Sick of high gas prices? Don’t worry…Diddy feels your pain. In a video diatribe, the hip hop mogul/purveyor of bling/frequent name-changer reveals that the skyrocketing price of oil has caused him to (gasp!) fly commercial. When Diddy leaves his private jet at home, you know the situation is dire. But Diddy isn’t spending his time blaming speculators for the spike in oil like most of Congress, or instituting a hedging program on his fuel like most U.S. airlines. Instead, in true player fashion, he’s giving a shout-out to all of his “Saudi Arabian brothers and sisters” asking “y’all to send me some oil for my jet.” If his associates don’t come through, perhaps Diddy could act as a celebrity witness if, as expected, Congress reopens hearings on speculation in the fall, bringing some much-needed hip-hop flavor to the proceedings. Word.
Archive for August, 2008
Gas prices dog Diddy
Thursday, August 28th, 2008On the other hand
Wednesday, August 27th, 2008Reading the minutes from a Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee (FOMC) meeting can be frustrating and downright painful. The committee literally has dozens of hands and keeps on looking at another.
A newswire story citing a minor shift towards concern over slow economic growth from inflation caused me to look at the release closely.
I guess it was there somewhere but darned if I could find it. It is odd that they would abandon their shift from inflation after only just discovering it despite it being apparent for quite some time. But as Economist John Williams noted in the July issue of Futures, “The Fed is not concerned with inflation. It is not concerned about the economy…its primary function is keeping the banking system solvent.”
Party like it’s…
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008While out last week on my “staycation”, my wife and I took our three boys to Navy Pier in Chicago. It was a beautiful summer day in Chicago and the Chicago Air and Water Show was going on, providing some impressive sights and sounds to our trip to the lake.
We were disappointed that we could not walk all the way out on the pier because a private party had rented the fancy ballroom at the end of the pier and blocked off the public walkway as well. I noticed that Wachovia had rented the space and made a mental note that things must be improving for the bank. Maybe all those analysts claiming that the worst is over for the investment banks are right after all. If you make the same claim every few months you will eventually be right.
Come and get ‘em – free tickets for I.O.U.S.A
Friday, August 15th, 2008Futures magazine has five pairs of free tickets to see the premier of I.O.U.S.A. on August 21 at the Evanston 18. The show time is 7 p.m.
This should be quite an event. As much as I’m looking forward to the movie, the live round table discussion that follows should be just as entertaining. Participants will include Warren Buffett; William Niskanen, chairman of the Cato Institute; Bill Novelli, CEO of AARP; Pete Peterson; and Dave Walker, president & CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and former U.S. comptroller general. The panel will be moderated by Becky Quick, co-anchor of CNBC’s morning news show Squawk Box.
To claim your tickets, simply send me an e-mail at cmcmahon@futuresmag.com; include your name and a phone number and FREE TICKETS in the header. To claim your tickets, you will need to pick them up in person at the theater no less than 20 minutes prior to showtime.
I.O.U.S.A.: Documentary or horror flick?
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008Until you hear the urgency in Addison Wiggin’s voice, you may not think that our $8.9 trillion national debt is an obvious topic for a film documentary, but you may leave the conversation convinced it’s a great subject for a horror flick.
The movie I.O.U.S.A., opening Aug. 21, follows Dave Walker, former U.S. comptroller general, and Concord Coalition Founder Robert L. Bixby on their Fiscal Wake Up Tour. For 18 months, at Rotary Clubs, Better Business Bureau luncheons and town hall meetings, they discussed the national debt, its implications and possible solutions to the looming economic danger that threatens the United States. The film also features interviews with “the Mount Rushmore crowd of American economics,” including former Federal Reserve Chairmen Alan Greenspan and Paul Volker, and former Treasury secretaries Paul O’Neil and Bob Rubin as well as Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and one of the world’s wealthiest men, to tell the story. “We have the guys who are responsible for the Federal Reserve and heading up budget committees in Congress, and the former Treasury secretaries,” but it’s not just charts and figures, Wiggin says.
Read more for info on your FREE TICKETS from Futures Magazine…
CBOT vs. CBOE: No cessation of hostilities
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008Russian military operations in Georgia are winding down, but tensions between former CBOT members and the Chicago Board Option Exchange (CBOE) over exchange right privileges (ERP) remain unresolved.
This morning in a CBOE members’ circular, CBOE’s office of the chairman issued a statement that while progress has been made, the agreement, which was to give former CBOT member an 18% equity stake in the options exchange and a cash payment of $300 million to end all claims, had not been finalized.
Word is that the agreement is still being held up by infighting amongst CBOT members over the number of people who will qualify for the settlement. The fewer who qualify, the larger the individual payouts would be. The CBOE has the right to walk away from any agreement that does not extinguish equity claims by all former CBOT members.
More to come….
CFTC cracks down on forex fraud
Monday, August 11th, 2008The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is stepping up its investigation of fraud in the off-exchange retail forex market with the formation of a retail foreign currency fraud enforcement task force. Since the agency’s reauthorization in May, the CFTC has been buzzing with activity, studies and task forces, specifically in the energy arena with its formation of a task force in June to study commodity markets and its recent charges against trading fund Optiver for manipulation in Nymex oil contracts, which came after the CFTC endured Congressional attacks this summer that blamed speculators for higher oil prices. The CFTC now intends to show no mercy on retail forex fraudsters. “This announcement sends a clear signal that the CFTC is on the beat, and that our continued and increased cooperation with law enforcement authorities will help put these forex dealers where they belong – in jail,” said CFTC Commissioner Michael Dunn in a statement.
Be careful of what you hear
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008I am often amazed at how market analysts and journalists quickly apply cause and effect in the markets with little or no evidence. We have commented here in the past how dangerous it is to attach two seemingly unrelated events. A market can only go up, down or move sideways so there are usually numerous causes you can credit or blame for a market move.
Case in point is this morning’s rally in equities; the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up about 200 points as of mid-morning. In fact it was up by more than 100 points on the first five-minute bar of the day, which would suggest overnight news moving the market.
The early wire stories attributed the move to a drop in crude oil. However, crude oil was actually rallying in the pre open hours and at the time equity markets were spiking higher.
