[Paquadez]

Connected to the thread on The Economy, I am reminded of a wonderful story told me by an old friend, an Armenian Jew, who was hugely successful: to the point where a mutual acquaintance at Hambro's Bank (a very select investment bank in those days) said to me, "I wish I had X's net worth!

It is a story of just after WW II in England.

One Jewish wheeler dealer, called Moishe sold a shipload of sardines - which had been locked up in port for the duration - to another Jewish wheeler dealer called Hymie: Hymie accordingly sold the shipload to Morry: he instantly sold it to Abe.

Now Abe was even more shrewd, and he sold the shipload to a very successful hoteliere, with a chain of hotels and tea shops throughout England.

After years of food rationing and poor diet this was wonderful!

Sardines on toast went straight on the menu!

The trouble was, that every tin was totally rotten and inedible.

So the hotelier complained to Abe; who complained to Morry: who in turn complained to Hymie; who complained bitterly to Moishe!

When Moishe heard the news he asked Hymie what had happened to the sardines: "They were sold to the ABC chain", he replied.

"Wot!", said Moishe. "Oie Vegh! They was wheeling and dealing sardines, not eating sardines!

Now, the sting in the tail of this story and why it is so very apposite for today's crazy financial markets, is that most of the frenetic activity on the markets is so very far divorced from actual production and consumption, it has lost sight of its true raison d'être.

Synthetic transaction is piled upon synthetic transaction to the point where no one has much concept of what it was all about in the first place!

Worst still, no one can now compute what the true downside risk actually is; and where it will hit, next.

So the question I ask, is, "So, who's eating the sardines?"

[lotuseclat79]

Hi Paq,

No one ate the sardines? That is to say, who was the last in the chain - the only one who really got screwed in the end, because the chain was then broken and reality claimed its prize - a lesson well worth learning, though I am sure the hotelier then and forever insisted on "sampling" to goods before striking a deal! Caveat Emptor indeed!

-- Tom

[plschwartz]

Originally Posted by lotuseclat79

Hi Paq,

No one ate the sardines? That is to say, who was the last in the chain - the only one who really got screwed in the end, because the chain was then broken and reality claimed its prize - a lesson well worth learning, though I am sure the hotelier then and forever insisted on "sampling" to goods before striking a deal! Caveat Emptor indeed!

-


- Tom

Thanks Paq for bringing a jewish story to light.
As I heard the punch line, which like "whose on first" is all that is needed in NY is
"There are sardines for trading and sardines for eating"

And those in the KNOW know which to eat. The rest ......

I know of no better description of what is going on today then the first pages of Looking Backward with its analogy of the Coach(http://books.google.com/books?id=ShM...with-thumbnail

What we see now can be compared to lemmings as they smell the sea. They know what is going to happen but are unable to stop.
Much has been made in the housing bubble of speculators running up housing prices.There is another group who just wants something to own that will keep some value.
ut most buyers are in the sardine trade Bigger houses. Cars that are sold on colors and stereos. Toilet seats that wash and dry your Butt

The US stock market has had crazy swings lately, where the ups are based on the least crumb of good news as Berneke has an extra helping of oysters at lunch. Which somehow counterbalanced by mismanagement at Citibank.
Meanwhile soeone who knows which to eat like Hathaway raised profits 68%. And then there is Carlyle etc who help sell the sardines.

Why do you care what a cellphone can do besides act as a phone. Why is it when some elses phone does more then yours you feel your bust or weewee just lost a couple of inches?? or "how white your shirt should be?"

[poochee]

I'm no expert on the economy...but definitely feel something is awry!

I am learning a lot reading Paq, Lotus, and Schwartz posts. Thanks for your input.

[pyritechips]

...most of the frenetic activity on the markets is so very far divorced from actual production and consumption, it has lost sight of its true raison d'être.

This hass been a bone of contention for me for a very long time. Too much influence has boiled down to speculation. What really bothers me is profit investment wherein a person can put X amount of dollars into a company and expect a profit. The board of directors are now obliged to placate the investors, not the actual people working at the company. The person investing has not a care about the actual working of the company; it is only a ledger entry in their personal portfolio.

What doesn't sit well with me in where the free market has gone is that just the fact that a person has money they can invest it for profit and actually gain income while producing absolutely nothing!

[pyritechips]

Why do you care what a cellphone can do besides act as a phone. Why is it when some elses phone does more then yours you feel your bust or weewee just lost a couple of inches?? or "how white your shirt should be?"

Well, I know you are wise enough to know socio-political causes and effects so I take your questions as being rhetorical.

What you have described is what's called "Keeping up with the Jones'". The need to have as good a car, house or brilliantly white sheets and teeth is nothing more than advertising industry brainwashing. I don't give a tinker's damn how white my teeth or sheets are and I certainly don't care that someone's brand new $80,000 SUV is bigger and shinier than my 8 year-old Chevy Cavalier. What's really on sale here is not consumer goods but status. The free enterprise system has mutated into a self-serving gluttonous monster. I have finally discovered the meaing of life: work, work, work and buy, buy, buy. "Economical growth" seems to be the only meaningful thing driven into our heads all the time. "Economic growth dropped by 2.1% in the last quarter," the news broadcast declares and all those people making money by doing nothing panic and sell shares, further distorting a company's actual - as compared to percieved - value and the boss has to lay off a few hundred people to satisfy those do-nothing "investors". If those investors really want to protect their investments why don't they get up off of their fat, lazy arses, roll up thier sleeves and help the damn company out? The only business person I respect is the one that has developed his or her own company and nursed it into a profitable and sucessful organization.

The unfortunate situation in the modern world is that most people cannot afford to start up a company. And if they do and it becomes sucessful they are targeted for a takeover by a larger company. It's also unfortunate that multinational conglomerates have sucked all the humanity out of us. Have you ever noticed that all things in society have limits. There is only so much force you can use against another person; there are speed limits; there are age limits for sexual conduct, etc. Why are there no limits on how much wealth a person can attain? I have really thought hard about this for a very long time and the only answer I can think of is greed. I can only conclude that our modern capitalist society is one made to satisfy greed.

I thought that was one of the deadly sins.

[paisanol69]

Originally Posted by poochee

I'm no expert on the economy...but definitely feel something is awry!

I am learning a lot reading Paq, Lotus, and Schwartz posts. Thanks for your input.

While I really do admire your tenacity in your beliefs, I sure do wish you would wake up where Hillary is concerned. This is not critisizing you, I really do admire you for your strength, I just think its more based on having a "woman" as President, in the White House. Its just too bad, that you have picked Hillary as your champion, cause shes not, DEFINATELY NOT, Presidential material. If you think Bush was a bad President, hold onto you hat, cause if Hillary gets the job, you are never going to live it down, once shes exposed as the putz she really is!!

Anyway, Poochie, stay the course, and best to you!!!

[Paquadez]

Originally Posted by paisanol69

While I really do admire your tenacity in your beliefs, I sure do wish you would wake up where Hillary is concerned. This is not critisizing you, I really do admire you for your strength, I just think its more based on having a "woman" as President, in the White House. Its just too bad, that you have picked Hillary as your champion, cause shes not, DEFINATELY NOT, Presidential material. If you think Bush was a bad President, hold onto you hat, cause if Hillary gets the job, you are never going to live it down, once shes exposed as the putz she really is!!

Anyway, Poochie, stay the course, and best to you!!!

And this has to do with sardines like how?

Unless you are saying that in your opinion you believe that Hillary looks like a sardine.

In which case I would have to disagree 'cos I like sardines!

In fact, later this week I'll probably be eating grilled fresh sardines in France!

Hillary's main appearance problem is that as you go further down she becomes bigger and bigger; so more like a fat penguin than a fish!

[BanditFlyer]

I've never eaten penguin.

Much has been made in the housing bubble of speculators running up housing prices.There is another group who just wants something to own that will keep some value.

The lefties tell us that the reason for high oil prices isn't speculation, but the value of the dollar. Why would it be any different for housing??? If they were consistent, they'd say the housing bubble will never burst, unless a good leftie becomes president and reduces the national debt(since the president must be omnipotent for this whole thing to be Dubya's fault, the president is therefore capable of reducing the debt), causing the price of oil to drop, and the housing bubble to finally burst. Otherwise, it'll never happen.

The moral of the story - stick with canned sardines, since they won't spoil for 100 years.

[pyritechips]

The moral of the story - stick with canned sardines, since they won't spoil for 100 years.

Sound advice! I have a ton of the stuff in my bomb shelter! (Great on crackers.)

[pyritechips]

In fact, later this week I'll probably be eating grilled fresh sardines in France!

Let's discuss how decades of unregulated poaching by European fishing nations has destroyed the North American Grand Banks fish stocks, why don't we!

[Paquadez]

Originally Posted by pyritechips

why don't we!

'Cos no one can fish for sardines there.

There aren't any!

[idar]

Originally Posted by Paquadez

So the question I ask, is, "So, who's eating the sardines?"

The best answer I can give is NOT ME!

[plschwartz]

Originally Posted by paisanol69

While I really do admire your tenacity in your beliefs, I sure do wish you would wake up where Hillary is concerned. This is not critisizing you, I really do admire you for your strength, I just think its more based on having a "woman" as President, in the White House. Its just too bad, that you have picked Hillary as your champion, cause shes not, DEFINATELY NOT, Presidential material. If you think Bush was a bad President, hold onto you hat, cause if Hillary gets the job, you are never going to live it down, once shes exposed as the putz she really is!!

Anyway, Poochie, stay the course, and best to you!!!

Well what ever she is Hillary is not a putz

[Knotbored]

I guess I don't have any resentment of the very wealthy folks and see no reason to limit their accumulating dollars (or euros.)
They can only do two things with their wealth-spend it or save it.
If they spend it they provide jobs for anyone building the product they buy,
If they save it then it becomes available for less endowed folks like me to borrow to purchase homes, cars, appliances etc (which also provides jobs for products I buy.)
I have never been provided a job or other benefit by a poor person, or by a worker that is just barely getting by. I retired from a company supported by wealthy investors (as well as average workers knowlegable of stocks to invest.)