Cerberus Bombs, Israel Considers Bombing, Consumers Confused...

Cerberus, an up till so five minutes ago major hedge fund group, has investors wanting to yank their money from the firm , and all because of a carefully crafted bet on the auto industry gone wrong. We stand amazed, thinking, "Wow, who could have imagined." You know, because the auto industry in the U.S. has always been a font of easy profits and low overhead, with no unions or regulations or more creative competitors to contend with.

Investors in Cerberus are seeking the return of more than $5.5 billion (£3.3 billion) from the fund, which has made a series of poor investments, including the acquisition of GMAC, General Motors’ finance division, and of Chrysler, the bankrupt carmaker.

(U.K. Times)

We could have told them not to go there, but sometimes when smart, one is too smart for one's own good. Now, it is sad tidings. What does this mean for the average fella, who right now is saying  "What the hell does this have to do with me?" between bits of another delicious Tyson Any'tizer?

Nothing. Other than than just because you are smart does not mean you have all the right answers (a point Republicans were making by putting stupidity in the form of Palin on a pedestal... point kinda backfired), and that you should not automatically assume the private sector is more efficient for every task (a point Democrats are kinda making now with a desire to inject more public into healthcare's private sector).

See, everyone has a bit of truth! A happy thought for the start of the week.

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Humans are complicated. In July consumer spending rose, while consumer sentiment fell. Apparently what people were thinking ("Oh crap the world is going to pieces") did not interfere with their desire to have more stuff ("Oh snap, I can trade in my clunker for that SUV that gets 2 extra miles per gallon and look good when the world goes to pieces").

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We know. Too much good tidings right? Football season is starting. The annoying kids are now back in school.  The quality of Hollywood movie releases will improve as the fall moves in. The air starts smelling sweeter in places with seasons. The auto companies are still around, as are major banks, and maybe, just maybe, we won't be denied health insurance (though, according to Republicans, at the expense of, well, freedom, but hey, can't have everything right?).

But, we must bust up this seasonal euphoria with the following:

Iran has until late September to respond to the latest international proposal aimed at stopping the Islamic Republic from developing a nuclear weapon....But if diplomacy fails, the world should be prepared for an Israeli attack on Iran's suspected nuclear weapons facilities. As Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently acknowledged: 

"The window between a strike on Iran and their getting nuclear weapons is a pretty narrow window."

(L.A. Times)

On first glance this looks slightly bad, but keep in mind you just traded in your clunker for that new more fuel efficient car. That's 2 miles farther away from the mega-disaster that will certainly end up raining down on your city when Iran strikes back by any means unnecessary. Also, you won't have to rely on Hollywood to provide you with interesting entertainment this tv season.