A sad and unexpected goldbugger

I had no idea, until today, that respectable MSN financial columnist Bill Fleckenstein was a “goldbugger.” But he is.

Of course, he repeats the elementary mistake of most goldbuggers in claiming gold has “intrinsic value.”

No, it has very little. It has little technological and other use. If you want a precious metal, put us on a silver system.

If you want something real for today’s world, back our money with oil, coal or uranium, from the energy side, or else with silicon or lithium, from the tech world.

Anyway, the fact that Fleckenstein thinks gold has “intrinsic value” leads me to question his overall financial analysis skills.

Paul Krugman has more on the sudden rush of goldbuggery, or some functional equivalents, even among Fed governors, and what's wrong with all this.

Financial fear and loathing even in Texas

Jon Markman reports that even oil-and-gas Texans are worried about national financial issues.

First, he points out loopholes in the bailout bill, such as this:

Emilio says bank lobbyists snookered the government by sneaking in an exception under subsection 3a, "Conditions on purchase authority for warrants and debt instruments." The clause, titled “Exceptions — De Minimis,” states that any debt instruments worth less than $100 million won't trigger the payback provision.

The work-around on this baby is obvious.

Next, Markman claims European backs have been even less regulated, hence the huge market drops there.

Meanwhile, Bill Fleckenstein says Wall Street still hasn’t cried “uncle” yet. For that and other reasons, he predicts a huge surge in gold prices.

Well, the Dow cried “uncle” enough today to fall below 9,000.