President Obama's best chance for turning around the economy is to make sure that Paul Volcker, Federal Reserve Chairman prior to Greenspan, is in charge of needed economic reforms. Although Tim Geitner showed promise when nominated Treasury Secretary, he looked more like Michael (Katrina) Brown than a competent leader in his first press conference. He … Continue reading Obama’s Neglect of Volcker Emperils Economy – Summers and Geitner Stonewall Reforms
Category: Merger Review
On November 18, 2008 I gave a presentation to the local chapter of the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) at the Multnomah Athletic Club here in Portland, Oregon regarding the overall state of the financial markets. The talk focused on how we arrived where we are and what to look for going forward. Also … Continue reading Immediate 6 Step Program to Turn Around Economy Proposed
This week Bloomberg disclosed that Warren Buffett, the man who has called derivatives a weapon of mass destruction, has himself afterall leveraged his fund Berkshire Hathaway by making a $40 billion bet in derivatives. Little known to most investors is that Buffett's primary source of revenue is his 50 insurance companies, including General RE, his … Continue reading Warren Buffett’s Credibility Takes a Big Hit
Today is Columbus day, a day that celebrates Columbus discovering America. Perhaps it is ironic that over the weekend America discovered Europe when it comes to guidance in dealing with our financial crisis. The answer to the crisis is not to have the Treasury purchase vast amounts of worthless securities from troubled banks but rather … Continue reading Europe Blocks Treasury Secretary Paulson From Looting America
See two related videos by searching for parishinvestments at youtube.com. The first video is titled "Clinton Tax Scheme" and the second is titled "Missing Clinton Financial Disclosure." The purpose of this comment is not to disparage the Clinton's but rather draw attention to the most astonishing tax loophole in 25 years. Last week the Clinton's … Continue reading Clinton Tax Return – The Real Story
As the Presidential race narrows, it is worth examining the key economic advisers to each candidate. While John McCain and Hillary Clinton have both enlisted advisors who are largely the source of current market turmoil, Barack Obama is instead supported by a beacon of financial integrity, former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. McCain's choice of … Continue reading Economic Advisor Analysis: McCain Clinton and Obama
NOTE: See chart of Buffett Oregon Lineup at end of this post. Oregonians have a great choice for Secretary of State this year. Her name is State Senator Vicki Walker and she is a proven courageous leader and advocate for both ordinary Oregonians and businesses alike. Although a Democrat, Walker is also popular with many … Continue reading Vicki Walker Battles Warren Buffett Political Machine in Oregon
As the credit market continues to flush out Wall Street driven excesses, perhaps it is also a good time for the Federal Reserve to address a looming crisis of confidence with respect to money market accounts, beginning with Charles Schwab's "government security money market." Most investors in the Schwab Government Money Market actually believe they … Continue reading Citigroup Impact: Money Market Accounts, Federal Reserve, Greenspan, Bernanke
Today, in its monthly meeting, the Oregon Investment Council, which manages Oregon's $70 billion in PERS and related public assets, continued its commitment to leveraged buyouts by private equity firms, this time in Europe as it provided $500 million to KKR and $300 million to CVC European Equity Partners. Now at 13 percent of total … Continue reading Oregon PERS Commits $800 million to European Leveraged Buyouts and Takeovers of American Firms: KKR, CVC Group, Richard Solomon, Len Bergstein, Neil Goldschnmidt
Today Bloomberg followed up on what could be the first in a wave of public and private "bank runs" here in the U.S. Remarkably, investors today still don't appreciate the difference between high quality money market accounts and those with derivatives. Even more remarkable are the number of such derivative invested funds in 401k and … Continue reading Citigroup SIV Fund and Florida Bank Run: Will this wake Up SEC, Fed Chairman Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Paulson and Congress? Parish & Company recommends solution