Finance

Independence….. Now!

Marc Sussman — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:05:32 -0400

Solar power has taken a hit to the solar plexus.

The Federal Gov’t’s Bureau of Land Management, has placed a moratorium on solar projects on public land – until the environmental impact of these projects has been determined. This may take the better part of 2 years. Yesterday crude oil closed at almost $144 a barrel.

The Bureau of Land Management controls some of our greatest solar energy potential, in Arizona, Nevada, and Southern California. And while oil and gas development continues, nuclear expansion is proposed, aging coal-fired power remains in operation, renewable clean solar power is delayed in the name of environmental protection.

You’ve got to give them credit. It’s a brilliant strategy. How can clean energy advocates argue against environmental impact studies? They can’t. But not two years. We don’t have 2 years. Climate change, our strangled economy can’t wait two years.

The tragedy is that we’re responding. Solar project applications increased by 48% in 2007. 130 new projects are proposed, that would power 20 million homes.

But without access to public land, expenses will kill new projects. And if solar tax credits are allowed to expire the end of this year, energy independence may die with it.

So that’s it. Independence. We celebrate this Independence Day with a message. I know its not environmentally responsible, but maybe we dump coal in Boston Harbor. I’m open to suggestions. But we need to do something. Because we’re not only fighting for energy freedom… we’re fighting for our lives.

Repo, Ahoy!

Marc Sussman — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:08:47 -0400

Repo Ahoy, Matey!

There are some jobs that must be tough on the old
self-image.

Lately, I’ve had a hard time with the army of meter maids spreading joy on every street
corner in New York.
Its an alternative congestion pricing plan. There are other more objectionable
lines of work, of course. There’s always the bails bondmen, ropin’ em up, and
bringin’ em. But now, more prevalent than ever, is the repo man.

These days its not only the family car that we’re seeing
hauled away in the wee hours, for non-payment. Its another casualty of the
free-wheeling lending spirit that is now a faded memory. Its our “Jersey Girl”,
or “Aquaholic”, or “A Wave from it All”.
Aye, captain. It’s the family boat.

The refinancing craze drove the recreational boating
industry, and we saw a 40% rise in luxury cruisers, miniyachts and sailboats
from 2000 – 2006. The average loan tripled to $141,000. Now, these “Chickens of the Sea” have come home to roost. Home equity has
fallen off a cliff, boat sales with it. Gas prices pour fuel on the fire. Boats
make Hummers look energy efficient.

And so these are the salad days for the repo men. Economic
downturns always are, but this one especially. The leverage was unlike anything
ever seen. Repo operators have expanded,
some have grown to double or triple in size. I can’t wait until the boat
foreclosure ads start hitting late night TV.

Equal Time / Thanks for the 411.

Marc Sussman — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:36:22 -0400

Thank you to Larry Kudlow for straightening us out.

He’s finally gotten to the bottom of it, establishing the source of our economic instability. We were mistaken, when we thought it might be,

    * oil at $125 a barrel, gas prices rising to over $4 a gallon;
    * a plummeting dollar;
    * food prices skyrocketing, worldwide starvation, riots;
    * 12 billion dollars a week spent on a War that no one wants;
    * a U.S. economy kept afloat by foreign investors, our distressed corporate and financial assets purchased by anonymous sovereign wealth funds;
    * actions of the Treasury/Fed/Investment Banking systematically destroy trillions in economic value;
    * foreclosures at record levels, housing market continues to contract…

Sure, 80% of Americans have lower relative household income than they did in 1973, but those folks are not Larry’s cup of tea. He’s a market guy.

Larry knows the real source of our dilemma. You see, he was an advisor to Ronald Reagan. He is the staunch supply-sider, the resident expert on tinkle - down economic theory. He knows our real problem is the mere possibility, the mere spectre of….

….Barack Obama.

Larry describes the Obama administration’s enormous tax increases, bloated social programs, no-growth economy. But there’s a problem, Larry…we remember election rhetoric. We remember, “read my lips, no more new taxes.”

So, thanks anyway, Larry. You serve an important purpose for us - clarity. When we want to identify the problem, we look to you.

Thanks for the 411, Larry.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

Marc Sussman — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:40:00 -0400

It becomes apparent as the green revolution evolves, that we have to be careful who we listen to.

The Motley Fool, the stockpicker / online blogger, is running a green investing series in advance of Earth Day on April 22. The MF perspective re: green investing focuses on long-term shareholder value, but so be it. Pretty one-dimensional, but we get a habitable planet in the process.

The companies that Motley Fool highlights boggle the noodle, though. Some of these companies, held up as progressive, have a checkered eco-past, some have troubling human rights records.

The Motley Fool articles applaud Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and its recycling campaigns, General Electric's (NYSE: GE) Ecomagination cornerstones, and Disney's (NYSE: DIS) environmental policies.

But Coke has a history of international anti-union activities including murders of union officials in Colombia; see www.killercoke.com or this Businessweek article

E-Har-money

Marc Sussman — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:53:38 -0400

Check out Marc Sussman's Money Matters every Saturday on Air America

There’s a great amount of research being done on the emotional and psychological impact that money has in our lives. Any day now, Barnes & Noble will announce their “Money & Happiness” section. We’ll see the different ways that we are affected, but first let’s get some basic facts out of the way.

Investor psychology

Psychology affects investor returns, more than any other factor. Studies have shown that losing a dollar bothers us 2.5 times as much as making a dollar.

It’s the reason that during a five - year run, when the market averaged 12.5%, the average investor earned only 2.5%. Why? Buying high (comfort) vs. selling low (fear).

Brain Damage study

A recent study evaluated individuals with a certain kind of brain damage. Affected was the portion of their brain that experienced fear. This study determined that these individuals made far better investors than those without this damage. They didn’t make decisions based on fear, or comfort…their feelings were effectively taken out of the equation.

But there are things that we don’t see about value and money. Here’s a cross-section of scenarios.

The Bush Boom Was a Complete Bust

bonddad — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 11:47:11 -0400

visit bonddad blog for more on the economy

Either we're in a recession or we're about to start one. Either way, the latest expansion is over. While there may be some question about when it happened (the expansion, that is) the reality is it was the least impressive expansion since WWII. Below I will explain why.

Before I move forward, let me address specifically any readers who still think the last expansion was "the Greatest Story Never Told." I am going to use facts to demonstrate why the latest expansion was terrible. If you don't like the facts please feel free to present you own facts. In fact, please do so. But please only use facts from reliable sources. Reliable sources would be the government agencies that collect and present this data. To sit at this table, you must bring data (properly adjusted for inflation) that is from sources used by all economists not from sources whose credibility is non-existent.

That being said (and I can't believe I even have to address this issue).

Let's start with the consumer side of the equation. First , job growth during this expansion is the weakest of any recovery since WWII. (This information comes from the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Bureau of Labor Statistics)