Arkady's Thoughts

Obama selects Revered Rick Warren for the invocation and immediately gets blasted by the gay community. Joe Solemnese writes Obama a scathing letter . Here is a little blurb... Let me get right to the point. Your invitation to Reverend Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at your inauguration is a genuine blow to LGBT Americans. Our loss in California over the passage of Proposition 8 which stripped loving, committed same-sex couples of their given legal right to marry is the greatest loss our community has faced in 40 years. And by inviting Rick Warren to your inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans have a place at your table. Genuine blow to the gay community? Hmm ...I thought that was a good thing? :) But seriously, this situation puts me in a very uncomfortable position of defending Obama here. Why is picking a somewhat socially conservative individual a reason to write nasty letters filled with poorly phrased cliches? Fra...

Just doing a little followup on my first Treasury Bubble post . So far things appear to be moving in the direction predicted and of particular interest are mortgages. Because the 30-year fixed rate is primarily tied to the 10 year bond yield, it is reasonable to assume that mortgage rates across the country fell dramatically. As we speak the 10 year yield is flirting with all time lows. When I saw all time lows, I am sort of shooting in the dark because I can't even find data that goes back that far. At some point in the 1950s the yield on the 10 year note was in the low 2s. In fact as of this writing it is at 20.85, threatening to fall below 2. Could be a strong psychological number, but somehow I doubt it. (See chart below) What does this mean? Means a few things. 1) Investors have no faith in our economy. The bond market is SCREAMING deflation. People are willing to tie in their money for a paltry 2% for 10 years? Madness... 2) Someone at the government level is printing money. ...