NEW YORK New York (Texas Insider Report) The recent events in Charlottesville exhibit the first rule of military strategy. If not possessing the stronger force divide from within.
The categories or standards for this confrontation were loosely defined: Alt-Right Alt-Left Alt-Light Chuck Social Justice Warriors (SJW) Blood & Soul White Nationalist Antifa Globalist and/or just frustrated. Self-selection leaves no one division strong enough to dominate the resulting chaos at all with so many political points on the compass.
Leaderless each group relies upon social media for information and support. Before this form of communication marvel there was no knowledge beyond the dinner table that others shared similar convictions. What is troubling is how passionate to their cause each sub-division has become.
Where are the leaders? Not in the rear-guard as in the past when partisan forces appeared. Rather they stand aloof favoring a failed political agenda.
On the left advocating income equality diversity expansion of the government safety net and health care for all are the traditional Democrats. On the right the Republicans struggle to unite to undo the 
themes of the O-B-Wan years: health care environment protection global warming and an end to the mommy state". Until there is an election of national importance no one is sure how this loose conglomeration of factions may unify.
The replacement contests in Alabama and Nevada have given poor guidance. Turn out is or has been exceedingly low in the Special Elections so far this year. Estimates suggest less than 10 of potential voters are making the effort. The people have taken to the streets to make their feelings known. The voting booth may be too quiet a forum for protest.
- What do these names have in common: Mike Dubke Sean Spicer Anthony Scaramucci Steve Bannon Mike Flynn James Carney? They were all fired by the Trumpster.
- What do these names have in common: Ken Frazier Brian Kizzanich Alex Gorsley Greg Hayes Kevin Plank Bob Igar Scott Awl. They all resigned from The White House Business Advisory Panel before they were fired. The Trumpster bends a knee to no man.
telling.
Rather than regulatory relief the watch word out of Washington D.C. is withdrawal and relaxation. Few actual attempts have been forthcoming to eliminate or roll back the restrictions and constraints put in place over the past 7 years that have burdened the economy. Rather there is now a lack of effort to vigorously apply them.
Business leaders have quickly responded. Mergers to improve market share are now common. Efforts to reduce cost at the expense of labor and product line are making the news daily. Under Obama any move in this direction was met with an armful of regulatory reviews and often ended up in a judicial challenge. All intersection signs that read Yield" were replaced with those that read Stop".
You could say the people had a voice but in the end business was denied opportunity to act in its own best interest. A platform was available to any challenger on almost any grounds. The fact that the DFA rules that bind financial intermediaries are still in place should not be forgotten. Until these shackles are modified or rescinded access to credit will be constrained.
We now face a conundrum of unimpressive GDP growth while the stock market races ahead. Maybe the fault lies in the use of an inappropriate model to foresee the economy. Just as the Federal Reserves Open Market Committee (FOMC) has acknowledged that their formula to guide us away from inflation has proved faulty the same may hold true for that used to 
manage the economy.
The period of recent history that exhibited above par growth corresponded with uncontrolled credit allocation and capital markets that prospered packaged all this into securities promising high yields with low risk. Structured protection turned out to be worthless defaults rampaged the credit markets.
Today there is a case on point: Fiat-Chrysler has an arrangement with a bank to fund car loans. Dealers want to sell cars not make loans. There is no credit check nor verification of documents (the return of the Ninja loan). Cars are selling and the default percentage is rising. The bank has packaged the loans into high yield securities. At some point the investor will recognize that a search for yield comes with risk. Nationally 3.8 of the $1.2 trillion in auto loans are in immediate default. And Ford Motors recently reported they will seek out sub-prime borrowers to buy their bloated inventory of automobiles. The World is in a sorry state. Brexit is not the only force that has initiated unpredictability. With the general elections in Germany coming soon Ms. Merkel is not the sure winner right now. Mario Draghi of the European Central Bank (ECB) has yet to show his cards as his authority to continue his
interpretations of qualitative easing comes to an end. The ECB portfolio is about $2.7 trillion the FOMC portfolio is about $4.5 trillion. The Bank of Japans portfolio is larger than both combined.
Federal Reserve Bank chairwoman Janet Yellens term expires soon in the New Year. The recent collapse of the Presidents strategies and policy forums left one man standing: Gary Cohn a potential candidate to replace Janet as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Whether he will still be there come the turn into the New Year is a betting mans game.
This message will not have been received before the dark force of the moon has blanketed the recuperative powers of the Sun Goddess reminding us all once again how transitory our lives are here on earth. In the words of the Maester Do good while you can and stay out of harms way".
Or in the words of Lamont Cranston: Who knows what evil lurks in the minds of man? The Shadow knows!!
I look forward to the next time I can share some thoughts and observations with you. Feel free to share this missive with anyone you believe might have an interest. It is written from my point of view about topics I 
find interesting and I dont expect readers to agree with me even half the time.
Marc L. Flaster has advised financial institutions across Texas in balance sheet management for over 35 years. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any client or organization with which Marc L. Flaster might be affiliated. Readers are advised to complete their own due diligence and analysis prior to taking any actions based upon my economic and political views.
