Bugs Bernanke: Eh…What’s Up, Doc? - Bill Tatro - Townhall Finance Conservative Columnists and Financial Commentary - Page 2. “Eh…what’s up, Doc?”
Was perhaps one of the most famous cartoon lines in history. In most instances while boldly munching his carrot, Bugs Bunny delivered those memorable words. Sometimes, he asked the infamous question when he was in danger. Other times, Bugs conveyed the familiar quote when he was victorious, and occasionally he would pronounce the well-known query when there was a lull in the action. The animators always seemed to know the perfect moment for Bugs Bunny to ask his notorious question. That’s why it’s so darn funny that the Federal Reserve was featured in a recent Wall Street Journal article by Jon Hilsenrath that paraphrases the legendary Bugs Bunny line. Most recently, the Fed Chairman wondered how the economy can be regressing when a large number of people have been added to the payrolls, the unemployment rate has fallen from 10% to 8.3%, and the stock market is approaching all-time highs creating that ever wonderful “wealth effect.”
So, eh…what’s up, Doc? It's 1980 Again - Doug French. Floyd Norris writes for the New York Timesthat it's 1980 all over again.
Discussion of gold has gone from nonexistent a decade ago to the question of whether its price is in bubble territory, and now a policy question in the Republican primary. Ron Paul has been stumping for a return to the gold standard for decades, and the populace has finally caught up. The issue resonates with young people who worry about a dire future with a dollar crash and nationwide poverty. The gold issue is hot enough that Newt Gingrich has promised to appoint a gold commission, with The Case for Goldcoauthor Lewis Lehrman and Jim Grant as cochairman. When Ronald Reagan went through the gold commission charade in 1981 to satisfy a campaign promise of studying the gold standard question, Lehrman cast one of two dissenting votes on the commission that voted in favor of maintaining the fiat money status quo. The gold standard was the easiest pledge to dispose of. Anil K. Really? Silver Prices. Gold for Oil: India and Iran Ditch Dollar - Report. There were reports that officials have been floating this idea for some time, and now, as the EU finally decided upon an oil embargo on Iran, more details became available, yet still pend confirmation.
Oil is priced in US dollars, and bypassing the greenback posed challenges for both parties. Two banks are reportedly involved in this deal: India’s state owned UCO Bank and Turkey’s state owned Halkbank. Both banks don’t have any business with the US and therefore are less vulnerable to sanctions. According to the report, an Indian delegation has spent time in Tehran and finalized the details of the transactions.
The annual capacity of trade between these two countries is 12 billion dollars. The step joins Russia and Iran’s announcement to begin trading in their own domestic currencies rather than use the US dollar – a reserve currency. These details about the gold for oil deal come on the day that EU officials announce an oil embargo on Iran starting on July 1st. Further reading: Buffett's Bursting Bubble - Peter Schiff. The gold doomsayers have found their champion in the media's favorite financial advisor and one of the world's richest men.
Warren Buffett, the man dubbed the "Oracle of Omaha," has repeatedly and publicly denied that gold is an investment, and called gold buyers "speculators" and people "who fear almost all other assets. " In fact, Buffett claims that gold's rise has the same characteristics as the housing and dot-com bubbles, and it is only a matter of time before it reverses course. He doesn't mean that the price will decline because of austerity measures and a free-market interest rate, mind you. He just asserts that because he's deemed it a bubble, it will inevitably burst.
The financial world by-and-large views Buffett as an objective observer, a rare investor who still considers the best interests of common man when he speaks. I concede that Buffett is a talented investor and a great communicator. If Buffett were a true capitalist, he would be in favor of gold. But Mr.