Letterman – Farewell To Bush

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP4d4oFKv78

JPMorgan’s Staley Call Money Funds a ‘Systemic Risk’

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aFbBNNlYbrMc

Attali Warns of ‘Worldwide Weimar’ as Governments Print Money

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aKaJSB7xcQCg&refer=home

Worst drought ever expected after mild January

California teeters on the edge of the worst drought in the state’s history, officials said Thursday after reporting that the Sierra Nevada snowpack – the backbone of the state’s water supply – is only 61 percent of normal.

January usually douses California with about 20 percent of the state’s annual precipitation, but instead it delivered a string of dry, sunny days this year, almost certainly pushing the state into a third year of drought.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/29/MNC615JNHB.DTL&tsp=1

The head of Zimbabwe’s reserve bank explains the policies that have led to hyperinflation.

Worthy of a read.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/181221/output/print

RIMM AAPL NOK and now DELL?

Im not a fan of this space but there is not longer a real catalyst for
these stocks to go higher. RIMM, AAPL, and NOK have made phones
commodity products. Margins are going to decrease and volumes have
most likely peaked. The one source of differentiation is going to
come from software.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Dell Inc. may release a mobile phone
as soon as next month, according to a news report late Thursday. The
online edition of The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources,
reported that the PC maker has had engineers working on prototypes
based on mobile software from Google Inc. . Dell plans to focus on
smartphones, including one with a touchscreen similar to Apple iPhone,
according to the report, though it hasn’t finalized plans and may yet
abandon the effort.

Quotable

The national budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced. The arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled. Payments to foreign governments must be reduced. If the nation doesn’t want to go bankrupt, people must learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.

Cicero, 55 BC

More sobering statistics….

“The 22.6% free fall in global cargo is unprecedented and shocking. There is no clearer description of the slowdown in world trade. Even in September 2001, when much of the global fleet was grounded, the decline was only 13.9%,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.” Air cargo carries 35% of the value of goods traded internationally.

Pimco Bill Gross Feb Comments

http://media.pimco-global.com/pdfs/pdf/IO%20Feb%2009%20WEB.pdf?WT.cg_n=PIMCO-US&WT.ti=IO%20Feb%2009%20WEB.pdf

Dimon Blames Banks, Regulators for Debt Problems

If I’m not mistaken JPM was involved in the financial engineering game. The more I see the less I understand.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ao2.XiIMRtl4&refer=home

George Soros – Game Changer

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/49b1654a-ed60-11dd-bd60-0000779fd2ac,dwp_uuid=03d100e8-2fff-11da-ba9f-00000e2511c8,print=yes.html

GOLD in Ruble

Putin is going to have his hands fun. Expect something to come out on this front. Gold/Oil backed currency?

Click here for full size image

Ruble Tumbles Most in Decade as Speculators See Target Breaking

Keep this on your radar. It wont matter until it does.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=alFYAnX7mlRQ

Click here for full size chart

Greenlight’s Einhorn Follows Grandfather’s Advice, Buys Gold

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aqvwUIqllyRc&refer=home

Postal Service seeks end to Saturday delivery requirement

Trust me….I’m with them on cutting the Saturday delivery. I got another idea…why don’t we charge the issuers more for all that junk mail! This is also the start of more taxes less services.

http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3922342