tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post6817024537059558558..comments2024-03-18T13:22:06.536-07:00Comments on Calafia Beach Pundit: Wisdom from the pastScott Grannishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-63320337895284420482009-02-24T11:53:00.000-08:002009-02-24T11:53:00.000-08:00That's a good reason for why the suspension of MTM...That's a good reason for why the suspension of MTM accounting rules would not necessarily harm consumers. How is the typical bank customer going to be able to evaluate the security of the banks he has to choose from without help from some third party?Scott Grannishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-35807644985859305372009-02-24T10:54:00.000-08:002009-02-24T10:54:00.000-08:00RM-That is a good question. I have always just ad...RM-<BR/>That is a good question. I have always just adhered the following rule - NEVER put more cash into a bank than than the FDIC guarantee. If you have $2.5 mil then you need to find 10 banks. I have traditionally just put excess cash into MM funds or T-bill ETFs - precisely b/c looking at the many capitalization ratios of potential banks is not feasible for the average consumer. Cheers.Donny Baseballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08040288585224426073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-43816959054643074992009-02-24T08:15:00.000-08:002009-02-24T08:15:00.000-08:00david: I did see the article and I believe I had a...david: I did see the article and I believe I had a related post. I think it makes sense.Scott Grannishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-70571327579648576932009-02-24T08:10:00.000-08:002009-02-24T08:10:00.000-08:00scott, did you see this article at Seeking Alpha?T...scott, did you see this article at Seeking Alpha?<BR/><BR/>Thanks,<BR/><BR/>Dave<BR/><BR/>http://seekingalpha.com/article/118339-end-of-the-recession-in-2009Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00802089411664464625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-40192755886688308092009-02-24T07:49:00.000-08:002009-02-24T07:49:00.000-08:00Donny, I'm perfectly willing to be taught: How is...Donny, I'm perfectly willing to be taught: How is an ordinary bank customer supposed to know whether the bank is solvent or not if the assets are not marked to market?<BR/><BR/>To take a real-life example I'm dealing with, how should a small business go about finding out which banks can safely handle account balances in excess of FDIC limits? There are expensive "sweep" options that allow the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-85554079195555728502009-02-24T07:31:00.000-08:002009-02-24T07:31:00.000-08:00reasonablemind-Huh? It has been basic accounting ...reasonablemind-<BR/>Huh? It has been basic accounting practice for centuries to report assets on the Balance Sheet at historical cost. Furthermore, we've historically let companies wait until assets prove to be impaired before they write them down. This has been our long standing practice to keep wishful thinking from infecting the balance sheet. MTM accounting does not keep wishful thinking Donny Baseballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08040288585224426073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-31160245643564711662009-02-24T06:20:00.000-08:002009-02-24T06:20:00.000-08:00Regarding mark-to-market: Call me simplistic, but...Regarding mark-to-market: Call me simplistic, but it seems to me that balance sheets should always show assets at market value. I don't rule out the possibility that the market may undervalue a given asset at a given time, but the market as a whole is more trustworthy than any one individual owner who has an incentive to overstate the value of the assets he's holding. Those who despise Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-46293391457671779452009-02-23T17:22:00.000-08:002009-02-23T17:22:00.000-08:00Brian Wesbury makes some good points today on his ...Brian Wesbury makes some good points today on his website (http://www.ftportfolios.com/Commentary/EconomicResearch/2009/2/23/dont_nationalize;_suspend_mark-to-market).<BR/><BR/>Mark-to-market came to be in 2007 and I'm a firm believer that the shorts jumped all over this accounting change to cause the chaos that is now occurring.<BR/><BR/>Suspension of mark-to-market, regulatory forbearance, Cabodoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08299113185481067179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-17458306343083202532009-02-23T16:49:00.000-08:002009-02-23T16:49:00.000-08:00Brian: a good friend who knows more about this tha...Brian: a good friend who knows more about this than I do notes that we don't even need a change in the MTM rules, that the same results can be achieved by "regulatory forebearance." <BR/><BR/>I don't know why this hasn't been tried, as it wouldn't cost anything.Scott Grannishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-79655764625049407372009-02-23T16:42:00.000-08:002009-02-23T16:42:00.000-08:00I am encouraged by the number of states (11 appare...I am encouraged by the number of states (11 apparently, see http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=30807) that have formally protested the federal government's intrusion into their affairs. <BR/><BR/>I think Donny makes some good poitns. We need to see a citizen uprising before these guys get the message. The Santelli rant's amazing popularity is a very good sign in that regard. <BR/><BR/>I Scott Grannishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-87681708164319080632009-02-23T14:22:00.000-08:002009-02-23T14:22:00.000-08:00Those looking for optimism, consider what the gove...Those looking for optimism, consider what the government actions really mean: synchronized capital consumption around the world on an unprecedented scale. Read George Reisman's comments here: http://www.georgereisman.com/blog/<BR/><BR/>Reisman is a very solid "Austrian School" economist who studied with Mises, Hazlitt, and Rothbard at NYU. He has written his own economic tome: "Capitalism". It's Tom Burgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01484696976692382802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-52519461575800482642009-02-23T12:50:00.000-08:002009-02-23T12:50:00.000-08:00Brian-I agree but it may not work out so well for ...Brian-<BR/>I agree but it may not work out so well for the political class. It may start with a few incumbents getting voted out and it may end with widespread tax cheating. Hear me out. A huge portion of our economy is small biz, either S Corps or LLCs. It is very easy to hide personal expenses in an LLC, driving down taxable income. Do you not think that many small business owners who haveDonny Baseballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08040288585224426073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-82484832446522373502009-02-23T11:52:00.000-08:002009-02-23T11:52:00.000-08:00Scott,I could use some optimism as well - could yo...Scott,<BR/><BR/>I could use some optimism as well - could you explain (in another post) why a change to the mark-to-market rule would not have sufficed in this situation and why we need trillion dollar spending plans instead? It sure seems like Emanuel's plan to make use of a crisis is working out great for our political class...Brian Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14869071526968957308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-22569166294783686712009-02-23T11:27:00.000-08:002009-02-23T11:27:00.000-08:00Scott,Looking for some of your usual optimism to k...Scott,<BR/><BR/>Looking for some of your usual optimism to keep me from freaking out.... <BR/><BR/>"Thursday: President Obama is scheduled to unveil his budget and provide a blueprint that will "tip the president's hand on his plans for near-universal health care, changes to entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare, tax policy, and a budget deficit widening into territory never seen in Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06843411100678811292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-52735211027617659022009-02-23T08:22:00.000-08:002009-02-23T08:22:00.000-08:00Most fitting! Here is a tried and true qoute..."I ...Most fitting! Here is a tried and true qoute...<BR/><BR/>"I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good."<BR/><BR/>-Adam SmithPublic Libraryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00017383928897945054noreply@blogger.com