27% Don't Even Have $1000 for Retirement

Bifurcation of American Society Continues at Pace; Nearly Half Have Less than $10K for Retirement, :: The Market Oracle :: Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting Free Website:

"The percentage of American workers with virtually no retirement savings grew for the third straight year, according to a survey released Tuesday. The percentage of workers who said they have less than $10,000 in savings grew to 43% in 2010, from 39% in 2009, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's annual Retirement Confidence Survey. That excludes the value of primary homes and defined-benefit pension plans.
Workers who said they had less than $1,000 jumped to 27%, from 20% in 2009."

Berkshire VC: "It's Over"

Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's long time Partner writes in Slate:

"Long-time business partner of Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, writes in a new article for Slate.com that “it’s basically over” for the United States economy.

In his article, the Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman constructs the parable of Basicland, whose economy just so happens to run parallel to that of America.

In the beginning of Basicland, people live within their means, debt is limited to mortgages and some consumer loans, speculation is discouraged, and taxes are limited and pay for only “basic services” like fighting fires, defense, and the court system.

As a result, the economy happily grows at a steady annual rate of 3 percent.

But things take a turn for the worse, Munger writes.

“The extreme prosperity of Basicland had created a peculiar outcome: As their affluence and leisure time grew, Basicland’s citizens more and more whiled away their time in the excitement of casino gambling,” and financial services soon grow to account for too big a portion of the economy."

The Coming Plunge, Now in BusinessWeek

Whether due to the slow apprehension descending upon US public, or perhaps a fast apprehension descending on news editors following today's, uh, plunge, , it's interesting to note Prechter's December ?) prediction made it to BusinessWeek by late February, as now it seems to be validated by several pundits (on top of the chart).

S&P 500 May Plunge in Last Elliott Wave: Technical Analysis - BusinessWeek

S&P 500 May Plunge in Last Elliott Wave: Technical Analysis - BusinessWeek: "Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. stock market may be at the last stage of a retreat that will drive the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index below a 12-year low it reached last year, according to an Elliott Wave analysis by StockCharts.com."

Other notables who recently share the view include:

Richard Lehman
whoi seems to spot a channel break
Lehman's Channel analysis in StockCharts.com

A Part of NY
An honest view
http://www.apartofny.com/

Garry Shilling (from Jesse Felder)
"It's all just one big trade"
http://jessefelder.posterous.com/gary-shillings-one-big-trade

Robert Reich
Predicts a correction in 2010
Commonwealth club TV

Immanuel Wallerstein: Ah, Surprises, Surprises

Immanuel Wallerstein: "You know you’re living in a chaotic situation when (1) the mainstream media are constantly surprised by what is happening; (2) short-term predictions by various pundits go in radically different directions and are stated with many reserves; (3) the Establishment dares to say things or use words that were previously taboo; (4) ordinary people are frightened and angry but very unsure what to do. This is a good description of the past two years throughout the world, or at least in most parts of the world.

Consider the recent enormous “surprises” – the election of a Republican senator in Massachusetts; the financial collapse of Dubai; the near bankruptcy of various large states within the United States and four or five of the member states of the European Union; severe world currency fluctuations."

60 Minutes on Ponzi Schemes

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Roubini Abmushed by CNBC

This footage is amazing - Roubini is under collective fire by several anchors. What's noticeable here is they almost literally demand the Good News; and their ultimate rebuttal is that Roubini can't get us out of the mess. In other words, if you can't get us out of the mess, it measn that there is no mess. This little snippet offers a lot of insight on several levels. Such a public attack is very common in less democratic regimes.
 

Gary Shilling: forget diversification

Investment Banker caught looking at nude photos on TV

Just watch the guy to the left of the talking head.

Do Cloned Bulls Dream of Electric Sheep

TrimTabs Asks: Who Is Responsible For The Non-Stop Market Rally Since March; Gives Some Suggestions | zero hedge:

"As far as we know, it is not illegal for the Federal Reserve or the U.S. Treasury to buy S&P 500 futures. Moreover, several officials have suggested the government should support stock prices. For example, former Fed board member Robert Heller opined in the Wall Street Journal in 1989, “Instead of flooding the entire economy with liquidity, and thereby increasing the danger of inflation, the Fed could support the stock market directly by buying market averages in the futures market, thereby stabilizing the market as a whole.” In a Financial Times article in 2002, an unidentified Fed official was quoted as acknowledging that policymakers had considered buying U.S. equities directly, not just futures. The official mentioned that the Fed could “theoretically buy anything to pump money into the system.” In an article in the Daily Telegraph in 2006, former Clinton administration official George Stephanopoulos mentioned the existence of “an informal agreement among the major banks to come in and start to buy stock if there appears to be a problem.”"