The Political and Financial Markets Commentator
If you don't get your daily free feed or email delivery of The Political and Financial Markets Commentator at http://politicsandfinance.blogspot.com, these are some of the stories that you have already missed in 2009:
Maureen Dowd Likes Caroline Kennedy: Really?
Just When You Thought Your Opinion Of Congress Cou...
Roland Burris Denied His Rightful Seat In The Sena...
I Want To Be A Senator Too! Where Do I Sign?
World Crisis Management Once Again…
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Added by Michael Haltman on January 8, 2009 at 7:16pm —
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Drive Additional Revenue Through Your Blog Or Website
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I write a blog, The Political and Financial Markets Commentator, and at the end of each I offer a product or service that I think my readers might be interested in. I change it every day, but it allows me to further MONETIZE my blog.
I choose the product from over 2,000, take the html for the banner, ins…
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Added by Michael Haltman on January 2, 2009 at 11:00am —
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Thursday, January 1, 2009
A Financial Look Back At The Year That Was - Your Vote For Where Will We Be In 2009?
Looking Back At The Financial Markets Performance
2008: The Year That Was (One To Forget)
U.S. indexes
Dow Jones Industrial Average -34%
S&P 500 -38%
Nasdaq -40%
Dow Jones Financials -55%
Amex Oil Index -38%
International indexes
Germany DAX -40%
FTSE 100 -31%
Japan Nikkei 225 -42%
China Shanghai Composite -65%
Mexico IPC -24%
Brazil Bovespa -41%
Currencies/commodities
Gold…
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Added by Michael Haltman on January 1, 2009 at 8:54am —
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Do you drive a large amount of traffic to either your website or a blog?
Do you send a great deal of email to opted in addresses?
Are you interested in monetizing that traffic to the fullest extent possible?
Discover the world of offering other peoples products for a fixed amount per sale or email address entry!
Products run the gamut from financial to health to reatail gadgets. Many are the products you see on T.V. every day such as the Snuggie Blanket.…
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Added by Michael Haltman on December 27, 2008 at 4:00pm —
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Friday, December 26, 2008
Does Baseball Need A Salary Cap?
There are definitely bigger issues to ponder these days, but with spring training only a few months away, it's time to take another look at the process by which baseball allows some teams to use the system to get more powerful, while other teams without the TV contracts and big market positions struggle.…
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Added by Michael Haltman on December 26, 2008 at 7:32am —
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Thursday, December 25, 2008
A Video Satire Look Back At How The Mortgage Crisis May Have Begun
A Christmas Day Look Back At How The Financial Crisis May Have Begun
To all of my loyal readers I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Here's hoping that at the same time next year all of this year will be nothing but a bad memory as we have moved forward into much better times!!!
Please visit The Political and Financial Markets Commentator…
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Added by Michael Haltman on December 25, 2008 at 8:37am —
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From The Political and Financial Markets Commentator at http://politicsandfinance.blogspot.com
You Are Buried Under Your Mortgage, Now What?
For any number of reasons many homeowners find themselves in the position of either being late on their mortgage or about to be late. There could be a death of the breadwinner, loss of a job, an adjustable mortgage, divorce, loss of a tenant in an investment property and the list goes on.
Prior to going into the foreclosure process, there are other steps…
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Added by Michael Haltman on December 23, 2008 at 5:49am —
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Reprinted from The Political and Financial Markets Commentator at http://politicsandfinance.blogspot.com
Monday, December 22, 2008
Positive Thinking For A Troubled World Circa 2009
2008 Has Been A Tough Year: How Do I Get Focused On 2009?
It is Holiday time in the politically correct secular world, or Christmas and Hanukkah time and any other event you celebrate in the non-secular world.
This is a good time to reflect on the year that was, but more importantly to get our heads straight and…
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Added by Michael Haltman on December 22, 2008 at 2:42pm —
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Friday, December 19, 2008
"10 Outrageous Claims For 2009"
Friday Snippets
A New SEC Chief Named
- Barack Obama names Mary Schapiro as new SEC head. She has strong experience at a time when the SEC has shown itself to be an ineffectual and anemic institution. Is she a good choice? Change and tough new leadership is what is needed, and maybe…
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Added by Michael Haltman on December 19, 2008 at 5:55am —
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Read the rest of the story at The Political and Financial Markets Commentator at http://politicsandfinance.blogspot.com
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Crude Prices, House Arrest and SEC Ineptitude
Quick question: Why is Bernie Madoff, apparently one of the biggest crooks of all time, doing house arrest with an ankle bracelet in his $7 million house when he couldn't make bail?
In a related story SEC Chairman Cox had this to say: the agency has found "no evidence of wrongdoing by any SEC personn…
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Added by Michael Haltman on December 18, 2008 at 6:14am —
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Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Fed Cuts The Funds Rate To Just About Zero
No Bazooka Here, More Like An Atomic Bomb
Bucking the expectation of a 50bp cut in the funds rate to .50%, the Fed took out the big guns and instead set up a target range of between 0% and .25%. In doing this they acknowledge that the economic environment…
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Added by Michael Haltman on December 17, 2008 at 5:29am —
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Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Bernie Madoff: Who Could (Should) Have Known?
Question: How do you make a small fortune?
Answer: Start with a large fortune and give it to Bernie Madoff to invest!
"When the truth is found to be lies, and all the joy within you dies": Jefferson Airplane,1967
"I would not join any club that would have someone like me for a member." - Groucho Marx
If something seems to good to be true, it probably is.
Don't ask, don't tell
Bernie Madoff: The Man, The Myth, The Thi…
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Added by Michael Haltman on December 16, 2008 at 5:32am —
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Reprinted from The Political and Financial Markets Commentator at http://politicsandfinance.blogspot.com
Monday, December 15, 2008
A Sign Of The Times: Blagojevich and Madoff
Is America Going The way Of Ancient Rome, Or Are We There Already?
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." Lord Acton, 1887
We have two stories that were developing last week, each one incredible in its' own right. We have the apparent scheme to sell the soo…
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Added by Michael Haltman on December 15, 2008 at 5:24am —
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The Political and Financial Markets Commentator
If you didn't subscribe for email or feed delivery, these are the stories that you missed this week:
Memories Of A Day Trader
The Auto Bailout: Between A Rock And A Hard Place
Athletes, Privilege and the Law
Are Stocks Off To The Races? Maybe, Maybe Not
Stocks: Have We Found This Elusive Bottom?
Just think what you might miss next week. Stories about the governor of Illinois and the scandal brewing there, Bernie Madoff and the missing $50 billio…
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Added by Michael Haltman on December 14, 2008 at 12:50pm —
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Reprinted from The Political and Financial Markets Commentator at http://politicsandfinance.blogspot.com
Friday, December 12, 2008
Memories Of A Day Trader
As In Life and Trading, Timing Is Everything
Buy the dips, sell the rallys.
I became a proprietary equity trader back in 1987. At the time, one of the most volatile stocks on the NYSE was MMM with moves that could be a full point or more. These moves were not that remarkable, given the fact that it also had a price above $100 a share. My…
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Added by Michael Haltman on December 12, 2008 at 5:20am —
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Reprinted from The Political and Financial Markets Commentator at http://politicsandfinance.blogspot.com
The Auto Bailout: Between A Rock And A Hard Place
To Bailout Or Not To Bailout, That Is The Question
The House of Representatives should be voting on a bailout package Wednesday, and if it actually takes place it will undoubtedly have been passed. A much stickier road is present in the Senate where there is enough Republican opposition that a filibuster to prevent a vote is very possible.…
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Added by Michael Haltman on December 11, 2008 at 4:36am —
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Reprinted from The Political and Financial Markets Commentator at http://politicsandfinance.blogspot.com
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Athletes, Privilege and the Law
Law, Order and Sports
World class athlete. College star. Professional athlete. It is not only a state of being, but it is most definitely a state of mind. What brings me to think about this is the conviction and sentencing of O.J. Simpson for murder. Did I say murder? I mean kidnapping, armed robbery and 10 other charges. This v…
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Added by Michael Haltman on December 10, 2008 at 5:32am —
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From The Political and Financial Markets Commentator at http://politicsandfinance.blogspot.com
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Torture: What Is The Correct Definition?
What Definition Of Torture Should We Go By?
Why talk about torture now? I heard a news brief on the radio Wednesday morning that there was going to be a committee hearing or symposium discussing the use of torture by the U.S. I did not catch who was holding it or exactly when, just that it was happening.
Let me open by saying that…
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Added by Michael Haltman on December 7, 2008 at 5:55am —
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From The Political and Financial Markets Commentator at http://politicsandfinance.blogspot.com. Visit and get feed or email delivery of new blog posts.
uesday, December 2, 2008
The Selling Of America: The List Goes On And On
Monday Market Footnote
Both Fed Chairman Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Paulson spoke Monday, and the markets had the typical reaction of a flight to quality and safety in Treasury's, and an accelerating slide in equities. Is there a way that until they leave office that…
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Added by Michael Haltman on December 6, 2008 at 6:17pm —
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