Listening to NPR this morning

posted by The Vidiot @ 8:04 AM Permalink

And one of the hosts read some copy that said:

The Fed rate cut worked like a charm!

(You could literally hear the exclamation point.) I guess they're worried that a hangover might set in today so they must have felt the need to do a little cheer leading.

Listen, you can't keep a bubble from popping. You MIGHT be able to keep it from exploding, which is what the Fed cut may have done. But it's still going to pop. Real estate is still HIGHLY overvalued. The dollar tanked because of that cut and that leads to trouble in the bond market AND makes anyone who may want to buy our debt more than a little skittish. China, a country that holds TONS of our debt already, cannot be very happy.

Cheer lead all you want. Look at the up stroke on the market graph and think "whew" but that doesn't make it true. Our economy is in a shambles. It's not "strong", it's not just "weak in some spots", it's in dire straights. If you want a good idea of how bad off it is is, watch gold or oil. Watch the commodities that are traded on the world market. When priced against other currencies, it doesn't look good.

Sorry to be such a buzz kill. I would love to look at upturn in the market and feel relieved. But, I just know there are some real, systemic weaknesses behind the facade.

Labels: Economy