"You know what the news is-- in a minute, you're going to hear the rest of the story"- Paul Harvey

I try very hard to get people to think for themselves. Believe me, this is not an easy thing to do.

Too often, investors, consumers, and the public in general have a belief system that is deeply entrenched . For example, I deal with numerous people on a daily basis, and rarely do I talk with someone who sees the "big picture". This makes my job that much more difficult.

One thing I was taught at a very early age is to understand anything is possible, to look at both sides of every issue, and pay close attention to detail.

If you want a small example of how people don't pay attention to detail, all you have to do is look at the majority of the cars on the highway as you drive around.

Car dealers know that most consumers are clueless, so what do they do? They sell the consumer a car, and plaster free advertisements for their business on the vehicle. Mindlessly the car buyer drives their newly purchased vehicle without even a thought that their car is now a billboard for the dealership.

I challenge you to drive around and count the number of cars carrying free advertising for the car dealer. You will be shocked.

Speaking of lack attention to detail, the FOMC continued its massive assault on the US dollar by lowering the Fed Funds rate and the Discount Rate by another .25 basis points to 2.00%.

I say massive assault because the dollar is quickly losing its status as the world’s reserve currency and medium of exchange. Already, nations around the globe have, and are diversifying their reserves away from the dollar, and into Euro's and other currencies.

In the Middle East, Iran opened a competing oil exchange where it asks its petroleum customers to pay in non-dollar currencies. While we are led to believe the the US Administrative Branch (a subsidiary of the oil industry) is upset at Iran for its nuclear ambitions, we have got to believe that a competing oil exchange has them equally upset.

We have to remember that any acts of aggression against Iran will be defended by Russia, and one of the largest purchasers of US dollar assets, the Chinese. The major problem for the US economy is that foreign investors and governments are losing their patience for a failed US foreign policy, as well as a failing U.S. dollar.

According to Gresham's law, "Bad money drives out good." A stupid monetary policy combined with a stupid foreign policy may be the last straw that eventually drives good money (Chinese, Japanese, & petro-dollars) away from the bad money which is the US dollar.

In addition to all of the above, how dumb is it for the Bush Administration to continue to buy oil at its all-time highs, and continue filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) while the average American struggles to pay their bills. Is this stupid, corrupt, or just plain dumb?

Heck, even the liquor barron by marriage, presidential candidate John McCain, said the government should "stop filling its strategic oil stockpile, with crude oil at a near-record at around $110 a barrel.

U.S. Equity Markets:

Extreme negative sentiments the past few months has led to an oversold rally that suggests the major market indexes have now entered a technical rally that is nearing the upper end of their respective trading ranges. As best we can tell, the trading ranges are as follows;

S&P 500- 1,250-1,450
DJIA- 11,750-13,000
NASDAQ- 2,150-2,500

If George Soros is right, the stock market will continue its decline after this brief rally. Soros said, “We had a good bottom, This will probably not prove to be the final bottom.’’

I happen to agree. If you thought Q1-08 earnings were bad, wait until you see Q2's.

The Rest of the Story

The latest advertising scam hitting consumers-seniors in particular- is "Reverse Mortgages". When a senior considers a "Reverse Mortgage", what does this say about the financial health of our nations seniors?

Just when you thought lenders were finished doing stupid things, they come up with something sneaky like "Reverse Mortgages."