Gloom Continues Unabated, Dysfunctional Politics, and Different Macroeconomic Thoughts-

Surprise, surprise, the supercommittee failed to accomplish its objectives, and the market sold off because of it, or maybe not, . it just wanted to sell off for some other crazy reason. The gloom casting a definitve overhang on global equity markets continues, led of course by the currency crisis in Europe. We are nearly three years into this thing and still no solutions are clear. What is evident is politicians all over the world are racing towards the bottom in an effort to show which are least able to get the job done. Here, the super committee displayed their lack of effectiveness by announcing they had failed after having nearly 6 months to find a deal. The political reality is when the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in the mid term elections, Obama's Presidency was effectively neutered. Now he gets to run against the neuterers, although he may not get what he wishes. On the other side of the Atlantic, Germany refuses to pay for the rest of Europe, which is the bottom line. We are starting to look at the ECB, the IMF, etc to help twist Germany's arm, but it may be there is too little will and way too much blathering to actually solve the complex issue. My thought is if it is going to blow up, do it already, so markets can find something else to worry about. In all seriousness, this is a tough time to be an investor unless you are a buyer, when every day the merchandise gets cheaper. Good luck in looking through the rubble! Nice article on how nobody trusts the investment banks- in this case Jeffries- http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/21/trusting-transparency-will-work/?ref=business Some possible good news- a pickup in growth for the U.S. economy- http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-22/economy-in-u-s-expands-less-than-estimated-as-companies-cut-inventories.html An opinion from the Northwest part of the U.S on the super committee and the economy- http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/soundeconomywithjontalton/2016825131_super_committee_fail_and_the_e.html I hope everyone has a happy and healthy thanksgiving with their family and friends!!! As always, on any company mentioned here, past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk of losses on invested capital. One should research any investment and make sure it is suitable with your objectives, risk tolerance, risk profile liquidity considerations, tax situation, and anything else pertinent to your financial situation. Also, the CFA credential in no way implies investment returns will be superior for any charterholder