Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Greenspan is gone, so fire away...
Fed. Chief Alan Greenspan has finally stepped down. I can honestly say that I am strangely saddened by this, if for no other reason than one: He has been a permanent fixture in Washington for my entire adult life. Do I like him? Do I hate him? Well, much like with the crabby octogenarian neighbors I had growing up, my feelings are really more of reverence and polite distancing than of contempt or disdain. Now having tirelessly served our American economy for over 18 years, the dissent has begun and although I read the articles, sit through the television forums packed with talking heads, flow charts, hypotheses of what "could have been," but I find that even though the rhetoric pours like up-ended buckets of paint, I am really not listening.

For example, over the last week, MSN Money has launched a pair of op-ed pieces that address two very different views of Greenspan's tenure. The first, by Roger Ibbotson, takes a moderately pleasant tone toward the Greenspan Era. IMHO, this is probably a little closer to reality than the second piece, by Bill Fleckenstein. And PLEASE NOTE: I am not saying this from the viewpoint of a supporter or dissenter, I am simply observing that when taken in context, Fleckenstein really levels some absurdly harsh criticisms toward Greenspan that I'm not sure have any relevance. Let me explain:

#1- We Are Still Here!
Although we as a society watched the rise and fall of many global economies during the Greenspan years, the U.S. economy remained relatively steadfast in its long-term growth and prosperity. Did we experience some hiccups? Of course we did! There were some veritable landslides of the stock market! Who could possibly forget the highly publicized "bursting of the tech bubble?" But what we cannot forget, is that each of these red marks on Greenspan's report card were preceded by UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH. I don't think anyone can argue that there was a single event in history that created by windfall as many easy fortunes as the tech boom leading up to the collapse of the tech bubble! Now, was Greenspan responsible for this? I hardly think so. He doesn't really strike me as a guy who invested long in Pets.com or transferred all of his accounts to Wingspan bank. As a matter of fact, how can we even begin to pin the collapse of the tech bubble on Mr. Greenspan? Why can't we just blame it on STUPID INVESTORS? Why can't we blame the death of common sense and the demise of acceptable levels of due diligence? Let's just remember one thing about short-term investing: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Speculative investing is a game best played by professionals with money to burn...and those very professionals will be the first to tell you that. For people with no market knowledge who just opened an E-Trade account and rolled over their 401K, I don't know a single financial advisor who would recommend these folks start buying up IPO's. So sorry, Mr. Fleckenstein, the buck DOES NOT stop at Greenspan here.

#2 We are still the horse to beat!
Although the Euro seems to have developed a good strong foothold in the world economy, I don't believe it is fair to say that our dollar has faltered so much as persevered. The Euro is dependent upon far too many influences which are out of the control of the countries which accept it as a monetary standard. Would we as Americans be comfortable with divesting ourselves of ownership of our money? What if the dollar was directly dependent on the state of the Panamanian economy? How about the Nicaraguan economy? The proof is in the pudding...we are the only economy of scale who's monetary unit stands without crutches (or stands at all).

#3 Let's worry about the next chapter, shall we?
How can anyone who considers themselves to be viable as an investment advisor spend any time sitting around complaining? Shouldn't he be INVESTING HIS CLIENTS' MONEY? Ok, enough ranting on this...I'm getting more frustrated as I go. Time to get some coffee.

Written at 1/31/2006 08:05:00 AM by Andrew Kaduk.
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Monday, January 30, 2006
Just as anticipated
Well, just as anticipated, Jeff Fraser is yesterday's news. Although this lad seems to have sponged up slightly more than his alotted 15 minutes worth of fame, he is now out of the news. Perhaps by design, perhaps by happen~stance. I would love to have more pressing things to discuss today, but I'm afraid the coffee from this morning has worn off. Once my internet connection at home is established (still awaiting "Service Ready Date) I will dedicate much more time to this weblog.
Written at 1/30/2006 04:40:00 PM by Andrew Kaduk.
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Friday, January 27, 2006
CHS/NWACS v. Jeff Fraser
This has been a rather amusing ordeal to follow, and it's been going on for several weeks. I will do my best to present the information in a condensed manner as to not bore or irritate anyone. Here's the skinny: Jeff Fraser (17 year old student) published a 13 page book lampooning his high school (Carroll High School or CHS) and defaming some of the administration and teaching staff. Fraser also completely ripped to shreds some of the policies of CHS.

Granted, some of the stuff in his book were inappropriate at best. Other items were close enough to accurate and so tastefully authored that they came across with a level of humor that far exceeded my expectations of a high school student.

My own personal feelings aside, this kid got expelled from school. The school filed formal criminal charges against Fraser. After several weeks and after attorneys got involved, a secret closed-door meeting was held to further discuss Fraser's fate. The results are as follow:

1. The expulsion of Jeffrey Fraser (the "Student") shall be rescinded immediately.

2. The Student is not to attend curricular, co-curricular, or extra-curricular activities, or school-sponsored events on the Carroll High School campus during the remainder of the 2005-2006 school year, and School will provide all home-schooling necessary for the Student to graduate in June 2006.

3. No further legal action, criminal or civil, will be pursued or initiated by the parties, and the Parties shall take all reasonable action to ensure any criminal charges shall be dismissed.

4. The Student shall not attend the Carroll High School 2006 graduation ceremonies.
The Student also wishes the following be stated. I apologize to the faculty, staff, and students of Carroll High School and administration of Northwest Allen County Schools, especially to Principal Deborah Neumeyer, Mr. DiPrimio, Mr. Ginder, and Mr. Drake, for the things I said in the publication. Further, I want to apologize to former principal Dr. Tim Ogle, for all references to him in the publication were false, fabricated, and without merit.

Wow.
Written at 1/27/2006 02:09:00 PM by Andrew Kaduk.
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Introduction
Well, after quite a long time trying to figure out exactly what a "blog" was, I decided it was best to just go ahead and start one (what better way to investigate, right?) I haven't the faintest idea where this will go, if anywhere. I have just spent some quality time reading some blogs regarding a vastly interesting situation in Fort Wayne, IN (which is also where my home is located). I will post links in short order.
Written at 1/27/2006 02:02:00 PM by Andrew Kaduk.
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