Video-o-rama: Regulatory reform dominates debate

By Prieur du Plessis, on June 19th, 2009 posted in: Investment, Markets, Money

The financial debate during the past few days was dominated by President Obama’s sweeping revamp of financial market supervision, and this issue also occupies a number of slots in today’s Video-o-rama.

But it was not all about regulation, as pundits were also trying to figure out whether there were in fact economic “green shoots” and what the implications for financial markets might be. Commentators include Michael Lewis, John Rogers, Robert Kleinschmidt, Jack Welch, Barry Ritholtz, Nouriel Roubini, Stephen Roach, Mario Gabelli and George Friedman.

The compilation kicks off with author Michael Lewis discussing his article “The End of Wall Street”, and concludes with a fascinating analysis of the Iranian situation by George Friedman of Stratfor, geopolitical analysts.

You Tube: Michael Lewis – the end of Wall Street?
“Author Michael Lewis discusses how his experience working at Salomon Brothers and writing Liar’s Poker influenced his article, ‘The End of Wall Street’.”

Source: You Tube, June 16, 2009.

Barron’s: The Barron’s Roundtable – a midyear update
“Our 10 investment experts share their picks, plans and predictions for the rest of 2009. Barron’s Lauren Rublin reports.”

Source: Barron’s, June 15, 2009.

Consuelo Mack (WealthTrack): John Rogers and Robert Kleinschmidt – things are looking up this year
“On this week’s Consuelo Mack WealthTrack meet two veteran contrarian investors with successful track records spanning a generation or more. John Rogers founded value-oriented Ariel Capital Management at the tender age of 24. The first African-American owned mutual fund company is now the nation’s largest black-owned investment management firm.

“Robert Kleinschmidt has run the large-cap Tocqueville Fund since 1992. Going against the crowd has earned him and his investors market beating performance over the years and high ratings from Morningstar.”

Source: Consuelo Mack, WealthTrack, June 12, 2009.

CNBC: Obama unveils regulation revamp
“President Barack Obama unveils his plan to revamp the financial regulatory system.”

Source: CNBC, June 17, 2009.

CNBC: Geithner testifies on regulation revamp
“Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifies in front of the Senate Banking Committee about the Obama administration’s plan to overhaul financial rules.”

Source: CNBC, June 18, 2009.

CNBC: Jack Welch on regulation reform
“Jack Welch, former General Electric CEO & author of “Winning” and “Straight From the Gut”, shares his thoughts on Obama’s regulation revamp.”

Source: CNBC, June 18, 2009.

The Wall Street Journal: Bailout Nation Author – a big banks should be allowed to fail
“Barry Ritholtz, author of ‘Bailout Nation‘ says the Obama administration did the right thing in letting poorly run automakers fail and that the same rule should have applied to badly managed banks that took too many risks.”

Source: The Wall Street Journal, June 17, 2009.

CNN Money: Roubini – risks of TARP paybacks
“Economist Nouriel Roubini says that allowing banks to repay TARP funds creates competitive disadvantages.”

Source: CNN Money, June 15, 2009.

Charlie Rose: A conversation with Peter Orszag
“A conversation about with Peter Orszag, Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Barack Obama.”

Source: Charlie Rose, June 15, 2009.

CNBC: Fed’s Bullard on the economy
“St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard discusses the economy with CNBC’s Steve Liesman.”

Source: CNBC, June 15, 2009.

CNBC: Roach on the economy
“Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, discusses the dollar, the economy and more with CNBC.”

Source: CNBC, June 16, 2009.

Yahoo Finance, Tech Ticker: Second half recovery is “nonsensical” – economy still descending, Ritholtz says
“Wednesday’s report of a 17% monthly rise in housing starts made for some dramatic headlines, but don’t confuse that with an actual recovery, says Barry Ritholtz, CEO of Fusion IQ and author of Bailout Nation.

“‘Housing Starts did not ‘soar’ as Bloomberg claimed; you soar high in the sky, and a move from ankle to knee level does not qualify,’ Ritholtz writes on his popular blog, The Big Picture. ‘This was not, as the WSJ asserted, a ‘Surge in Home Construction’. Rather, it was a bounce off of record lows.’

“Ritholtz’s bigger point is that the free fall from September to March was so agonizing, it feels good to be in a ‘normal’ recessionary environment, as he believes we’re currently experiencing. Ritholtz compares the economy today to a skydiver right after the parachute opens – the fall is now controlled, but you’re still descending.

“Furthermore, the fund manager says hopes for a second half recovery are ‘nonsensical’, citing the continued pressure on US consumers and lack of evidence of a business recovery, as evinced by today’s capacity utilization data, the lowest on record going back to 1967.”

Source: Aaron Task, Yahoo Finance, Tech Ticker, June 16, 2009.

CNN Money: Roubini – risks of a “W”-shaped recovery
“Economist Nouriel Roubini talks about surging oil prices, slow economic growth and what is needed right now.”

Source: CNN Money, June 15, 2009.

The Wall Street Journal: Inflation debate brewing at Fed
“A debate is brewing inside the Fed about how bad expected inflation will be, WSJ’s Jon Hilsenrath explains.”

Source: The Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2009.

John Authers (Financial Times): Inventory rebound positive for equities
“Green shoots, or red herrings? John Authers looks for answers in London. In this part, David Bowers of Absolute Strategy Research explains why inventory cycles could help sustain the equity rally.”

Source: John Authers, Financial Times, June 17, 2009.

MarketWatch: Lazy, languid summer market
“Barrons.com’s Bob O’Brien says that for the first time in several years it looks as though we are set for a lazy kind of languid summer, even though the underlying fundamentals have been dynamic.”

Source: MarketWatch, June 17, 2009.

MarketWatch: Mario Gabelli sees “great opportunities” in the market
“The chief executive officer of Gama Funds explains that he sees a coming wave of merger-and-acquisition activity in the US, driven by companies and countries with strong balance sheets.”

Source: MarketWatch, June 17, 2009.

TheStreet.com: Wait to buy gold?
“David Morgan, founder of Silver-Investor.com, argues that gold will see a wider trading range as the precious metal continues to trade against the dollar and that now is not the time to invest.”

Source: TheStreet.com, June 15, 2009.

Financial Times: The doubling in the oil price.
“The price of a barrel of oil has doubled since February this year. Javier Blas, FT’s commodities correspondent, explains the reasons behind the recovery and whether it is based on fundamentals or speculation.”

Source: Financial Times, June 12, 2009.

CNBC: ZEW – worst of recession over
“The ZEW economic sentiment index rose for the eighth consecutive time, posting a number of 44.8 in June, compared to 31.1 in May. The current conditions indicator also rose. ‘What these numbers are telling us is that the hardest part of the recession appears to lie behind us,’ Christian Dick from ZEW told CNBC Tuesday.”

Source: CNBC, June 16, 2009.

CNBC: Roach – betting on BRICs
“Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, and the CNBC news team discuss whether investors should bet on the BRIC nations.”

Source: CNBC, June 16, 2009.

CNBC: Will China lead us out of the recession?
“Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, and the CNBC news team discuss whether China will lead us out of this recession.”

Source: CNBC, June 16, 2009.

You Tube: George Friedman – Iranian elections, Israel and the United States
“In the latest instalment of the Stratfor Insights video series, CEO George Friedman discusses the tense future of the Middle East following the recent Iranian elections. With Israel offering a Palestinian state on terms that are unacceptable to the Palestinians, and freshly re-elected Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expected to continue his hard-line policies, how President Barack Obama moves forward merits close observation.”

Source: You Tube, June 15, 2009.

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