Baltimore — (TFN): If politicians would get their heads out of their re-election campaigns, they would not have to make hasty, thoughtless decisions that cost you and I money.

In the days following Obama’s inauguration, Washington quickly passed a wide set of tax reforms. Part of the legislation included a $400 tax break for the country’s working class and increased healthcare funding for the country’s poor, unhealthy children thanks to increased taxes on the tobacco industry.

It is no surprise neither measure has worked out as planned.

According to reports today, more than 15 million of us will have to pay back the $400 we saved in taxes over the last few months due to an error on Washington’s end.

I hope Uncle Sam doesn’t expect interest on his loan come April.

The news out of the tobacco industry helps us continue our discussion on regulations. The good and the bad.

Winston Churchill once

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Chuck Butler (The Daily Reckoning): What a ride yesterday for the currencies! Gold? Well, at one point gold had shot up $24 on the day! It topped out at $1,142… The shiny metal then gave some back on profit taking, but gold holders have got to love it! Those who keep waiting for a pullback. Well, they might still be waiting when the cows come home.

Yesterday, we had a couple of Fed Heads talking, but the Big Kahuna stood out and moved the markets with his statements… Here’s the skinny…

Big Ben was giving a speech, and said, “The Fed will monitor closely the currencies, and the Fed’s policies will ensure that the dollar is strong.” Now, when he first uttered those words, the dollar got bought and the non-dollar currencies were sold… But then, a few of us had this feeling… It was a feeling that we

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London Calling: FTSE-100 Racks Up its Best Quarter in History

by Martin Denholm, Senior Editor Wednesday, October 1, 2009

As September concluded, so too did the third quarter of 2009.

And what a quarter it was for London’s FTSE-100 (^FTSE) stock market. In fact, it was the Index’s best three-month period in its 25-year history.

As global stock markets scoffed at the traditional “sell in May and go away” adage and sizzled throughout the summer, the “Footsie” notched up a 21% gain.

The positive vibes weren’t just restricted to Britain either. Stocks across Europe enjoyed a strong summer, with the FTSEurofirst 300 Index of top European shares posting its best quarter in 10 years, with a gain of 16%.

The question is: How long can the markets – both in the U.S. and overseas – walk the tightrope between bull and bear? As

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A bias to buy dollars remains…Looks like coordinated jawboning…Fujii now talks about intervening! Gold remains below $1,000…And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Good day… And a Terrific Tuesday to you! Well… Stop the presses… You know the presses that are talking about the countries that are on the docket to begin a rate hike cycle, because… Russia has thrown a cat among the pigeons this morning with a rate CUT… Let me tell you why this is a big deal…

Well, when everyone is thinking that the G0-GO countries of Norway, Australia, and Brazil will probably begin their rate hike cycles this year, and other won’t be far behind… While the U.S. drags its feet and wallows in the zero rate mud… The thinking was that the rate differentials to the dollar would begin to widen, causing even more pain for the dollar. And, the reason these countries were able to raise rates

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A Wild and Wacky Wednesday…FOMC leave stimulus and QE in place…Will G-20 try to throw cold water on commodities? GATA receives a letter from the Fed…And Now… Today’s Pfennig

Good day… And a Thunderin’ Thursday to you! It’s Thundering and raining here, so I felt that naming today a “Thunderin’ Thursday” was bang on! We had a wild and wacky Wednesday yesterday, with the Fed Heads playing the part of the court jester… And… I want to know, right here, right now, why the media isn’t blasting Fed Head Honcho Big Ben Bernanke! I’ll tell you why they should be, in a minute…

OK… As I said, we had a wild and wacky Wednesday yesterday, as

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Non-dollar currencies give back very little…The Unemployed are remaining unemployed… FOMC puts away the board games today… China invokes a “Public Morals” defense…

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The dollar pushes back! FOMC plays battleship? Norges Bank meets this week…Precious metals give back too…And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Good day… And a Marvelous Monday to you! Here we go… Starting a new week all over again… I have a blank page to start each day, and then 2 hours later… The Fabulous Pfennig! A work of art, I must say! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Well… Recall on Friday, I said that the non-dollar currencies would probably just follow whatever the stocks did, since the data cupboard was empty? Well, the non-dollar currencies didn’t even follow that theme, as stocks pretty much wallowed around in the mud all day… The dollar began to push back at the gains the other currencies had made during

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Currencies rally on Retail Sales! China likes investments in Canada…Big Ben the “inflation fighter”…Gold climbs to $1,018! And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Good day… And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! Good news for me this morning, the pain in my left knee has subsided… Now, If I could just get that swelling to go down, I’d be in tall cotton! This has been quite the ordeal on the old Pfennig writer, and one that I will be glad to put in the rear view mirror!

Well… When I turned on the currency screens this morning, the euro was trading with a 1.47 handle! WOW! It just skipped to my Lou right through the 1.46 handle, eh? It began yesterday afternoon, the dollar was getting sold on the news of a strong Retail Sales figure, more on that in

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Currencies give back ground overnight…  Don’t look too closely at U.S. data…  India posts strong GDP…  Lots O’-data this week! And Now… Today’s Pfennig! Good day… And a Marvelous Monday to you! A Wonderful Weekend was enjoyed by your Pfennig writer, with good friends, and Chamber of Commerce weather, on a beautiful lake! It’s back to work today though. I don’t understand why I didn’t plan on taking today and staying an additional day at that beautiful lake! Oh well… Time to go to work!

When I signed off on Friday morning, the currencies were enjoying a very nice rally, which remained in place the rest of the day. The Consumer Income and Spending data was very much as I describe it would be, and so there was no surprise for the markets to deal with. You may recall, that I told you that Spending would be greater than Income, as the “Cars for Clunkers”

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President Obama has decided to reappoint Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to a second term. On balance, I think this is the right move. In many ways, his reappointment makes more sense than his original appointment. The worst marks against Bernanke’s record come from when he was serving on the Fed board under Alan Greenspan, did nothing to stop the bubble forming and was almost willfully blind in seeing it coming. While as Chairman, he was a little slow off the mark in addressing the crisis, once engaged he took the needed steps to pull the world back from the brink of the abyss. The role of Fed Chairman has two major components. First and foremost, he (along with the board of Governors) is responsible for monetary policy. This is the raising and lowering of the Fed Funds rate and regulating the overall money supply. On that ...