October 2011

It’s October twenty eleven, in this year it’s getting late,
Your year-to-date performance, really hasn’t been that great.
The economy has softened, the stocks have been a mess,
Job growth has been anemic, banks again are under stress.
Let’s review what all has happened, the events that have transpired,
And perhaps we’ll understand, why this market’s uninspired.

The year started off all right, the stocks they climbed on higher,
On LinkedIn and Pandora, investors took a flyer.
Social media was all the rage, that quickly grew into a bubble,
Facebook, Groupon, Twitter, saw valuations quickly double.
In other asset classes, higher prices too were quoted,
Top ticking it in commodities, Glencore’s stock was gently floated.

As spring turned into summer, to higher highs we almost vaulted,
Until our slippery politicians, on our debt almost defaulted.
On both side of the aisle, they all found many they could blame,
What they found in less abundance, was a sense of any shame.
So in the early days of August, the risk rallies all were faded,
And our pristine credit rating, was deservedly downgraded.

And all the while in crusty Europe, across the wide and deep blue ocean,
A train wreck was developing, albeit in slow, slow motion.
Debt levels and GDP, had long ago inflected,
Sovereigns and banks alike, insolvency had infected.
The market had grown weary, of dear old Merkel and Sarkozy,
And of their silly euro games, of bailout ring around the rosy.

The exercises of policy makers, have been ones largely of futility,
Bringing back higher measures, of correlation and volatility.
Money managers to their benchmarks, have not come even close,
The biggest losers out among them, are Johnny Paulson and Bill Gross.
Big winners have been rare, good news scarce in performance reports,
Unless you bet it big on treasuries, or had those Chinese shorts.

Big worries they abound, the list just keeps expanding,
Deficits and unemployment, or an economic cold hard landing.
The masses they grow restless, they write about it as they tweet,
To organize their protest, and occupy Wall Street.
Obama’s a disappointment, you can see it in his approval rating,
For a decent GOP alternative, we’re still patiently awaiting.

So is there hope for our future, can we somehow persevere?
Will we get back our mojo, will our prosperity disappear?
Let’s take stock in our republic, in our continuous long term renovation,
And in our entrepreneurial spirit, best shown in Steve Jobs’ innovation.
And in the short term if you’re nervous, that the markets keep on wheezing,
Then doctor Ben Bernanke, will provide more quantitative easing.