Profanity, Underwater, Commercial Bankruptcies, North Korea

There has been lots of talk about Treasury Secretary Geithner's profanity being intentional in front of Bernanke, SEC Chairman, Chapiro and FDIC Chairman Bair, to try and build power to force the independent regulators to go along with the administration's reform of financial regulations. I see this as a red flag and it is very important for regulators to stand on their own feet, hang onto their independence, and not bow to pressure. There has to be a check and balance. Also, to get from underneath this kind of forcefulness, all of the banks who took government loans need to repay them as timely as possible.

Commercial bankruptcy filings jumped 42% in July 2009 from a year ago. This is an area that hasn't fully been felt yet like the residential side. Foreclosures in this sector will increase and create a chain effect on companies who are in this industry and those who depend on it for their business.

Another troubling statistic is that 48% of homeowners are expected to be underwater in 2011. It's currently 26%. That is a tremendous increase and no one knows what the ramifications are going to be. Again, practice prudence with your way of life.

North Korea needs attention and knows how to get it; the most recent example by having Bill Clinton take pictures with the leader and bringing the journalists back. We need to be creative in using this behavior to align with our goal, removing the threat of nuclear weapons. I think we are still using the traditional ways that are obsolete now.

China and Underwater

China had a net outflow of U.S. Treasuries in April 2009. In the past they have been one of the biggest buyers. Their motto is now 'liquidity, safety, and returns.' This is a trend that we need to be alert to. Without foreign borrowers our ability to keep printing money and expanding debt will be curbed. It seems that we as a country have no self-control around money, so it does make sense that the outside would control us.

Also, a disturbing new action has come from Washington regarding refinancing mortgages that are underwater. The loan value will be raised to 125% of the value of the home. This is an example of how far off the business path we are headed. Would a prudent business person act in this way when the values of houses are still in decline? I don't think the government can keep acting in such a pervasive contrary way to our capitalistic system and not have it backfire.