Treating the Symptoms

Black Swans Abound as Year of Tiger Shows Teeth: William Pesek

Markets are hardly discounting hyperinflation, hyperdeflation, a global pension crisis, a collapse of North Korea’s repressive regime, social unrest in China or Iran, major earthquakes in Tokyo or California, or Somali pirates getting their hands on more than oil.

And, more basically, what if optimism that we dodged another Great Depression is hubris and markets tank anew? Treating the symptoms of the financial crisis isn’t the same as removing the causes.

Speaking of treating the symptoms, I've been coughing up stuff of a questionable color for the past few months and finally decided to see the doctor yesterday. I'm mostly better but wanted a second opinion. It's just been dragging on so long. No fever. Blood pressure was good. Throat looked okay. Chest sounded okay. The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics but suggested that I don't fill it unless I started feeling worse. I really don't like taking medications unless they are proven to be absolutely necessary. I was therefore an easy sell on that advice.

I also told my doctor that it felt like 2004. I turned bearish then because I felt we were borrowing our recovery. I really do think we're doing it again, only bigger!

I do have some good news though. I just saved 35% on my car insurance by... No wait. That's not it. I saved 35% on my office visit by using "prompt pay". That means that that I paid before leaving the building.

On the one hand, we see payday loan stores selling cash at a premium to people who desperately need it.

On that same hand, we also see businesses willing to accept less cash up front for services rendered rather than risk getting even less cash later.

So where's the other hand? Cash sure doesn't seem like trash to me, regardless of what the government has tried to do to its value. I guess one could point to oil. I stick to my theory that it is overpriced though. I thought $80 would hold but also acknowledged that it could hit $100. I just don't see it staying there since I think China is in a lot more trouble than most can believe. High oil prices hurt them more than us, since high oil prices imply high food prices (poor people spend more of their money on food).

And lastly, being self-insured since April hasn't hurt me so far (knock on wood). It cost me $100 to see the doctor. That's my total medical expenses for the past 8 months. Maybe I should write the insurance company a note and thank them for denying my application (due to a minor acne problem on the outside of one of my eyelids that has since been cured).