Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Pessimism Bubble? (Musical Tribute)

Is there a pessimism bubble?

In fact, there is evidence that investor pessimism has reached levels not seen since the mid-1970s.

The S&P 500 is up 68% in the last 9 months.

11 comments:

EconomicDisconnect said...

Speaking of Hope I remember that exchange about hope between Red and Andy in "The Shawshank Redemption".

There is an amount of pessimism on main street about most things but Wall Street is as optimistic as ever and they should be. Instead of getting run out of town after the last debacle they got rewarded. I would be optimistic as well.

Mark has no desire to buy gold at these levels but now I have sworn off buying TP at anything less than 89 cents. I mean how can something so needed cost so little? I am calling for a protest:
"TP inflation is natural; It swells when wet!!"

Stagflationary Mark said...

GYSC,

Mark has no desire to buy gold at these levels but now I have sworn off buying TP at anything less than 89 cents.

I have fantastic news for you! It's just 49 cents per roll at Costco. 500 sheets of 2-ply goodness!

Stagflationary Mark said...

GYSC,

Oops. I misread what you said. Too funny.

This is fantastic news for me! You won't buy it for less than 89 cents? You are so lucky. I'm currently reselling it for $100 a sheet! Buy one ply at that high price and I'll throw in a second ply absolutely free. Just pay separate shipping and handling. Limit 380,000 sheets per household. (I'd run out if I sold more than that.)

Holy cow. I really do have about 380,000 sheets. Why does anyone read my blog? I'm a nutcase, lol.

EconomicDisconnect said...

Mark,
You are kind of a nut in a way. A concentrated package of high quality nutrients (for the mind) encased in a sarcastic stagflationary shell. We luv ya!

All those little cardboard roll centers surely must have a secondary usage?

Stagflationary Mark said...

GYSC,

"All those little cardboard roll centers surely must have a secondary usage?"

They do! Our dog Honey loves them. I kid you not. We'll give her one and say, "Get the tube!" I then normally chase her around the house and ask her, "What have you got! Give me that!"

She's actually a very sensitive dog. I'd have no problem actually getting it from her if she knew I was serious. She picks up on the tone though. It definitely feeds her "I'm getting away with something" thrill. At some point it gets soggy and I do have to take it from her, but that's when she gets a treat to make up for it.

I honestly believe the best things in life are free or pretty close to it. The tube is no exception. :)

EconomicDisconnect said...

My dumb dog wont play with anything that is not a stuffed animal, but he is a pug and not a real dog anyway. I prefer cats!

Stagflationary Mark said...

Cats will play with the tube too!

Of course, they don't need to wait until the paper is gone come to think of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWQzqky2lqQ

watchtower said...

"I honestly believe the best things in life are free or pretty close to it. The tube is no exception. :)"

Two nights ago I was telling my wife about how wonderful this little pocket knife that I had found lying in the grass was and she said "it's the little things that seem to make you happy", after thinking about it I believe she's right.

One of my goals was to have our pantry fully stocked by 1-1-10 so I made the trip to Wal Mart last weekend.
When I went to checkout the clerk asked me if I had a 'tax exempt' number.

You might be a redneck, er hoarder if the checkout person asks if you have a tax exempt number : )

mab said...

Stag,

The pessimism bubble just won't pop!

During the 2008 Presidential campaign, McCain advisor Phil Grahm said that we are “a nation of whiners” when it comes to the economy and that this is a “mental recession.”

Grahm knows a thing or two about the eCONomy too. He was a co-author of the legislation that gutted Glass=Steagle.

PUNksatawdry Phil!

Anonymous said...

"As we have seen so illustriously over the past year, all Ponzi schemes eventually fail under their own weight. The US debt scheme is no different. 2009 has been witness to spectacular government intervention in almost all levels of the economy. This support requires outside capital to facilitate, and relies heavily on the US government’s ability to raise money in the debt market. The fact that the Federal Reserve and US Treasury cannot identify the second largest buyer of treasury securities this year proves that the traditional buyers are not keeping pace with the US government’s deficit spending. It makes us wonder if it’s all just a Ponzi scheme." Eric Sprott
http://tinyurl.com/ybns29x

Ya think?

Kevin

EconomicDisconnect said...

ALL,
I might be home after a late night out!! See you 2morrow!