Wall Street Gambling, Price Manipulation, etc

Discussion in 'All Things Boats & Boating' started by brian eiland, Feb 17, 2013.

  1. troy2000
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    Obviously, if enough people keep predicting catastrophe someone, somewhere, sometime is going to be right eventually. Even a stopped watch is right twice a day.... that doesn't mean I'm obliged to listen to an endless stream of Chicken Little's telling me the sky is falling.

    I repeat: I've been hearing predictions of imminent, catastrophic, worldwide collapse my entire life, and it hasn't happened yet. Why should I believe those predictions are coming true this particular year, when they were wrong five years ago -- and twenty years ago, and fifty years ago?

    I haven't seen a lot of 'decadent' spending in Washington, if you define decadent spending as conspicuous consumption. When's the last time you saw a senator or judge tooling around in a McLaren?
     
  2. troy2000
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    Well, we agree on one thing: privatization of Social Security is a bad idea. And back when Bush confidently set out to sell the American people on his plan to do so, he found out that the more he talked about it, the less people liked it. The masses aren't always complete idiots.....
     
  3. Rebel01
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    Rebel01 Junior Member

    Hey Guys,

    One opinion I have is that the money system is manipulated. Prior to the 70's we had what you could call 'par value' exchange for currencies around the world. And, to this day China still holds to that versus having a fluctuating currency exchange that is responsive to the markets (i.e. Euro to Dollar). This means when the dollar loses value so does the Chinese currency, but if the $$ gains so does the Chinese currency.

    You have to ask yourself if this is a matter of intent, or if we sort ended up that way?!?!

    I live in Greece...ask me all the questions you want about what is happening here versus the GLOBAL CHESS GAME and I will tell you. For the people that comment so much and have no exposure to the situation....only one word comes to mind...IGNORANCE. Use Wikipedia, dictionary.com, or something and you will see what I mean....

    To keep this a boating topic I attached a favorite link:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpR926L_f3I
     
  4. powerabout
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    powerabout Senior Member

    If the Chinese buy the dollar its value goes up if they sell it it goes down and US interest rate goes up
     
  5. bntii
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    bntii Senior Member

  6. ImaginaryNumber
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    ImaginaryNumber Imaginary Member

    Interview in NPR program Fresh Air by host DAVE DAVIES of Neil Irwin, author of The 'Alchemists' Who Control The Purse Strings Of The Economy.

    Listen to the interview, or download the transcript here:

    http://www.npr.org/2013/04/08/175950416/the-alchemists-who-control-the-purse-strings-of-the-economy

    first part of transcript:
     
  7. powerabout
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    powerabout Senior Member

    the bankers and politicians (for the most part) are just acting like a CEO with a 5 year contract and his bonus is on the share price.
    ramp it up at any cost as I'm gone soon and it wont be my problem.
    That today is the baby boomer generation of politicians versus their kids
    thats why they wont fix the ticking bomb they just invent ways to lengthen the timer
     
  8. powerabout
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    powerabout Senior Member

    funnily enough Ozzies retirement cash is just about all in the hands of private companies and they have more money per head than anybody else on the planet saved up
    manly due to the government saying years ago there wont be any social security in a few years
     
  9. troy2000
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    Funnily enough, the goal of Bush's proposal was to place the funds that are now going into Social Security into the hands of private fund managers and brokers instead, whose primary motivation is the generation of fees, charges and commissions for themselves, rather than the creation or conservation of assets for their clients.

    The folks I worked with who took a cash payout for their retirement from the company a while back, instead of the guaranteed pension, are stumbling around shell-shocked and wondering what happened to their capital -- because they lost their shirts when the **** hit the fan in 2008. Several of them have had to go back to work. But the good people handling what's left of their money for them keep right on raking theirs off the top....
     
  10. powerabout
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    powerabout Senior Member

    yes that would be scary
     
  11. WestVanHan
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    WestVanHan Not a Senior Member

    Mutual fund peddlers usually sell the funds with the highest commissions,not the best returns

    Solution: avoid these d-bags,educate yourself,and take care of yourself.

    Honestly it boggles my mind-people will spend multiple hours per day watching stupid TV shows,sports,Youtube,posting on forums (this one excepted,of course) can recite sport's player's stats and who won what reality TV contest and what dumb star is sleeping with another singer,all sorts of banal and useless tripe yet pay zero attention to their finances.
     
  12. ImaginaryNumber
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    ImaginaryNumber Imaginary Member

    As I'm sure you know, the Vanguard group of mutual funds (vanguard.com), founded by John Bogle, specializes in low-commission funds.

    Also, many of the ETFs (Electronically Trades Funds) mimic the returns of certain mutual funds or indexes, and can be purchased through your broker as easily as buying stocks. So easy, in fact, that there is a temptation to buy and sell so often that it is easy to lose money on just the transaction fees, minimal as they are.
     
  13. troy2000
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    I think it's unrealistic to expect the average retiree to jump into the financial currents and keep up with the professionals. Especially when you consider that even professionals make the wrong decision a lot of the time....

    Do we really want the financial security of someone who spent his life as a carpenter or janitor to be dependent on how well he understands the world of finance and investment? Alternatively, do we want him at the mercy of professionals who do understand it, and are out to make every buck they can off him?
     
  14. michael pierzga
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    michael pierzga Senior Member

    Its unrealistic to expect the average citizen to be financially savvy.
     

  15. bntii
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    bntii Senior Member

    It is unrealistic to believe that returns can be realized from investments without work.
    West has it exactly right- put the time in and one can become financially savvy.
     
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