Mark on the markets: More of the same

By Mark Patterson

Before the election last Tuesday, many people were proclaiming that the markets, I guess they meant stock and real estate, would do better, after the elections. Typically the markets are skittish not knowing who will be the next president and who will be the majority in both houses of Congress. Coming out of historically the worst time of year, (September and October), to the best time of year for the markets, (November, December) would indicate that we would see a Santa Claus rally into year end. Well as far as I am concerned the rally can start anytime now. But will it? I dont know if we will have a year-end rally or not. But even if we do, I would expect the rally to fade and remain in the same trading range that we have settled into. Yesterday, it was announced that AIG received another loan from the government that was reported as another 80 billion dollars. General Motors has its hand out looking for taxpayer money to sustain operations. Eventually the autoworkers pension will be taken over by the PBGC which is another quasi-government agency to bail out the pensions of the UAW. Merrill Lynch had a government arranged sale, so they would not fail.Why was Bear Sterns and Lehman Bros allowed to fail? My opinion is that because they did not deal directly with the public, and more with other institutions, they could fail with the perception that they were greedy corporations. If AIG fails it would affect the many insurance policies and annuities that are underwritten by AIG for the general public.This whole fiasco is setting up perfectly for a government that wants ultimate power and control over a society of socialists who have been begging for change. History repeats itself, but many in this country choose to follow American idol or Oprah and ignore world events that will change this country forever.Get rid of a myopic view that suits the way we feel today and worry about a major shift away from what made this country the best place in the world, that other countries would envy and its people risked their lives to be here.Mark Patterson is a money manager with MHP Investment management, and can be reached at 447-1978 or Mark@MHP-Asset.com.