“What’s a five letter word for ‘cliff’?“ an editorial page cartoon asked. The answer: “Bluff.” To bluff is to mislead and that’s an appropriate summary of the fiscal cliff agreement,…
From Goldfinger to Groundhog Day
Tick. Tick. Tick. It’s like that scene in “Goldfinger,” where the seconds are ticking down and James Bond is trying to defuse the bomb. He succeeds, of course, just in…
The Black Cloud in the Silver Lining
All I want for Christmas is a new economy. Ours is broken. While there are a few positive signs that optimists can latch onto, it appears that either the country…
So This Is Compromise?
“We are both heading for the cliff. Who jumps first is the Chicken.” …
Looking Over the Fiscal Cliff
You’ve heard plenty about the fiscal cliff. But little attention has been paid to what’s beyond it. What’s beyond it is another higher, steeper cliff. The federal debt now exceeds…
The Good News: No More Election Ads
In the wake of Tuesday’s re-election of President Obama, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 434 points in two days, a drop of 3.3%. That’s better than when he was…
Pretzel Logic
When Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said recently that he did not expect The Fed to initiate any additional monetary stimulus, apparently stock traders weren’t listening. The recent run-up in stock…