How stupid are we? I’m being serious. How stupid are we? Stock brokers and investors are actually excited by the following news. I am anything but excited. I see this as just another move by the Arab-Muslim world to replace our need for oil with another form of economic dominance. We greedily play right into the hands of the sheiks.
We are stupid.
From NEWS.com.au Business:
US stock markets rebounded strongly overnight after banking giant Citigroup said it would gain a $US7.5 billion ($8.6 billion) injection from a United Arab Emirates investment fund.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up a hefty 215.57 points or 1.69 per cent at a preliminary close of 12,959.01. The key index had slumped by 237 points a day earlier.
The technology-laden Nasdaq composite won back a notable 39.81 points or 1.57 per cent to 2580.80 and the Standard & Poor’s 500 broad-market index jumped 21.07 points or 1.50 per cent to a preliminary finish of 1428.29.
“Financial stocks are leading today’s comeback attempt after news that Citigroup will receive a $US7.5 billion cash infusion from Abu Dhabi,” said Al Goldman, a chief market strategist at AG Edwards.
Citigroup has seen its finances plagued by the US housing slump and a related credit squeeze.
It has warned investors it likely will make writeoffs of up to $US11 billion ($12.7 billion).
Although the wider market regained some confidence from Citigroup’s investment news, the bank’s own stock floundered as analysts said it was still juggling multiple financial difficulties.
The day’s economic news remained subdued as the Conference Board said US consumer confidence sank for the fourth month in a row in November to its lowest level in more than two years amid economic uncertainty.
But wait, there’s more!
See: Petrodollars on Wall Street and Citigroup to Raise $7.5 Billion From Abu Dhabi State (Update5).
The petrodollar invasion isn’t just Citigroup - it’s also Carlyle Group, HSBC Holdings Plc, Och-Ziff Capital Management LLC, and Leon Black’s New York-based buyout firm, Apollo Management LP. Read the links for details about whom to boycott!
BTW, your mailbox is full again…
But, but Sounder,
That’s what they will say when we come for them. Yes I (and many others) envision a Nuremburg type of tribunal in the years to come. These so called western leaders and their minions (grunion) will get center stage. Rope, tree, neck, some assembly required.
Investors are excited. What else would you expect from them? Their collective brain is not bigger than that of a hen. They are parts of a huge financial mechanism, which they don’t understand themselves. Like fish in a bunch, they collectively follow their primitive instincts - either food or danger.