I am experiencing Internet problems and have difficulty accessing my data sources. This week’s video compilation is therefore posted without the usual introductory paragraphs. But I’m sure the interesting clips will speak for themselves.

Wall St Cheat Sheet: AIG - writing stories about people who play “it” safe “Evidently, AIG is a company that plays ‘it’ safe (whatever the hell that means) and knows how to manage risk better than anyone else in the known universe. Don’t believe me? Take their word for it. We let corporations falsely advertise all the time, and here is a perfect example of the cost.”

Source: Damien Hoffman, Wall St Cheat Sheet, July 15, 2009.

Bloomberg: Shiller, Roubini discuss “anemic” economic recovery “Nouriel Roubini, professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, and Robert Shiller, chief economist and co-founder

Despite rising Treasury Note yields, US stock markets yesterday closed at their highest level for 2009. Also, commodities were driven higher by reports indicating that the recession is abating, but the US dollar retreated on concerns of the huge issuance of government bonds.

Elsewhere, Chrysler completed its deal with Fiat, the US Treasury Department announced that ten banks would repay TARP funds, and the Obama administration is dropping its plan to cap salaries at firms receiving bailout funds and has backed away from a large-scale reduction in the number of agencies overseeing financial markets.

Coverage of these events on camera this week included discussions with John Hussman, Chris Whalen, Peter Peterson, Paul Krugman, Mohamed El-Erian, Laszlo Birinyi, Jim Rogers, Jim Grant and Francisco Blanch.

The selection kicks off with the highly regarded John Hussman sharing his wisdom and concludes with an interesting snippet on Africa as an investment destination.

Or, how ignorance sometimes invalidates a critique.

I am always amazed at how often people jump to the most paranoid interpretations. One case in point is this article by Evan Newmark entitled Mean Street: Obama's Big Fat Fibbing Budget on WSJ's Deal Journal:

Is the White House lying to the American public about the economy? Or, if not outright lying, is it being awfully stingy with the truth?

You have to wonder.

After all, the Obama economic team is full of very smart people. And they have to see the same things that you and I see.

They see April's lousy retail numbers and record foreclosure rate. They see unemployment at 8.9%, state tax revenues facing double-digit declines, and a 14% fall in home prices last quarter.

So how can National Economic Council boss Larry Summers, Council of Economic Advisers chief Christina Romer or Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner still believe in