The Financial Crisis…Connecting the Dots.
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
For those of you who still wonder how our nation finds itself entangled in this current financial crisis, I want to share the following video which I believe very accurately connects the dots. I would encourage you to watch this video in its entirety, and then forward it on to others. The most important Presidential election in recent history is right around the corner, and your vote matters. I would ask you not to fall prey to the political rhetoric and gamesmanship, not succumb to panic, not to listen to media bias, and not to acquiesce to pressure from the politically correct. This country cannot afford more of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Barney Frank. This country can not afford one day of Barrack Obama in the White House. This country needs the real leadership of John McCain.
I wasn’t sure Congress had the intestinal fortitude to do it, but the House did step-up and reject the proposed Bailout plan today…Much to the chagrin of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Barney Frank, the majority of Republicans and 95 Democrats actually listened to the American people and said no to the Bailout. My hope in our elected representatives (at least some of them) has been temporarily restored. The Republicans have an alternate plan that will be put forth later this week that will more closely represent the “workout” I’ve described in previous posts than the Bailout that was killed earlier today. With your continued phone calls and e-mails to your representatives inside the Beltway we can avoid a disastrous Bailout and actually force Wall St. to pay for their own mistakes. Don’t give up the battle…For those who are fearful about the markets reaction today, I’ve outlined a few thoughts on the following page for your consideration…
Today’s post is a response to numerous e-mails asking me if I would provide an analysis of the McCain, Obama Presidential Debate. While the spin and hype leading up to the debate, and the ads released immediately after the debate, may have been more interesting than the debate itself, I found the outcome of tonight’s mental chess game to be fairly predictable. Not surprisingly both campaigns are claiming sweeping victories, and the media is portraying the debate as a draw. In the text that follows I’ll provide not only my analysis on the candidate’s individual performances, but also on the realities of Presidential debates themselves…
Will today’s meetings in Congress produce a Bailout, or will the end result be just another cobbled together train wreck in the making? Is the Bailout a prudent step forward for our nation, or is it just another band-aid solution forestalling the inevitable? So, will Congress agree to a deal today? If so, will it be the right deal? Will it work? If not, what will be the market ramifications? In today’s post I’ll provide you with my thoughts on the aforementioned questions, as well as put forth some economic observations and alternatives for your consideration…
Rogue CEOs…given the recent failure of banks and financial institutions previously thought to be untouchable, there has been a tremendous amount of justifiable venom being spewed at the CEOs of these firms. Their ignorance, and in some cases their arrogance, allowed these rogue CEOs to operate outside of normal business rules, conduct self-serving agendas, and partake in self-dealing transactions all while receiving outrageous compensation. Before I go any further, let me state that I believe we should understand that the overwhelming majority of CEOs operate within the bounds of reason and ethics consistently placing stakeholder interests ahead of their own. The real question we should be asking is where were the boards of directors during this period of mismanagement? You see it is the board who is responsible for holding the chief executive accountable. Even where you have a CEO who is inclined to misbehave, an actively engaged board of directors simply won’t allow it to happen. In todays post I’ll examine the role of the board of directors in keeping CEOs accountable… 
I have been flooded by e-mails today asking for my thoughts on yesterday’s financial news. Lehman goes BK, Merrill Lynch is bought by Bank of America, the Dow closes down more than 500 points, AIG is on the brink of failure, so what’s next? My message is this; don’t panic…plan. Those of you who are frequent readers of this blog know that I predicted these financial events all the way back in 2006, provided subsequent updates and warnings in 2007, and have offered cautionary remarks this year as well. By way of background I invite you to read: “
Take it from a top CEO Coach…Blogging for CEOs is becoming a bigger issue with each passing day. Today’s Myatt on Mondays question comes from a CEO who asks: “I’m interested in Blogging, but my board doesn’t want me to Blog…is Blogging effective for CEOs?” The discussion over whether or not CEOs should Blog is not a new one. The stance of the risk adverse is that there is little to be gained, but much to be lost with regard to CEO Blogging initiatives. Proponents of CEO Blogging believe the Blogosphere provides the CEO with the ultimate platform to evangelize the corporate brand, and to effectively communicate across multiple constituencies. In today’s post I’ll share my thoughts on the current state of Blogging as well as my argument in support of CEO Blogging initiatives…