Kenneth Feinberg Is A Total Wimp

Kenneth Feinberg is a total wimp.  Here’s a recent quote:

      "He [Feinberg] added that anyone who believes he "went
easy on the banks hasn’t carefully read what I did over the past 16
months, and what I did today regarding these 17." "

Yeah, I read it.  He did squat.  Banks that should have gone bankrupt because of BAD MANAGEMENT instead rewarded execs with huge bonuses.

This kind of thing makes me sick…

…and it’s a huge black eye for the Obama administration.

Obsessed With Oil… ?

Am I obsessed with oil?  Guilty as charged.  Why are corporate earnings good but retailers are coming in light?  Oil spiked a few months ago… that immediately hit consumer pocketbooks so they stopped some spending… which immediately hit retailers… which is what they are now reporting on (activity over the last 3 months).

 

On the other hand, corporation pipelines are a bit longer… say about 6 months or so… so any lightness felt from retailers now would ripple onto corporate P&L over the next few quarters.

 

Hmmm.  Interesting.

 

 

P.S.  Lest we forget:  Happy Bastille Day!

Going Up Or Down?

Whenever I want to bail on this market, I think to myself:  Where’s oil? 

 

As long as oil behaves itself (s-l-o-w-l-y climbing… less than $100 a barrel… etc.), people will have extra money in their pockets and spend.  That helps corporate earnings.

 

If oil shoots up, people will immediately have less money in their pockets and panic/pucker up again.  That will hurt corporate profits.

 

So, then, as long as oil behaves, the stock market should be ok… defined as trading within a normal, healthy — if not heart-stopping at times — range.

 

 

P.S.  For the market to dramatically appreciate from here, though, we will — obviously — need more jobs.  Oil may be the key short-term influencer… but jobs are still the most important long-term driver.