Mountain Sage

Six months after accepting a financial lifeline from Washington, a newly profitable Goldman Sachs is pushing to return the billions of taxpayer dollars that it received in an effort to extricate itself from heightened government control.

No, the recession isn’t over or the economic crisis solved but anything positive is a nice respite from months of bad economic news.  Pundits credit the bank bailout plan and the rise in previously owned home sales for the buying spree today.
A Buying Spree as Investors Hear Bank Bailout Plan
On Monday, Wall Street gave the government [...]

If Spending Is Swift, Oversight May Suffer
The Obama administration’s economic stimulus plan could end up wasting billions of dollars by attempting to spend money faster than an overburdened government acquisition system can manage and oversee it, according to documents and interviews with contracting specialists.
Obama to Sign Stimulus in Denver Tuesday
The president plans to sign the [...]

If investors are this fearful maybe they should never have been investing in the stock market to begin with….or is the truth of the matter that they are once again throwing a temper tantrum?
Dow Hits 6-Year Low as Banks Tank
Stocks tumbled Thursday as anxiety over how the Obama administration will fix the crippled financial system [...]

Yesterday I commented that the Wall Street investors were having a temper tantrum because they didn’t get what they want….unlimited bailout funds with no oversight or demands.  Steven Pearlstein of the Washington Post agrees:
By Steven Pearlstein
Wednesday, February 11, 2009; Page D01
Wall Street is not pleased.
Hunkered-down executives and hyperactive traders were more than a little disappointed [...]

The heads of CEO’s are exploding all over the country today as President Obama sets a salary cap of $500,000 for executives whose companies are receiving bailout funds.
According to CNN, the CEO of Bank of America, Ken Lewis,  made $28.4 MILLION this year, even while receiving $45 million of taxpayers money for a bailout.  That’s [...]

By SHARON OTTERMAN
Published: October 28, 2008
Wall Street seemed to find its energy Tuesday afternoon as the major exchanges were all up about 10 percent on the day.

Much of rally, analysts said, came as investors began looking for bargains among beaten down stocks as well as expectations of that the Federal Reserve would cut its key [...]

Dow Drops 508 Points; Lending Markets Frozen
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM 18 minutes ago
Wall Street extended its heavy losses as concern about the financial sector wiped out early enthusiasm over the Fed’s efforts to inject confidence into the credit markets.
Stocks skidded lower on Tuesday afternoon despite reassurances from the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben S. [...]

Chaotic Day Ends With Stocks Off 3.8%
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
Published: October 6, 2008
Panic came to Wall Street on Monday morning, but its stay was brief, at least for one day.
The Dow Jones industrials finished more than 360 points lower, dropping below the 10,000 mark for the first time in five years, as markets around the [...]

Any more bad news for us? The Senate passes a pork filled bill and the stock market tanks. Anything else we should brace ourselves for like an alien invasion ala Independence Day?
I think I’ll drink heavily throughout the debate tonight. If you care to join me there will be a live blog.
U.S. [...]