“There is, in a competitive society, nobody who can exercise even a fraction of the power which a socialist planning board would possess.”

-Friedrich Hayek

Hayek is to the Keynesians of Big Government Intervention what capitalism is to socialism. Watching some Americans beg for the scraps of a short-term socialist experiment this morning is apparently the kind of groupthink that President Obama supports:

“Through the IPO, the government will cut its stake in GM by nearly half, continuing our disciplined commitment to exit this investment while protecting the American taxpayer" –Barack Obama

Really?

Hearing our used-car salesmen of professional American politicking talk about “disciplined” investing for the American people must be some sadistic form of a joke. I, for one, will go on the record today calling this GM deal out for what it really is – socialism. General Mobama, nice trade.

Co-founder of investment banking outfit Evercore Partners, Roger Altman, loves this short-term trading of American capitalism for privileged socialist handouts. His firm was paid upwards of $46 MILLION in pre-GM bankruptcy fees and allegedly wants another $17-18 MILLION in what bankers call “success fees” for this GM deal going off with a bang this morning. Roger, nice trade.

I couldn’t make this up if I tried, but Roger met with General Mobama earlier this week to talk about his post GM deal day job. Roger likes to trade the banking-fee-cycle with time moonlighting in DC. And apparently the President of the United States liked doing this GM deal so much that he is considering Altman as Larry Summers replacement at the White House.

Wait, is Altman a banker or a politician? Sadly, when getting in tight on these socialist handout jobs, one is a prerequisite for the other. Roger Altman has an impeccable resume in old-boy network banking and politics:

  1. 1974 he became Partner at Lehman (banker)
  2. 1 he served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (politician)
  3. 1 he went back to Lehman and became co-head of investment banking (banker)

Oh yeah baby, that’s the change General Mobama is talking about. Let’s bring back someone who really understood Jimmy Carter and Arthur Burns style economics and let’s get this Jobless Stagflation party started.

Don’t worry, you won’t be disappointed in this storytelling. The deeper you dig into a pile of dogma the more it smells. Altman loves working at places that lever and lather themselves up with cheap moneys. After Lehman, he did LBOs at Blackstone (banker). Then, in 1993, he went back to Washington as Deputy Treasury Secretary (politician) for the only 2 years that resembled 1970’s style US Jobless Stagflation until… well… today!

No matter where you go in America this morning, this is where we are. I, for one, won’t let my son and daughter YouTube me on this day of November 18th, 2010 as one of the pretending patriots who supports socialist bailouts.

Back to the market…

Today’s pump and dump government rally should provide a fantastic opportunity to put some of our short positions back on (in the Hedgeye Portfolio we currently have 15 LONGS and 10 SHORTS). The US stock market has only had 1 UP day in the last 8. In the last 2 days the SP500 became what our Hedgeyes call immediate term TRADE oversold.

Yes, like your US government, we trade…

In terms of the Hedgeye Asset Allocation Model, in the last week, on weakness, we’ve scaled back up to 6% positions across the board (from ZERO percent at the market top on November 8th) in US Equities, International Equities and Commodities. We are long US Healthcare (XLV), Germany (EWG), Corn (CORN), and Gold (GLD). All of these positions are candidates to be sold. Our current asset allocation to Cash = 58%.

Yes, like any free market capitalist, we reserve the unalienable right to see this government sponsored casino for what it has become…

In terms of levels on the SP500, going into today’s open, from the 1178 level, we measure 2:1 upside with a significant level of immediate term TRADE resistance up at 1191. If the SP500 closes above 1191, that’s bullish. If it breaks, that’s bearish.

In the face of 1. Global Growth Slowing 2. Global Inflation Accelerating, and 3. Interconnected Risk Compounding, I don’t want a banker or a politician telling me how to manage risk. I need a transparent and accountable General who I can trust gets this game – and I guess, for now, that will have to be me.

Best of luck out there today,

KM

Keith R. McCullough
Chief Executive Officer

General Mobama - JC