Well, that wasn’t much of a depression, if the numbers are honest. New Unemployment claims slowed in it’s high paced increase and there were a noticeable difference in the announcements of future lay-offs. In the past weeks we saw a lot of huge numbers being announced, and recently we are hearing numbers around 2-3000, and far less announcements at a time.
Of course this isn’t spectacular news, but what it does say is there is a curve in the track and we starting to level out a bit. The stock markets, after being constantly terrified about every piece of news, is beginning to slow its drops and has even had a few positive days. The Fed and Congress aren’t just sitting on their hands any longer, which in itself offers a sense of doing and as long as things are looking better that will translate into confidence.
It was interesting to listen to the AIG hearing yesterday before the finance subcommittee. I love that Barney Frank drew an early line with Liddy about the fact that he wasn’t responsible for the contracts which allowed AIG to pay out bonuses. The part I can say I enjoyed the most was the transparency that was created in the repetitive grilling this guy took. I think that AIG and Congress should agree to present information before the American People until the full amount is paid. As a shareholder I want to know what the direction and integrity of my company is.
I was particularly interested in hearing that Mr. Liddy was intent on keeping the American People in his sights as he worked out “Unwinding” the different part of AIG’s risk, and has a plan to sell off the good units of the company until the US is paid back. To me this is like kicking the tire of the car after a few miles since we patched the hole. It seems to be holding, and it will not be the major issue with the future collapse of the economy. Now we just need to eliminate a few other details, like a bottom for housing prices and new home starts and Retail. Once we see that I think we should be back on the tracks and no longer tumbling down Alice’s Rabbit Hole!
