Juggling Dynamite

Ms. Park was a guest on MoneyTalk with Patricia Lovett-Reid Monday March 8 at 8pm EST. A clip is available on the web site here.

There are many stories of late about people balking against tough choices needed to remedy their financial duress. Yes, being broke sucks.
But at the end of the day, laws of gravity do apply, and we humans must accept, adapt and move forward. These are remarkable times: the past couple of decades of falling rates and credit expansion have trained us to expect a high level of service and lifestyle that in many cases we can simply no longer afford. Actually one could argue that we never could afford some of these things, but thanks to 'credit magic' we were able to pretend otherwise for a good long while. It turns out, things weren't different this time; the piper has come for his payment.
See Bloomberg: German Politicians want Greece to sell islands.
And NY Times: As Budget cuts free prisoners, states face a backlash Remember all that hard-right crack down on crime under Bush Jr? Turns out most States can no longer afford the incarceration.
I am reminded of many real life examples over the years, where a bankruptcy or divorce, death or other misfortune suddenly demand a large financial reckoning to a family or individuals. Yard sale-like auctions of prized possessions are the norm. The initial response is usually always one of disbelief or outright rejection: “This is ridiculous!” “Over my dead body!” “I won't stand for it!” In the end, we all do what we must to change unsustainable habits and get back to the work of digging ourselves out and up. There are tough choices all around. But after stomping of feet and gnashing of teeth, the only solution is to cut the artifice, admit the mistakes and get back to honest, hard work.–the sooner the better. No more cake and eat it too. We have to give to get; and yes its hard to do.

Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia Ltd., talked with Bloomberg's Maryam Nemazee about the U.S. economy and Federal Reserve monetary policy, See:Roach Expects `Very Modest' U.S. Consumer Spending March 4 (Bloomberg)
Bottom line from Roach: don't confuse the bottoming process in a 'new normal' global economy, with hopes for a 'bounce-back' recovery.”
Also Robert Prechter, founder of Elliott Wave International Inc., talked with Bloomberg's Betty Liu about his stock market analysis and investment advice. See:
Robert Prechter Says Equities to Drop, Invest in Cash March 4 (Bloomberg).
And see this March 1, 2010 paper “Where are we now?” by respected Market Technician Dick Arms. (Hat tip The Big Picture Blog) Our market technician Cory Venable has been speaking about similar themes the past couple of months. I find it noteworthy when completely separate (and excellent) analysts use their own unique filter set and arrive at similar conclusions. Dick's paper is even readable for non-technicians—a bonus!