Monday, September 29, 2008

House Votes Down Bailout Bill; Dow Down 701. AND: The New Biggest Risk of All – DEFLATION

From The Big Picture:
They disliked the plan at the open, and -- apparently -- disliked NOT having the plan even more!

Market off of its lows -- Dow off 560, Nasdaq down 134.

Yays are 207, Nays are 226 . . . Vote wrangling continues, as 6 switchers gets the flawed-but-probably-better-than-nothing bailout plan passed . . .

From Investment Postcards from Capetown:

This post is a guest contribution by Bennet Sedacca*, President of Atlantic Advisors Asset Management

Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends.
We’re so glad you could attend.
Come inside! Come inside!
There, behind a glass, is a real blade of grass,
be careful as you pass.
Move along! Move along!

Cold and misty morning, I heard a warning borne in the air
About an age of power where no one had an hour to spare,
Where the seeds have withered,
silent children shivered, in the cold.
Now their faces captured in the lenses of the jackals for gold.

Karn Evil 9, Emerson, Lake and Palmer (from the album Brain Salad Surgery)

My Biggest Fear
Without question, my biggest fear since the Credit Crisis began, even while watching the events that led up to it—the absurd levels of debt on every front, the creation of esoteric instruments based on bad debt—has been what would happen once the Credit Crisis unfolded. That fear was deflation; something that I sense is now upon us. You may not be familiar with deflation since it hasn’t been seen in this country since the 1930’s. So in case you are not familiar, I have provided a definition below. I believe the deflation situation that we are facing today in our nation is clearly defined by Investopedia:

Deflation: A general decline in prices, often caused by a reduction in the supply of money or credit....MORE