Friday, December 12, 2008

Auto Talks Break Down

It looks like the bailout talks have broken down, and I'm not sure that's a bad thing. The market will lose 800 points today, and I'm not sure that's a bad thing. Chrysler and GM have retained bankruptcy lawyers, and I'm not sure that's a bad thing. Intervening to save a dying, poorly run industry WOULD be a bad thing. Continuing to prop up an industry whose management is moribund and whose labor is gangsterish would be a bad thing.

It is Friday, and Fridays seem to me to be disproportionately wild days on Wall Street. I think it is going to be a rough one. I feel bad for my friends who make a living in the financial world, but the continuing talk of bailout and the sturm and drang it caused has kept the market from appropriately factoring in auto restructuring. It will today.

We're in for a rough time, and I don't see it getting any better in the near term (one year). But my money's still on us, and I'm still buying in. Things will get better and I intend to be on the winning side of it.

4 comments:

  1. For my 403(b) (like a 401(k)) I keep telling myself, "My event horizon is far enough off and I'm just buying gobs of cheap shares."

    Stay the course.

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  2. 7th grade English teacher to young Mudge: "Mudge, can you use "sturm" and "drang" in a sentence?". Young Mudge: "Yes Mrs. Whitehead, "We had a really bad sturm that overflowed all the road drangs so my dad lost control of his GMC and ran into a Chrysler." (I saw the GM/Chrysler crash coming long ago).

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  3. 3:38 and the DOW is UP 25 points.

    Maybe the market is applauding the Republican senators.

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  4. I think the market did not tank because the White House promised to intervene. It is a mistake. The Republicans in the Senate were doing the right thing, and Gettlefinger and the UAW knew they could go running to Uncle George--so they didn't play ball.

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