The President's inaugeration speech

Has anyone seen it? I found it interesting. It didn't give any specifics, but set the mood and was a most solid repudiation of the Bush era. He thanked Bush for his service just before tearing into that legacy of course.

If it can help restore a sense of optimism and is followed by actions that have real benefit then things might just turn arround. But it is a huge IF.

I saw some of it at work today. A couple of people were watching it on the marketing TV. You know, because I do not have a TV, this is the first time I heard Obama speak, it has a very nice voice. Anyway, what I saw and heard sort of brought some tears to my eyes. We have a chance to build something from the wreck there currently is, sort of like the Phoenix rising from the ashes. Yeah, I think it's good. Also, all those people out there braving the cold to watch it, that was very inspiring, too. Although at least it was a clear day. Yeah, I'm hopeful now.

For those of you that missed it, most online news sources should have it. I watched it on KCRA ch 3; my local news station online, and they had the entire thing uninterrupted and unedited.

I thought it was interesting in that he could have used that opportunity to pat himself on the back and make a huge show of it. Instead he focused on the fact that our country is in dire trouble and talked about how to fix it, in a general vague kind of way.
His tone was not what I would have thought, he was very business like and serious. I thought he would at least throw in one joke or something, but he didn't. I think in a way it was better and more statesman like for him to have " get down to business" attitude with the speech.

I loved the line about people who prefer leisure over work. Ha!

You know what irritated me? The Dow fell that day, I think it was 100+ points...and they were blaming Obama for the falling market, because he didn't say anything in his speech about promising to bail out all the banks. So what, I guess the bankers all banded together and had a collective pout?

What a bunch of greedy arseholes.

WissyWig wrote:You know what irritated me? The Dow fell that day, I think it was 100+ points...and they were blaming Obama for the falling market, because he didn't say anything in his speech about promising to bail out all the banks. So what, I guess the bankers all banded together and had a collective pout?

What a bunch of greedy arseholes.

My god, the bankers are like junkies anxiously anticipating their next fix.

Nature of the beast, I'm afraid...

WissyWig wrote:You know what irritated me? The Dow fell that day, I think it was 100+ points...and they were blaming Obama for the falling market, because he didn't say anything in his speech about promising to bail out all the banks. So what, I guess the bankers all banded together and had a collective pout?

What a bunch of greedy arseholes.

I just received a reply to an email I sent to Reb yesterday. In the reply, he used the phrase, "Colder than a banker's handshake."

*writes that one down*

I'm not an expert, but it isn't the bankers pouting. The stock market is based on what people's perceptions are of the future, to some extent. There's obviously more to it, but that is one big factor.
So if he had said that he was going to bail the banks out, people who have had a perception that the economy was going to improve, so they would want to put more money into the stock market, which would make the DOW go up.
Remember from Trading Places, the whole point is "buy low, sell high". So you are constantly trying to predict what will happen, whether the market will go up or down according to things like the fed setting interest rates, crop reports, government bailouts, the gross national product, jobless rates, etc.

So because he didn't say he was going to bail out the banks, that makes people afraid, and they are more likely to sell their stocks and get out of the market before prices go even lower. Which then in turn makes the market go lower.

I was saying this on HSP retreat. It seems like so much of the stock market is mental, a social science. I know that there are some real concrete things behind it, there are things like the value of the dollar compared to other currencies in the world, how much money our government owes to other governments, etc. But so much of it is based on perception. The money is out there, it is just a matter of whether people are holding it in savings or other investments or whether they are putting it into something risky like the stock market.

So why can't we just lie and say "Hey it looks like the economy is going to improve!" And then it will be a self fulfilling prophecy and more people will take their money out of savings and put into the market.

I don't know, I think I know just enough about finance from working in loans to sound like I know what I'm talking about but I really don't.

Actually, you said that in another thread here.

Oh I thought it was on the retreat. ha.