Jan 23 2008
Is Soros Spreading Financial Panic?
I find little reason for the world economies to be panicking. We have had years of growth, low inflation, and low unemployment. We have needed adjustments coming in Housing and fuel prices, but nothing to cause a case of the vapors. The US economy made it through 9-11 and two foreign wars since. And it has had to make it through much worse times (Carter and WW II come to mind). So what caused the ripple in the markets?
I noted today George Soros, father of Bush Derangement Syndrome and all around rich liberal nut case (which just proves anyone can make money if they are willing to sell their soul), is out with commentary on the markets today:
The worst market crisis in 60 years
By George SorosPublished: January 22 2008 19:57 | Last updated: January 22 2008 19:57
The current financial crisis was precipitated by a bubble in the US housing market. In some ways it resembles other crises that have occurred since the end of the second world war at intervals ranging from four to 10 years.
Today’s ‘crisis’ is no worse than the weeks after 9-11, nor the dark days of gas rationing and Jimmy Carter. No where near as bad. Not even close. It is not the Great Depresssion or the 1930’s. So why is Soros out talking about the economy? I found this article from 2004 quite interesting:
International financier George Soros is worth $7 billion – and he so desperately wants to oust George Bush from the White House he says he would even give away his whole fortune to do so.
…
Here’s the real worry: Could the master currency trader manipulate the financial markets to create a panic, collapsing the stock market or the U.S. dollar on the eve of the November election?
The thought of such a scenario – dubbed a “Financial October Surprise” – has some worried.
Soros is a serial exaggerator. Do you all remember the horrible financial crisis of the late 1980’s? Yeah, neither do I. Here is what Soros said in 1987 about a market correction that year:
“Technically, the crash of 1987 bears an uncanny resemblance to the crash of 1929. The shape and extent of the decline and even the day-to-day movements of stock prices track very closely.”
-George Soros in The Alchemy of Finance
Somehow 1987 correction never looked like 1929 and the 1990’s did not look like the 1930’s. In fact, the one day 22% drop to a DOW of 1,738.40 looks small compared to a current DOW sitting over 10,000. Soros is in this for the money folks. He thinks he can make more with liberal presidents than conservative ones. This ain’t rocket science.
Of course he is, it might help get rid of the “Bush administration”
Proof of that particularly foul pudding is that the BBC* had Soros
on their flagship radio show monday m orning, advising us that
the end of western prosperity was nigh, that it was all our fault,
and that decades of austerity were now looming.
That radio show goes out at 8:30 AM Greenwich Mean Time,
or very early morning in the states. The imminent fall of the
world’s markets was predicted.
The next day, markets had not crashed. The BBC* didn’t say
sorry. They had some other pundit on saying bad times were
ahead.
This guy is transparent rubbish. He’s also just had one of his
“foundations” publish a report that proves Bush is a liar.
You can probably get that on Yahoo news, they feature AP reports.
I’m going to make a suggestion:
Soros is what extraordinary rendition was invented for.
Soros has a long and storied history of playing his own games on the world stage.
Besides his craptastic economic set up he is trying to build a case for (so Hill can recycle all those It’s the Economy Stupid bumper stickers) plus his two funded press fronts coming out with the Hundreds of Way’s Bush Lied us into War report which is being correctly trashed and the oh so well qualified Lancet Report this is all part of the same game.
Add to that he is in the process of half way breaking a former Soviet Block country over a single gold mine he wants to control and this tool stands out for what he is.
But for those people who only follow the HollySluts and the NFL or Nascar..it will probably work.
I don’t think he’s just in it for the money. Democrats are anti-business, anti-trade, ant-wealth, and pro-union. How does anyone make money under their policies? I think he honestly believes that the ends (socialism) justify his means (capitalism). He’s in favor of big government and big taxes. After all, how can he get a bigger piece of the “fixed” pie, if everyone stays rich?
Read some of his stuff. Ayn Rand couldn’t have created a more diabolical demagogue.
Soros needs to re-create an “it’s the economy, stupid” campaign for Clinton like he did when Bush’s dad was president. Remember the “recession” at the end of that Bush administration that turned out to be nothing?
There has not been ONE SINGLE QUARTER of negative GDP. Even if the downturn started right now, by definition there is no way we could even start to be in a recession until July. Unemployment rose slightly to 5.0%, that is a GOOD thing. 5.0% is a much more sustainable rate of unemployment over the long term than 4.x% is. 5.0 to 5.5 was, when I was taking college economics, was considered the optimum unemployment rate. Anything higher or lower was bad for the economy.
In a word, YES! We all know this. Didn’t Soros bring down the Bank of England, betting against it (shorting it)?
Let’s see, who’s judgment about the economy should I trust more – AJ’s or George Soros?
This is what AJ said about the economy on November 2, 2007, just a little more than two months ago, in a post entitled Unemployment Record Low – Bush’s Economy:
“Well, the leftist handwringers and naysayers can whine all they want, but the proof of Bush’s economic policies is his unending string of successful economic reports that have blessed this nation since the dark days of 9-11, and through two war fronts against Islamic terrorism * * * History is telling the story of the Bush economy, and it is one of the best in US history. People from all sides of the political spectrum should learn a lesson from this.”
Two months ago you proclaimed it the best economy in US history and no we are on the verge of a recession. Sorry AJ, these types of statements either demonstrate that you are completely ignorant about the economy or you will say anything to defend Bush no matter what the actual facts show. Soros and others economic experts have been warning about looming problems with the economy for quite some time, so I think I’ll have to trust their judgment over yours.
As for how bad the economic situation will eventually get, the one thing that most experts agree on is that nobody really knows at this point. Originally, the Feds stated that the subprime crises would be localized and would not spill over into the mortgage industry as a whole. When that proved to be wrong, they claimed that it would not spill over into the rest of the economy. This week proved not only that it significantly affected the US economy, but it affected the world economy as well. Given that the Feds called an emergency meeting this week (even though they were scheduled to meet next week) to announce a substantial reduction to interest rates suggest to me that they agree more with Soros’ position than yours. For you to proclaim that we have nothing to worry about given your recent grossly wrong statements about the economy and recent trends to the contrary should give little comfort to the rest of us.
While nobody knows for sure if things will be any worse than the previous recessions, there are some unique attributes that you completely overlook. The main one is the fact that this recession has been precipitated by a crises in the banking industry. None of the recent recessions of our times have had that component. If you couple that with skyrocketing oil prices and other factors that are hitting our weakened economy all at the same time, it certainly is possible that it could be worse than previous recessions.
One thing we do know for sure – you’ll never again claim this is the best economy in US history!
Conman:
If Soros thinks this is “the worst market crisis in 60 years” I think AJ has a better understanding of economics. We may be see a very mild recession (if even that), and people in the markets are getting nervous… once people see how overblown their fears are, the markets are going to come soaring back. Our economy is as strong as ever — and it is growing. It may be slowing but it is still growing. It’s hard to imagine even a more powerful economy…
I see nothing catastrophic happening.
This economic crisis is another media hype — in part to aid and abet the “reformers” who will save us all from economic suicide. There are people camped out in front of Champs Sporting Goods for the new Jordan sneakers—–maybe they are just getting ready to invest their tax subsidy. Economics in action—-it is a beautiful thing. Your choices define your values and what you deem important.
KauaiBoy, here is further evidence that you, AJ and the rest of the “let’s bury our heads in the sand so we don’t have to acknowledge that Bush isn’t perfect” crowd don’t know what you are talking about.
Here are some quotes from a Forbes article yesterday regarding Martin Feldstein, one of the leading conservative economist in the country and President of the NBER (the organisation that officially declares and dates recessions) testimony before the Senante:
“The National Bureau of Economic Research’s (NBER) president, Martin Feldstein, told a Senate panel today the chance of a US recession is now greater than 50 pct.
Feldstein also warned a recession this time around could be much worse than previous downturns. The NBER is the organisation that officially declares and dates recessions.
‘I believe that the probability of a recession in 2008 now exceeds 50 percent,’ told the Senate Finance Committee today. ‘If it occurs, it could be deeper and longer than recessions of the recent past.’
Feldstein, an economics professor at Harvard and previously an economic adviser to former President Ronald Reagan, said the risks of recession are great enough to warrant another rate cut when the Federal Reserve meets next week. ”
* * *
“He cited the increased consumer price index, rising unemployment, lower persoonal income, and drops in home prices, retail sales, housing starts, and manufacturing activity.”
If you actully paid attention to the news, you would know that most of the economic experts have been and increasingly continue to share Feldstein’s opinion.
And what do you cite to support your theory that the economy is great and this is all just a media hype/conspriacy – a line of people in front of one sporting good store waiting to buy Jordan shoes. Oh wait, I get it, there really is nothing to worry! You should send Feldstein an email and tell him about this new information – maybe he can correct his testimony of yesterday before it is too late. Priceless! KauaiBoy, you really shouldn’t attempt to weigh in on topics that are clearly above your head – it only reveals your ignorance.
Conman,
You can find hundreds of Bush bashers – doesn’t make the right. Just makes them obsessed.
LOL! Bush is did better than Presidents Gore and Kerry dude. Eat that crow and chew on it.
Oh AJ, you are so predictable. Once again you fall back on your two favorite responses when you cannot substantively dispute an opposing comment.
1. Name calling. This time its Bush basher. Most of the time its radical liberal, Surrendercrat, etc. It may make you feel better, but it doesn’t change the fact that you obviously couldn’t come up with a legitimate response if all you can do is resort to junior high tactics. For future reference, when the only counterargument you can come up with is name calling that is a signal that you’re probably wrong and should reexamine your position.
What is particularly hilarous this time is your assumption that Milton Feldstein is a Bush basher. It really shows your ignorance given that you obviosuly have no idea who he is. Here is a hint – he was an economic advisor for the Bush presidential campaign and was considered a leading candidate (along with Bernanke) to succeed Greenspan as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Look it up dude and educate yourself. Now he’s a Bush basher just because he doesn’t agree with your rosey picture? Wow!
2. Pure speculation. The old Bush did better than Gore and Kerry would have done! Do you seriously think it makes you look more credible when you are trying to compare Bush’s actual presidency with two fictious presidents that were never actually president? Maybe if you shared your pretend economic statistic for the pretend Gore/Kerry presidencies with the rest of us we can see if you really are right. I guess I’ll add that to your previous list, including Iraq would have nuked us by now if we didn’t invade and Al Qaida would have nuked us by now if we didn’t have the NSA program. That is some crystal ball you have.