Filed under: Bad news, Rants and raves, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), Economic data, Headline news, Federal Reserve

Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke inherited a real mess from Alan Greenspan and the Bush Administration who were all asleep during their watch when noteworthy financial minds Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) and John Bogel, the founder of the Vanguard Group, and numerous other people of substantial financial knowledge and integrity were sounding the alarms.

‘My pal Warren’ went as far as to call derivatives toxic waste and the true weapons of mass destruction. In the design and construction industry we commonly hear the phrase, “There is never enough time to do it right but there’s always plenty of time do do it over!” Perhaps it is a common refrain in other professions too.

Well today, the Fed Chief urged preventive action. This is a crying shame. I do not doubt his wisdom on this matter, unfortunately the horses have long left the barn and now he wants to shut the doors simply to prevent the barn from collapsing. We will need the barn if we can ever round up those horses again. Mr. Bernanke was none too fast to react to the serious nature of our economic problems but he is plenty serious now.

The single biggest problem on Wall Street and in the government is that the scale of the business activity is so massive that both factions are totally disconnected from reality and from their respective constituencies. Wall Street financial houses were simply driving short term revenue and outrageous bonuses to a level they could retire on, with tiny long term perspective, concern for depositors or investors and understanding of downside risk.

I guess it is hard to see anything but the skys’s the limit when your nose is always in the air. We live in astonishing and unpredictable times. Today the market is in positive territory even though retailers posted sluggish sales in march and the trade deficit widened and still gas, diesel Prices were at record highs, so go figure. It will all be rationalized on the news shows and it will all be ridiculous.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money.

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Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams, Health

When I was a lad, stores stocked, amid the wax lips and candy cigarettes, packs of Sen-sen, small square bits of what tasted like carbon. Because of their location, we thought they were treats and bought some– what a disappointment. Later, I realized they were intended to help drunks mask the smell of booze on their breath.

A Swedish company, in response to our growing (rightfully) crackdown on drinking and driving, has begun marketing a new breath mint under the inflammatory name of Antipoleez. The legal community, taunted by the name, is protesting loudly that the mints make it harder for cops to detect alcohol on a driver’s breath.

The company’s marketing does nothing to dissuade me of their intention to help drunks avoid arrest. Like Sen-sen, Antipoleez contains ingredients that absorb odors, rather than simply mask them. Not surprisingly, the mints have already gained traction in those strongholds of alcohol abuse, fraternities and sororities, casinos and sporting events.

Imho, any company that promotes products that aid drunk drivers in avoiding arrest should be forced to sit beside drunks when they face the family of loved ones they’ve murdered. Breathe mints don’t do much to staunch tears.

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Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams, Shopping, Transportation

Anytime you go car shopping you get slapped in the face with dealer incentives swathed in bright colors and exclamation points. While many people filter out similarly structured sales pitches online, for some reason vehicle dealers are given a pass on the use of ALL CAPS and big promises. Take for example the $500 in free gas which many dealerships are quick to offer. This “generous” offer is yet another way to convince the buyer that they are putting one over on the dealer and getting a better deal. One of the providers of the gas rebate service is FreebieGas.com, which still proclaims an all time high gas price of $2.50 per gallon. Like all dealer incentives there’s a catch, and in all my years of dealing with rebates I don’t think I have heard one with this many hoops to jump through.

What the dealer doesn’t tell you about the gas rebate you just used to rationalize purchasing a more pricey car, is that it will cost you money just to sign up for the rebate program. From here the process only gets shadier and trickier, you must purchase $100 in gas each month to receive a $25 gas card AND you’ve to make all these buys at the same gas station. After you spend your monthly quota for gas you superior head to the post office and overnight your receipts as they need to be received before the first day of the next month in order to count for redemption. Finally 2 grand and 20 months later — if you are lucky you’ll have recouped the $500 in gas incentives. In case this still sounds like a good deal or you feel like you can beat the system with your moleskin notebook and in-car stapler, the $500 in gas you receive still needs to be reported as income on your state and federal taxes. I like to consider myself a frugal shopper but a gas rebate process like this is too involved even for my stingy ways.

Heading out to buy a used vehicle soon? Be sure to read, Tom Barlow’s latest post to learn how to make a vehicle dealer your agent as you search for your dream car.

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