TBTF November 2nd, 2010 - Wake me up before you go go

‘Wake me up before you go go, Don’t leave me hanging on like a yo yo, Wake me up before you go go, I don’t want to miss it when you hit that high’ (Wham! – 1984).

Is it Wednesday yet? Please someone wake me up when it’s time. I can’t take this anymore… If the most important news of the day comes courtesy of E-Online: Kim Kardashian's Latest Non-Hookup: LeBron James! Then we know we are in trouble.

What headlines did we take for granted today, while we are in a FED-watch induced coma:

·         U.S. Treasury forecasts $700 billion gross borrowing need by end of March 2011, To bust debt ceiling in Q1 2011

·         Iceland on watch for new volcanic eruption

·         Ireland may have just one month to stave off bailout danger

·         General Motors IPO said to seek $10.6 billion to cut U.S., Canada stakes

·         Oil rises second day on Chinese manufacturing, U.S. stimulus speculation

Wake me up when it is Wednesday….

The upside to having so much free time (as there’s no trading to be done) is that I can think. Granted, it doesn’t always lead to something sensible, as was the case with today’s mental exercise. I dubbed it the ‘I am Ben and I have a plan’ mental gymnastics event of the day:

Will Ben know, by now, what he is going to do come Wednesday?

I imagine him walking around the house, talking to his dog Lewis (no idea if he has one, but hey…these are my thoughts), asking him for advice about the wording of the accompanying text of his QE2 announcement. He wanders over to his next door neighbor, Mr. Jamie D., while chatting about the weather he slips in a question about the ideal duration of QE2. Next he goes to the bakery on the corner where the owner Mr. Lloyd B. tells him he should buy 3 loafs of bread instead of 1, because you can never have enough bread!!! He hesitates a bit, but decides Lloyd is usually right and buys 3 big loafs of bread. Walking back home he almost gets run over by a skateboarder. It’s the nasty kid from 3 houses down, Tyler D. who shouts at him he should be more careful, “Carrying around all that bread is blocking your view of the sidewalk, it just might be your downfall”, Kids these days….. When he gets home he retires to his bedroom but he is afraid to go to sleep. He has been having these nightmares lately, about growing economies, shrinking economies, deflation, run-away inflation, jobs, jobs and even less jobs and no matter what, he can’t seem to get a handle on things while he’s asleep. It’s better to stay awake; at least he’s in charge of the world in his waking hours. He turns on his bedside lamp, opens up his 1^st edition of ‘The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money’ and reassures himself everything will be ok. Ben has a plan, Ben has a plan, Ben has a plan, Ben should have a plan by now…..

Wake me up when it’s Wednesday….

Mid-term elections 2 days away, QE2 3 days!

Happy Hunting & Let’s Be Careful out there!!!