Weekend Linkfest

Consumer Spending, Personal Income, Credit Card "Issues"   a rather unpleasant look at the state of the US consumer. The question on my mind is will retailers have a Merry Christmas?   

• Barron’s Alan Abelson describes the present market as showing signs of Mania (If no Barron’s subscription, go here);

ex-Inflation, There is No Inflation   Of course, there are some who still insist that inflation is well contained (if you back out the price increases in CPI, there’s hardly any inflation!);  The WSJ has also noted the foolishness of this (Sizing Up the CPI).

• For those who want even more inflation fun, have a look at this Inflation Roundup   
This overview points
to numerous signs of ongoing and rising price increases;

• The Chicago Tribune asked a panel of Economists to name the least useful indicator for investors. Their near unanimous answer? LEIs (if no subscription, go here).

• Despite most of the prior estimates coming in worse than expected, somehow, the final revision of 2Q GDP Remains Unchanged (would someone please explain how?).

Jeff Matthews notes that the "post Rita Rig Devastation is quite significant;"

•  The Maestro has dropped his baton  Morgan Stanley’s main man points out that not only does the Fed Chief "finally own up to the perils of America’s housing bubble, but he now concedes that speculative froth in asset markets may well have been a direct outgrowth of the Fed’s policy stance."

The Times Trashes Wall Street: The NYT shines a pretty harsh lite on the street, and you won’t very much like what they reveal. According to the NYT:

a) Mario Gabelli is overpaid and treats his shareholders poorly;
b) Some hedge fund managers are pompous asses, while others charge excessive managment (not performance) fees;
c) SPACs are high risk investments.
(Hey, I just report what I read!)

Subsidizing U.S. Borrowing & Spending   Foreigners now own more than half of US Treasuries; How did this happen? (hint: 2 guys named Clinton and Bush);

Fox’s Saudi Prince  with surprisingly little commentary from the rest of the Media,  Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal has raised his voting  stake in Fox News to 5.5%;   

Google offers San Francisco free wireless   

• And lastly, How to Destroy the US Economy in One Easy Step.

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