Markets fall as all signs point to Q3 recession

The only good news out there is that the credit markets are moving again and that is not to be dismissed considering how locked up they were last week around the world. Helping open up credit was and is a great idea and it's something that should have been done sooner, but hey, it's done. However, this still does not help the underlying problems with the economy. The Fed is reporting weak economic activity across the US and in all likelihood Q3 will report barely positive growth at best but more likely, contraction. Consumers are shutting down and even the Christmas season won't help so Q4 will also very likely be negative. Moving into 2009 only eternal optimists are seeing a rosy outlook as the next President will have to quickly roll out a plan to get the system back on its feet.

We are here today because of bad Republican policy that they insisted was necessary ever since Reagan. They got their wish list and their friends had a field day. It's bad enough to think about McCain handling the economy as we near the official start of the recession but heaven forbid it would be Palin. Neither have shown an ounce of competence and can only regurgitate the same tired old lines about freeing up business from the constraints of regulation, as if too much regulation has been the issue.

Republicans will blame Bernanke or Paulson for every drop in the market but make no mistake, the bigger drop is all about the Republicans. I have no love for either Bernanke or Paulson but they are hardly the architects of the system that brought us here. The architects are the Republicans. Period.