Oh Oh Canada!

Bank of Canada governor Mike Carney feels that Canada's "economy is in good shape to weather a global recession." Well, let's look at some of the facts!

• Canada's S&P/TSX composite has tumbled 22% since June, and in the U.S. the DOW has been falling for a year declining more than 25% so far.
• Ordinary Canadian's rely heavily on the spending of ordinary American's to prop up our economy, with 76% of Canada's exports flowing to the U.S. in 2007.
• Every 1% decline in cross-border trade with the U.S. pulls about $3.5 billion out of Canada's economy. Spending by Americans declined this summer - the first time that has happened since 1991.
• Already manufacturers in Ontario and Quebec are hurting from the slowdown.
• Forestry firms in the West are hurting from the slowdown.
• Economists Douglas Porter at BMO Nesbitt Burns and Benjamin Tal at CIBC World Markets have warned seperately that a deep U.S. recession will drag down Canadian real estate prices.
• Nouriel Roubini, a professor of economics at New York University, in a note to his clients this past Monday, stated that "we are in a generalized panic mode, and back to the risk of a systematic meltdown of the entire financial system."
• Already banks around the world have written off more than US$350 billion in bad loans and Roubini projects that number could rise as high as US$1.5 trillion.
• Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital in Connecticut predicts that the current financial crisis will be worse than anything we've faced in our lifetimes. He describes a depression so severe that it would forge a "new economic order", with sharply higher interest rates, a weaker American dollar, surging prices and shortages of consumer basics.
• Canada's GDP will shrink at a 0.4% annualized pace this quarter compared to a July prediction of 1.8% growth. There is very little or absolutely no expansion predicted in the first quarter of 2009.
• In Toronto, at 10:42am on Oct 23/08 the Canadian dollar weakened to C$1.257U.S. Earlier the currency dropped as much as 1.6%.
• Falling prices for crude oil.
• Tighter consumer lending.
• The gap between the yield on 1 month commercial paper and BOC's key rate was 55 basis points on Oct 22/08 down from a peak of 78 basis points on Oct 03/08.
• BOC's projection for 2009 consumer spending growth has been revised from 2.3% (July/08 forecast) to 1.5%.
• Business investment will decline 0.2% next year instead of growing 0.5% as predicted in July/08.
• Total inflation increased 3.3% in Sept./08 from a year earlier.
• The inflation rate was 3.5% in August/08, the fastest in more than 5 years.

Don't automatically drink the Bank of Canada's and Ottawa's Kool-Aid! Become informed ...get the real story yourself and then take whatever action you can to protect yourselves and your families as best you can!

Pay particular attention to the so called "Quadrillion Dollar Derivatives Deathstar." There is a wealth of good information available on this impending financial Armageddon.

Bank of Canada Babble.

This past Tuesday, Bank of Canada governor Mike Carney, made the statement that "the economy is in good shape to weather a global recession, although growth will be anemic for the next six months."

What a breathtaking statement to make, when in fact a steadily increasing number of the world's most knowledgeable financial analysts and economists are making a solid case for a total world-wide economic meltdown and collapse. This is a far cry from a recession!

What insight, based on the present and anticipated continuing future financial crises, does Mr. Carney have that would lead him to be speaking in terms of a recession rather than a full-blown depression?

I would argue that Canada's economy will not be strong enough to weather the coming "perfect financial storm." I will address this in my next series of posts.

Perhaps Mr. Carney would care to let us know just how Canada will survive the anticipated imminent implosion of what, in investment circles, is now being dubbed as "The Quadrillion Dollar Derivatives Deathstar" which when it blows, its toxicity will send every major economy into the abyss.

By the way, prior to Mr. Carney's appointment, he had a 13 year career with Goldman Sachs (remember them) eventually becoming a Managing Director of the firm.

I, for one, am not drinking any of Mr. Carney's Kool-Aid anytime soon!

The Presidential Campaign Clothes Wars.

Just some trivia for your next water cooler conversation ...

• Sarah Palin wore a $2,500 Valentino jacket at the Repub Convention.
• Barack Obama wears Hart Schaffner Marx suits that retail for about $1,500.
• John McCain consistently wears $520 Salvatore Ferragamo loafers.
• Cindy McCain wore an outfit estimated to cost $313,100 including diamond earrings and pearl necklace.
• 2007 Democratic Presidential candidate John Edwards paid for two $400 haircuts.

Is there a point to this post? No not really ... I just found this trivia interesting in a National Inquirer sort of way.

Power Shopping Palin!

I would guess that we all know by now that the Republican Party, the party that promises to stop the excesses in Washington, spent $150,000 in 2 months on clothes, hair styling and accessories for Sarah Palin and her family from such "joe six-pack" and "joe the plumber" stores as Saks Fifth Avenue and Nieman Marcus.

Who knew that being a hockey mom could be this expensive!

Lois Brown is just Not Worth the Risk!

I first began blogging about Lois Brown in February 2007 as Lois contested Kirk West for the Conservative party nomination for the federal riding of Newmarket/Aurora. Originally my impetus for blogging was that, in my opinion, Kirk West represented a young man who was chock full of great and very innovative ideas on how to serve riding constituents and as such was light years ahead of anything that Lois offered. His campaign slogan of "Not The Same Old Same Old" said it all! On the other hand, it was readily apparent, even to the casual observer, that Lois Brown was devoid of any original or innovative ideas. Lois' concept of an original thought was the robotic repetition of the Conservative mantra of the day. Quite okay if you're sucking up to leadership, but not nearly enough to break down the walls of a traditional and historic Liberal stronghold.

As the nomination race "heated-up" a number of bloggers began leaving comments in response to my posts alleging various improprieties and possible wrongdoings by Lois, all of which were corroborated, and then published on my blog. It is very important to stress that not once did Lois Brown challenge or respond in any way to these very serious allegations.

Rather than turning this into a very lengthy post, I would urge you to visit my archives starting with my first Lois Brown on Feb 10/07. Here are a few highlights;

• a comment was left by a blogger accusing Lois and the former Alliance party riding association of improprieties and possible wrong-doings in the actual voting process during the vote which nominated Lois as the Alliance candidate. As well the final vote count was never announced nor has it ever been made public. Lois has never responded nor commented on this allegation.
• during her 2007 nomination campaign, Lois' old web site stated that she was endorsed by Frank Klees. One blogger posted that Frank Klees was not endorsing either Lois or Kirk. Another blogger challenged Lois to produce evidence of Frank Klee's endorsement which she never did. A third blogger stated that Frank Klees had fired Lois while she was working for him. Lois has never responded nor commented on the supposed endorsement.
• allegations surfaced in her 2007 nomination campaign that Lois was given preferential access to the Conservative party riding membership list by the executive of the riding association supposedly to "renew lapsed memberships." Kirk West was never asked to help in resigning lapsed members at that time. Lois had the membership list for at least 5 months prior to the nomination vote, making trips to Ottawa to deliver signed members, while Kirk received his copy with just weeks left before the vote. Lois has never responded to this allegation, nor has the executive of the riding association.
• on the night of the nomination vote Lois Brown's people felt it ethical to plaster all four walls of the auditorium with her campaign material, in addition to covering the backrests of every single chair. It was only after Kirk West arrived and initially was unable to display his material, that someone instructed Lois' people that they were only entitled to use 2 walls only. The bottom line was that enough space was cleared for Kirk to display one sign and leave a synopsis of his vision for the riding on most of the chairs.
• On the night of the nomination vote, Stephen Somerville then the president of the riding association, in his opening remarks openly endorsed Lois from the podium prior to the candidates speeches and before the vote. Two Questions .... is this legal and ethical? Secondly .... why Stephen?

Personally, the most interesting aspect of this entire fiasco is that somewhere along the way, some nitwit or a collection of nitwits within the Lois Brown campaign ... maybe Lois Brown herself apparently began to feel uncomfortable with my blogs .... and suddenly the accusation was made that I ...Robert Otto was not Robert Otto at all. These matrons of the logically challenged suddenly deduced that Robert Otto was Kirk West.

They had arrived at their conclusion because, after scrutinizing the membership list(s), and telephone directories they were unable to find a listing for Robert Otto. Obviously it had never occurred to them that I might not be a registered member of the Conservative party (which I'm not) or that I could have an unlisted telephone.

Rather than Lois Brown confronting me directly to challenge and repudiate my allegations Lois' people began to send me juvenile emails asking .... "that I reveal myself because I could be easily working for Belinda Stronach" ... that "I'm hiding in the shadows and suffering from a small man complex" ... and that "I should expose myself otherwise everything on my blog may as well be an urban legend" ... URBAN LEGEND ....oooooooh .......I like that!

It is also my understanding from several sources that apparently sometime after Lois Brown defeated Kirk West she asked for a meeting with Kirk to discuss the Robert Otto blogs. She was still firmly convinced that Kirk was me. Apparently Lois and a number of her disciples grilled Kirk at a coffee shop...... HATS OFF TO KIRK FOR EVEN ATTENDING THAT MEETING. PERSONALLY I WOULD HAVE TOLD LOIS TO TAKE A FLYING FADOO. But that's just me ...I'm plain Cantankerous.

I also understand that Kirk has now been in effect blackballed from the party by Lois Brown.

LOIS ........ENOUGH IS FINALLY ENOUGH !!!!!!!!!!

I will not stand by any longer as you run rough-shod over other people with your Gestapo-like tactics. Kirk West has never done one single solitary thing to harm you. As a matter of fact he even went so far as to step aside when you asked him to so that you could lose to Belinda Stronach in the last election. Did he also not campaign for you????? You should be ashamed of yourself if only you knew how.

You have impugned the integrity and reputation of a fine young man. Kirk deserves a public apology from you and from all of the others who participated in defaming him.

LOIS I challenge you to meet me ..... Robert Otto ...Not KIRK WEST. We will meet in the same coffee shop and you can bring as many people as you wish. I will bring two members of the press because quite frankly I can't trust you to tell the truth after the meeting is over. I will answer all of your questions and you will answer all of my allegations. Once were done you can make the trip to Kirk West's house and apologize.

LOIS .... MY NAME IS ROBERT OTTO ..... AND YOU'RE 15 SECONDS OF FAME ARE UP!!!!

Just email me with your contact information and I will be there.

The Bail-Out of Wall Street Will Not Bail-Out Main Street!

The claims by Bernanke (Fed) and Paulson (Treasury) that the best way to open-up the credit markets is to recapitalize financial institutions through buying-up their toxic waste has absolutely no basis in fact.

This method of recapitalization is a total rip-off of Americans ... pure and simple! All this plan does is to provide a massive bail-out of the common and preferred shareholders and unsecured creditors of banks and other financial institutions and will do very little to open credit markets. Because at the end of the day, even assuming that all of the toxic waste has been snapped-up by your tax dollars, a large number of banks will still remain under capitalized, as they have been since 2007.

Also, it does nothing to resolve the severe stress in money markets and interbank markets which are now on the edge of a systematic meltdown. It does little to resolve the debt burden of millions of distressed homeowners, and the cost of borrowing $700billion to Americans will go right through the roof.

Paulson's Plan is a total and unmitigated disgrace. If its intent was to Bail-Out Main Street instead of the gypsies, tramps and thieves on Wall Street, then why have we not seen simple, yet cost-effective strategies, such as;

• public injection of preferred shares into distressed financial institutions.
• the mandated matching of capital by current shareholders to ensure that shareholders take the first loss. Why should non-investors be on the hook for reckless behaviour. They haven't speculated nor invested money so why should they now have to cover investor losses. Doesn't sound like a free market economy to me.
• suspension of all dividend payments.
• conversion of some of the unsecured debt into equity via a debt for equity swap.

In this way shareholders and creditors are forced to contribute to the recapitalization of affected financial institutions, and now, the $700billion bailout becomes a $350billion taxpayer bailout with only 50% used to buy toxic assets with the other 50% taking the form of public capital injection.

It is absolutely pathetic that the only financial strategy which Congress is looking at is Paulson's and Bernanke's Plan. Unless both are the world's foremost financial minds, Congress should also be seeking the advice of world-class economists and financial experts on behalf of the American people, to evaluate alternative plans which could possibly be more efficient and less costly in resolving this huge crisis.

In my opinion, the bottom-line on the bail-out package, as it currently stands, will privilege the gains and socialize the losses!