Random Thoughts

Over the past month or so I've been overhearing a lot of people bragging about their investing prowess during this 6 month relentless rally. Granted this has been mostly in NYC so its not a fair sampling, but I am Curious as to whether or not anyone has been hearing the same from their neck of the woods. This is usually a great contrarian indicator.

The other thing that I checked on upon returning from Europe to find that gold has breached 1000/oz was the number of Google searches on Gold and other gold related terms. There has not been any sort of increase in these searches and while I'm thinking gold needs a lot of technical work to be done at this current 1000 level before powering higher, it tempers a tiny amount of my worry about this break being weak hands.

Finally Dylan Ratigan From MSNBC tells it like it is:

The American people have been taken hostage to a broken system...As hostages -- was there any sum of money we wouldn't have given AIG? Why did we pay Goldman Sachs and all the other banks 100 cents on the dollar for their contracts with AIG, using taxpayer money, while we forced GM and others to take massive payment cuts? Why hasn't any of the bonus money paid to the CEOs that built this financial nuclear bomb been clawed back?

And more than anything else -- why does the US Congress refuse to outlaw the most anti-competitive structure known to our economy, one summed up as TOO BIG TOO FAIL?
As we approach the anniversary of the bailouts for our banks and insurers -- and watch the multi-trillion taxpayer-funded programs at the Federal Reserve continue to support banks and subsidize their multibillion bonus pools, we must ask if our politicians represent the interests of America? Or those who would rob America of its money and its future?