the terms of its restrictions on private
equity deals, proprietary trading of securities, and investment
banking operations by ensured banks.
The
Obama-Volcker restrictions mean a fight with Wall Street and the
banks, as well as with Treasury Secy Tim Geithner and Advisor Larry
Summers who successfully hindered the ex-Fed Chief’s ability to
influence policy for a year. Its prospects will be colored by
populist anger aiming at the Fed, and reappointment of Ben Bernanke,
other reforms to protect consumers, and the need for a mortgage
refinance program to help people under water.
But
a hands-off strategy by Pres. Obama will not work. Again.
Readers
wanting more of Tom McClellan’s outlook on gold which we quoted
yesterday from his site can
view his charts:
http://www.mcoscillator.com/learning_center/weekly_chartthe_one_real_fundamental_factor_driving_gold_prices/
(You will have to copy and paste that blue stuff above to get it all on one line to click-through to.)
More
for paid subscribers follows mostly about politics. Yes, politics, because politics also makes stocks move. That is ultimately why I allow myself to hold forth on matters political, even at risk of offending readers who disagree with me. Were I to confine myself to only matters of stock market developments and earnings in order to avoid giving offense, my business might do better, but my newsletter’s service would be less complete and less valuable.
Readers are advised that the beautiful and sophisticated chocolates from France advertised below are to be sent to their loved ones. Not to me. I am on a diet. But I did taste them before I accepted the ad and they are yummy: rich but not too sweet.
