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Hilarious Video: Federal Reserve Explained
Kudos to Omid Malekan, who created this amazing video explaining quantitative easing to the average person to understand. This comes on the on the heals of a great video about why mobile phone consumers are so dumb the company has come . In this new video the two characters discuss the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing policy. The present it as a desperate and hopelessly misguided effort to save the world economy. One issue I have with the short film is that it also places the blame on Goldman Sachs which I don't agree with. They are simply helping to execute and should not be brought into this.
Video: SNL Skit on US Debt to China at G20
Scarlett Johansson was on Saturday Night Live this weekend and it had a hilarious but scary skit. Hollywood and the mainstream media are finally starting to get the implications of our $800B debt to China. President Obama was in Seoul South Korea this week at the G20 summit for business leaders. This is a hilarious video that show the aloofness of Obama with regards to the magnitude of the problem we are facing and our deficit I think it unfairly places the blame on Obama but it makes the point that the US needs to get its act together because the G20 Summit was exactly successful in terms of building business alliances. The dollar has lost 30% of its value in the last 6 years and stands to lose more. This is great for US exporters but it makes it even more expensive for US travelers and importing. This chart implies the lack of faith investors have keeping their reserves and making investments in dollars.
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Ben Bernanke has Purchased Double D'sBen Bernanke has Purchased Double D's
The new $600B of quantitative easing goes into the banking and corporate sector of the economy who is largely sitting on the largest cash balance in business history. They don't need the money at all and it's not the sector of the economy who is going to take our unemployment rate down from 10-15%. Those who need the stimulus money the most, small business & private investors, can't get it. Seeing a company like General Motors go public again makes me want to puke. I can think of 100 other companies who deserve to be public companies before GM and that creates far more future value, jobs and innovation in our economy. GM going public is simply private equity, government money, and investment banker Ponzi scheme.
I was an apart of one of the largest business boom cycles in the late 1990s and there were a lot o great things about that time the US Government, FDIC, and Fed have forgotten. Investors were pouring money into Venture Capital funds that were providing funding to companies who were providing real long term jobs and creating new markets of innovation. Much of this money came from the Government in the form of FDIC subsidies and they made lots of money for taking this risk. Once the bubble burst and hedge funds drove the market 80% lower there was no optimism or money left in the VC industry to spark new growth. The VC industry has shrunk drastically in the last decade and almost 80% of the VC funds not based in Silicon Valley are virtually out of business (aka "the living dead funds").
Capitalism in general is kind of a Ponzi scheme but it can be done organically if the IPO market is fair and open. Capitalism also works when Government regulatory agencies stay out of our way and don't favor big business monopolies. I think if $100B in stimulus for struggling VC funds this would create another boom of optimism that we need. The Fed and FDIC should also consider an Emergency Fund to fund to solve the overweight population epidemic that is slowing the US economy down. Here are a few other ways President Obama could help create jobs.
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Health & Wellness Venture Capital Funds
I heard an interesting investment thesis yesterday on CNBC that obesity is a major reason for our poor economy. The analyst said that fighting obesity with new health and wellness companies could add nearly $1 trillion dollars to our economy and create lots of jobs. While at the same time taxing fat and food companies that are responsible for putting this in our diets. Southern California would undoubtedly be the leading region of the US where outdoor activity and fitness are embedded in our everyday life. When you travel East or to the Midwest, you begin to really notice how the Country has changed in the last 10 years. Kids are fat and parents are lazy.
This is one reason I think the health and wellness category could emerge as a new investment category that could garner lots of FDIC or government subsidy money. Are there any funds out there that have the thesis? If there are I want to know about them because exercise is a passion of mine. The types of companies a specialized fund would look for would be the following:
1) Running, triathlon, and race organization groups (Marathons, Ironman, 10K Races)
2) Health Food Manufacturing, Distribution & Marketing Companies
3) Exercise Equipment Manufacturing, Distribution & Marketing
4) Adventure & Health Travel Marketing and Organizations
5) Natural supplements and vitamin companies. No drugs allowed
6) Internet publishing - coaching, counseling, advice, therapy
7) Physical therapy, employee health, and chiropractic groups
8) A healthy diet and meal marketing & distribution
9) Software & mobile applications
10) Restaurants (maybe)
How About Some QE for Venture Capital?
"Quantitative Easing" from the Federal Reserve just sounds like another theoretical way to pump up the markets and the economy when they can't drop interest rates any further than 0%. $2 Trillion dollars of Qualitative Easing has already gone into the banking system and what has it done for you and me? What is another $600B going to do? Absolutely nothing.
It really makes me sick to hear that $600 billion dollars is going to be pumped into the banking system when these are the same "bone heads" along with the Hedge Funds that got us into the mess. What is the last time you heard a story about a Bank giving money to a company that really needs it? All bankers do is lend money to companies who don't need it because they are risk averse. All these morons do take your money and the Feds at 0% and "try" and lend it at 5-15%.
Venture Capital and small business is what drives the US economy and this sector of the economy is still being overlooked. Organic growth is the ONLY thing that will get the US out of this recession and create jobs. Why not give $100B dollars to some VC Fund Managers or Private Equity Groups at no cost and require them to invest it in the next 12 months? I guarantee you they will get a return on this investment. The Venture Capital industry has shrunk drastically in the last decade and I think this is the sole reason why we are still in a recession and will be until politicians recognize this. VC fund managers cannot raise money from LP (Limited Partners) because the returns have been horrible as a result of the IPO market being virtually closed. Sometimes I think the Federal reserve spends too much time listening to politicians and not enough time in Silicon Valley, Boston, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles where new ideas are created and organic growth is created.
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