On Monday, I asked what the letters GM stood for — using “Government Motors” or “Gimme Money” as examples. Readers responded with 100s of examples of possible other names that worked well.
In fact, there were quite a few fantastic suggestions, which I culled down to a Letterman style short list of my favorites:
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Top 10 Things the Letters “GM” Stands For
10. Got More?
9. Goals missed
8. Giant Mess
7. GO MARX
6. Government Mooch
5. Grossly Mismanaged
4. Got Mechanic?
3. Gasguzzlin’ Monsters
2. Goodbye Michigan!
And the number thing the letters”G” and “M” stands for:
1. Gambled & Missed
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Honorable Mentions after the jump . . .
As we get closer to publication, maybe we will run some contests like this with Bailout Nation related swag as prizes.
Generic Mediocrity
Grotesque Machines
Goldman Missing
(that’s why they haven’t gotten a blank check)
Got Mylanta?
Gone (in 3) months
Gross Mismanagement
Guaranteed Mistake
Graft & Malfeasance
Government Masturbation
Good-bye Markets!
Gargantuan Moneypit
Gigantic Mess
Glaring Mistakes
Grand Mugging
Gullible Morons
Gargantuan Mistake
Genuflect Motors
Good-bye Money!
Greenspan’s Mistake
Gone Mad
Gotta Move-on
Gluttonous Moochers
Great Mistake
Government Mule
Category: Markets
Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor implied. If you could repeat previously discredited memes or steer the conversation into irrelevant, off topic discussions, it would be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.
BR: While you were in LA it was pretty much an all day free for all forum here, which was fairly interesting despite its chaotic manner.
Usually you steer the discussion in the direction you want, but to take advantage of the unexpected I’d like to make a suggestion: what about a *daily* open mike thread where we can say stuff unrelated to your posts?
Try it for maybe a week, see how it goes.
What do you guys think, would such a thing be worth it?
For me, GM will always be Gary Moore, the man Miss Lucille Ball married after she called it quits with Desi “Ricky Ricardo” Arnaz.
@ Gary
I’d rather see an open thread devoted to the day’s market, as comments on the market often get spread around the threads on several of BR’s posts during the day.
@ bat: Yes that would be useful. Although remember: It’s All Connected.
We are taking a very hard look at SPX 850 resistance here.
If we see a screamer up to SPX 880 I will get massively short. That is a huge technical level.
Better than an open thread would be to set up a forum using something like Vanilla or Scoop where people can talk amongst themselves. There is a nice small but well informed community here so it’d be a natural transition. Keep a guarded but not locked door policy and it could be a killer forum.
You gonna try for another patented Elby Top to correspond with the Elby Bottom?
That sell in may and reflation stuff we talked about that day is working out decent for me right now, Still long ADM, BHP, BP or CVX and PCU. GM or Chrysler bankruptcy and fallout from job losses, credit card default, and arm resets i still think we drop again to the ultimate bottom of 474 sometime beginning October.
That was @Lefty BTW. And the rest of my moola is currently in TIP and RMMXX, 33.333333333333% allocated to each (at the time, now its more tip and stocks)
Rough times for all those people who shorted tech stocks in early March.
From the Onion:
Hush Falls Over Prison Population As Madoff Stabs Cellmate In Throat
xlf has been off its highs most of the day, are they now waiting for their next bailout?
Getting tempting to pull the trigger on some QID…
I hear ya, but I don’t have the cojones to do that with all the gubmint interference.
this yahoo headline should be a pretty good sign that this bear rally is nearing its end….
“Wall Street rallies: ‘Everyone is in a buying mood’”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090402/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/04/source-obama-pl.html
Bullish or bullsh^t?
As for a forum, I come to BR’s blog for his comments and for the thoughtful comments of individuals smarter than I (and to exchange recipes- you all suck at that BTW) but the fractured nature of the format does derail some very good back and forthing. Maybe a recurring daily post called Market Chatter could serve that purpose.
Here’s a killer recipe:
Pisco Sauer (yeah- old school spelling)
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/peruvian-style-pisco-sour
Go ahead and use Chilean pisco if you hate everything that good and holy in this life- otherwise: Ocucaje, Queirolo, Botija, Jimenez, Biondi all fine. Or go to Lunahuaná and buy a bottle of any artisan producer in the area. Make sure you see them dig up.
@mregan
I have 5 and 7 year old kids, so heres a great recipe for us that do have little ones:
9 cups water
1 cup non-ultra Dawn soap
2 oz KY jelly
4 oz glycerine(avail. in drug stores)
Fills about a 1/2 gallon container.
Ultimate Bubbles for summer! Get out and live a little, I know I need to.
All the major indexes soared about 4 percent on Thursday as optimism grew following more signs that the economy is on the mend.
Haha… we see the same sort of articles ever time.
Never mind the accelerating house price declines or the gruesome jobless numbers.
Those things aren’t important.
MR,
that ‘recipe’ delineates everything Wrong w/ AXP..
pasteurized Egg Whites? F*** them!
“Grappa” as a ‘substitute’? That’s too clueless..
I’m surprised recipes for ‘Milquetoast’ aren’t their ‘Most Popular’.
past that, pisco sours are a good idea, Summer beckons, and all..
do us a favor post your own ‘Recipe’, you know what they are, others should too..
here comes the finale – up, up and away
Andrew,
what do you use for a frame?
also, can substitute Mineral Oil, for glycerin/KY combo? might cut costs, appreciably..
Thanks AndrewShaw- I appreciate the wholesomeness of your recipe and I withdraw the whole ‘you suck’ invective in your case- the rest of you, well, how about G-D some pointers on vichyssoise!
As for the drink recipe, I aspire to be the premier distributor of Angostura bitters in the Des Moines, Iowa and I am starting aviral campaign here. So drink up.
Also, looks like KOP tweren’t so bad.
@MEH
new to all that, but I have a bubble machine from the gazillion bubble company, have plans for one of the rope setups like you see on the internet/youtube.
glycerin is like $4ish and Ky can be the storebrand for about $3, but the gazillion bottle is really expensive, so it didn’t seem too bad.
@guidepostings
which way is up? do you see a sell-off or a higher high?
MH-
I just grabbed the first thing I find in English. Yeah, this all kind of performance art, part of my therapy to get out, meet people and minimally put them off.
My own recipe regarding pisco is:
1. Go to Lima
2. Go to Barranco- not Barranca, Barranco (frickin’ A, do not go to Barranca)
3. Look for ‘bajo el puente’
4. Find Toto’s, ask for Don Jorge
5. Say ‘pisco, por favor’
6. Bring cot or sleeping bag, spare liver
But the deal is lime (green) not lemon. As for sugar, not granules, you need a jarabe. Make yer own sugar syrup with sugar, water and heat. One small tip, put a piece(s) of dried fruit, in the pisco, raisins are ok, apricot is better, not too much and just leave it there.
shaw-
there is in all likelihood another push up before we close. i do feel though that tomorrow will start the next leg down – perhaps not to another new low, but 750 would be in the cards for sure.
I just stand amazed how this market can rip everyone to shreds.
Well, back to packing for the machine gun shoot at Knob Creek Kentucky. Driving all night tonight. A more satisfying way to burn money (than the financial market gambling)is to rent a big gun for even a few magazines worth.
Never been there, but going with a friend that has. Sounds fun.
I have some FAZ and expect to add more into the close. This is the first time I have contemplated putting on really significant short positions since this rally began. The NFP number tomorrow and the start of earnings season are excuse enough, but there are new red flags appearing in the MBS and CMBS markets all the time. This ain’t over.
Macro Man has a few interesting comments today:
http://macro-man.blogspot.com/
MR–
ol’ Jorge finally got promoted, eh? good for Him~
also, I’d like to meet the cunning SOB that sold the ‘cained peep on Lemons, Mr. ‘Buffalo Wings’ has Nothing over on him..
the + with making your own Sugar Syrup is, that if you have any ‘leftover’, you can turn into Caramel, in a hurry~
Here’s a question for the reflationistas:
Will ‘reflating’ the economy acelerate asset deflation?
As to the various camps, I am agnostic, in the sense of no ‘gnosis’, hell, I can barely stand the anagnorisis I experience every day.
Andrew,
I hear ya, the M.O. is U$D~2/pint..FFR
MR-
re: KOP that covered-call write would have smoked.. ~1.42/14.38 = ~10%
and, w/this : “Angostura bitters “, I’m surprised AXP Pub. wasn’t rec’d Lea & Perrins as a ‘substitute’..
MR–
when going here: anagnorisis
leave breadcrumbs..
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Anagnorisis
Hey- I got an honorable mention- I am somebody
I like the idea posted previously of a “market action” thread- in that vein-
does anyone have a read on UDN- doesn’t appear to have huge volume- but I am thinking the USD ultimate path is down-
any observations appreciated.
Lea&Perrins, very funny. As for anagnorisis- I was camuflaging a serious question in confusing palaver. Sometimes I want to leave Hansel and Gretel in der Wald.
ahab, you get a k-1 partnership form with udn, unfortunately. they make doing your taxes less fun… maybe shorting UUP is an option for you.
walked back by the macbook and saw this on Mish:
“Citibank to Investors: We Suggest You Bet Against Us”
per Mish, Citi is recommending the $8.00 xlf puts for May. He links to a Bloomberg article from March 31.
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/04/citibank-to-investors-we-suggest-you.html
They are crafty bastards aren’t they? What to make of this?
Mish : “That Citigroup says it is a “good decision” is probably all you need to know that it’s not. “
ahab-
If the reflation gambit ‘works’, and the rest the world is unable to substitute the USD for a basket something or other, as commodity prices rise, won’t the demand for dollars rise as well? Also, are dollars ‘disappearing’ faster than the FedTreas can conjure them? What a conundrum. (snark)
I guess, I don’t understand how any of this can work. It’s as if sloshing money around can replace productive activity. There is a parasite on the host which is killing it by re-injecting poisoned dollars into its circulatory system.
BR, what, no swearing any more?? Comment regarding silent G and M deleted……
I’m going to need to throw down with some recipes, I guess…….
Karen said: “they make doing your taxes less fun…”
What would make doing taxes more fun, Karen? Mine are an absolute nightmare.
Here at Schadenfreude we think the Leftback Rally may be drawing to a close. The market is overbought.
We have been raising cash and have a few short ETFs on.
@MRegan,
My theory relies upon the assumption that the dollar will fall in value from the printing presses and increase in available money supply, so we have to rely on supply and demand to calculate what will continue to be stable or rise in price. In actuality, I think we will have a bifurcated economy in which things that have a somewhat constant demand or can control the supply, ie food, energy, oil, basic first produced resources (like metals, timber, etc), and perhaps medicine will result in staying up or rising with the devaluation of the dollar, and other things that do not have the constant demand, such as housing, discretionary consumer products, capital expenditures, etc. will fall. It would be good to look at the factors behind elasticity of demand in evaluating any asset you wish to hold currently, imho.
Because the US Dollar is a Fiat Currency, the government can do anything they want including the recent bailouts and “quantitative easing”. Basically, they are saying they don’t care about the current deficit they are racking up and skyrocketing national debt, because they are going to print more money to devalue the currency relative to the debt outstanding. This might work for a while until producing countries and resource rich countries have the ability to stop it and force the issue of an international reserve currency to replace the US Dollar as the world’s form of money. Therefore, what the government is trying to do is covertly tax the public and screw all creditors in the process, while keeping the whole game from crashing.
“By a continuing process of inflation, government can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens.”
John Maynard Keynes (English economist, journalist, and financier, 1883-1946)
“Inflation is the one form of taxation that can be imposed without legislation.”
Milton Friedman quotes (American Economist, b.1912)
So where’s my t-shirt?
:-)
“I think we will have a bifurcated economy”
Hot Diggidy Dan, I think you are on to something. This has been a Leftback theme, the bifurcation.
Why only last night, I was expounding on economic bifurcation to The Twins.
As an example, I suggested “BUY Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and SELL Victoria’s Secret”.
They didn’t seem convinced though.
Thanks Karen- I knew it was an Invesco product so was unsure- appreciate your input- have never set up a margin account with my brokerge so maybe that is something i need to look into.
mregan Says:
“It’s as if sloshing money around can replace productive activity.”
crack me up- money created out of thin air no less- I have been doing some research and there appears to be a few folks indicating the $ will most likely start going down from here on out- with all the USD floating around and deficits where they are it would seem to make sense-
any other input out there?
leftback Said:
April 2nd, 2009 at 2:58 pm
We have been raising cash and have a few short ETFs on.
reply:
———————-
You’re a good man. Thank you. Let’s hope your good works are imitated by others.
If i lose my job can i come work for SAM?
speaking of money out of thin air.. read “How to Pay for Everything: Monetize the Air.”
http://gregor.us/policy/how-to-pay-for-everything/
ahab, i don’t use margin either… i’m a KISS girl.
USO is another one with the k-1 schedule.
Is the XLF chart toppy or what? This could be a great short.
Karen. I always suspected that you like to KISS.
How are those US$ candles looking?
Give Marrywanna
DiggidyDan Says:
“Therefore, what the government is trying to do is covertly tax the public and screw all creditors in the process, while keeping the whole game from crashing”
quite succinct- I agree- your prognosis on the dollar is my impression as well.
@ leftback-
what etf’s- being nosy here
Guantanamo for Managers
also- RIMM reports soon- what’s the consensus?
“Ever dance with the devil in the pail moonlight?”
When the USD — the main global reserve currency — started increasing in value (thanks to the debt writeoffs), the music stopped. Everyone started hoarding cash and looked for a place to sit down. Well, Chuck Prince might say the music is playing again. It’s time to get up and dance.
Git Mo’ ($)
what etf’s: FAZ and QID. The Leftback Rally is ending. Alas, we barely knew ye.
Almost all earnings will be complete dog poop. Including RIMM.
(GDP probably btw. -5 and -7%, remember? Earnings growth???).
Diggidy Dan: There is always room at Schadenfreude for bifurcating reflationists.
To DiggedyDan and ahab-
thanks, I guess I agree. Any notions on a time frame? And also, can they print more dollars than are disappearing?
As for UUP, as a proxy for the dollar is it a good idea to use a mediated thing, doesn’t this security amplify risk? Why not just acquire or dispose of USD? It seems like there are too many unknowables concerning the USD. What if oil plunges in the short term?
If oil plunges, the $ will rise….
When you start to see jackass headlines like this, you start thinking about selling:
New signs emerge that recession may be near bottom http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090402/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy
mreagan:
“Why not just acquire or dispose of USD? It seems like there are too many unknowables concerning the USD. ”
true- unfortunatley I am not a Forex trader- guess you could purchase other denominations- but what? Euro not too firm either.
leftback Says:
“If oil plunges, the $ will rise….”
true- if it plunges- more of chance for it to go up I would think
on other facets:
“The bill, authored by Sens. John Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, moves cybersecurity authority to an as-yet-unnamed cyber adviser who will report to the president. The wide-ranging measures also include sweeping new regulations to plug the vulnerabilities in both government and the private sector that could leave the nation open to cyber attacks or data theft.
In fact, the new provisions go beyond extending security rules to all government agencies, government contractors and software vendors selling to those groups. They would also be stretched to the private sector’s so-called “critical infrastructure” companies–those typically deemed crucial for national security.
But given that the words “critical infrastructure” aren’t defined in the bill, Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) President Leslie Harris argues the new regulations could cover not just water distribution, the power grid and banks, but also telecommunications, Internet service providers and even Internet application companies like Google ( GOOG – news – people ) and Microsoft ( MSFT – news – people ). …”
http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/01/cybersecurity-government-google-technology-security-cybersecurity.html?partner=telecom_newsletter
sadly, Not an April Fool’s joke..
also – on RIMM- sure it will be bad but how bad? As long as it is not AS bad as people fear then that’s looked at like a win
Yeah, i don’t know what to tell you either. I’m just looking at the forest. The individual trees that will be safe I can’t pick as well as I want in this environment, so i’m just trying to preserve purchasing power. As for timing, it’s a shot in the dark, but I will stick with my Wild Voodoo Guess of the Reckoning leading to S&P 474 beginning in October. I am just an armchair economist in general, so listen to pros or your gut for what you should do, not me.
Look at the daily NAZZ chart if you want to see a head-and-shoulders formation.
That bodes ill for tomorrow. You really think RIMM and AMAT had a blowout quarter?
Wonder what AT is up to? I am doing my best with the TA, but AT and Karen are the real chart-watchers.
Barry, how could you miss this one?
Golf Masters
“leftback Says:
When you start to see jackass headlines like this, you start thinking about selling…”
Yeah, my feelings exactly. I’ve been selling this thing all the way up. I’m running out of longs to sell. Keeping a core position of pipeline MLPs, a conservative play that captures some reflation in a non-risky way, positions yielding over 12%.
But hey, Ken Lewis says the recession is “getting close to the bottom.” What more could you want!
The market knows all, right?
I am calling a top on this rally. The Leftback Top. You heard it here.
It’s seeming more and more likely that Friday’s payroll numbers could show over 700K jobs cut. Surely that number would be jarring enough to throw cold water on this rally, no?
No need for -700K. The earnings reports and the technicals will be enough for a sell-off tomorrow.
The Leftback Top? – sorry, not yet. My market timing is horrible – always a few days early and today I sold everything but some nflx which i haven’t defined a stop for
I was waiting for XLF 10 and SPX 880.
We may see it, but I had too much risk on, and don’t mind missing A Few Dollars More.
Earnings start Monday, and we just bid up the P without knowing the E.
Just sayin’…
Another reason I don’t trust this rally. Dr. Hussman (Hussman Funds) has not gone for it. He’s still tightly hedged against the downside. He’s got quite a record over the last 15 yrs or so (8+ with the funds), so he’s not just another blow hard with nothing on the line or a long only fund pumper. He’s also got a good chunk of my money so he better be right! :)
I am calling a top on this rally. The Leftback Top. You heard it here.
that looks like The Call.
Let the (new) Day Begin~
http://www.metrolyrics.com/let-the-day-begin-lyrics-the-call.html
The chances of my making The Call at the bottom and the top would seem to be extremely small.
But I have made a good chunk on the Way Up from 666.79 to 845.61 intra-day today (+179.82; >25%)
- and I am not smoking Magic Mushrooms one day longer than necessary, Mark.
We’ll leave that to the tools on CNBC.
As BR has opined here many many times, monster 4 and 5% up days are features of Bear market rallies.
and we all know how those end, don’t we children?
BTW, RIMM was up big but that was Q4 earnings – Before The Deluge and the Dead Banks Walking.
Just not enough info out to make a call for me. We’ve entered the stage where bad is good and good is bad, unless you don’t really care then it is all goo, or bad.
After Sunday’s action for GM, The clock is ticking for real economic impacting actions taking place. It could be the pivot point that the govt can’t back stop.
As BR has opined here many many times, monster 4 and 5% up days are features of Bear market rallies.
and we all know how those end, don’t we children?
yep, bad news for ‘Goldilocks’~
this, recent, Rally would make David Copperfield look like an amateur.
We’ll see if this is the Official Elby Top at 845.61. I hope not yet, still long on some stuff I want to get out of from earlier catching the knife trades before i came up with the bifurcated economy reflation theory. Where’s AT when ya need him?
If you do end up getting both the bottom and top of the Bear Market Rally called in real time I will be thoroughly impressed. What is more impressive, calling the tops and bottoms in real time or predicting the future like Steve Barry? I tend to go with calling realtime trades as being more impressive because I can’t do it most of the time. I tip my hat to ya.
haha! those are great! sorry, but I have to add one more …
Garbage Made-whole
Darn it, I didn’t get mine in.
better luck next tiMe, thanks for playinG
Oh, wait. Different company.
Generous Motors the mark of negligence. That was a frequently used line around the Oldsmobile shop I worked at in the 80′s. The mark of excellence was GM’s slogan during the 60′s. If you didn’t work at a dealership, you wouldn’t understand the generous part. I will try to explain, the Vega, Oldsmobile Diesel, rack & pinion steering on most FWD cars in the 80’s,Cadilliac HT 4100 engine, etc, etc. They gave away a lot because of bad product, cutting corners and shoddy engineering.
Sweet! Made the cut ;)
#2 – I’m gunning for #1 on the next list that gets published, whoever you are.
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