Does it worry you that Hank Paulson has completely changed how he’s spending the $700 bil. bailout? It was passed as a bad debt purchase program and is now a stock purchase program for banks, and for non-bank financial companies, and insurance companies, and maybe the auto industry, and who knows, the newspaper industry could sure use some, too.
Anyway, I heard a comment from a financial commentator that Paulson seems to be throwing money at the wall and seeing what sticks. That struck home with me. It’s good to be open to the most effective solution, but doesn’t this feel like a recipe for waste and giving money to banks who don’t really need it. These really are extraordinary times: the stakes are immense and the government is really just making it up as it goes.
Despite the mystery meat for dinner, the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting and dinner Tuesday was a great evening.
The annual video provided a bit of Wichita history and one of the biggest laughs of the night when this question was posed: What’s the difference between California and yogurt? Yogurt has culture.
Doris Kearns Goodwin provided lots of history and laughs of her own. The most amazing thing to me, though, was how she spoke. I’m a fast talker myself, but seriously, I’m not sure Doris drew breath. She just talked on-and-on-and-on-and-on-and-on-and-on-and-on-and-on without pausing. Whew.
She still somehow managed to make her points and be entertaining along the way.
The first thing she uttered once the speech was over was a plea for water. By that point, after just watching her, I needed some, too.
The National Association of Realtors has devised this interesting tool to reveal median home prices in a given metropolitan statistical area.
It’s updated monthly, so check in regularly to measure Wichita’s progress in this measuring stick against our nearby competitors.
The price of a barrel of Black Gold has fallen near $57 as I write this, with some analysts forecasting a drop well into the $40s. That can’t be good news for ethanol plant developers.
How low do you think the price of crude will go? What’s driving the decline? Is it the economic crash? Have speculators turned elsewhere?
And perhaps more interestingly, what impact will any government strings – MPG requirements, et al. – on the auto industry bailout have on the price?