BREAKING NEWS<> FAT CATS SLAMMED OUT OF CITI, GOVERNMENT TAKES BIGGER STAKE

*CITIBANK'S CITICORP SHARES PLUMMET IN PRE-MARKETS TO NEW LOWS, CAUSING FUTURES TO SINK DEEPER
*GOVERNMENT TO REVAMP CITI BOARD, TAKES LARGER STAKE BY CONVERSION OF PREFERREDS
*MOVE SEEN AS THWARTING A RUN ON THE BANK
FEBRUARY'S POINT DECLINE FOR DOW, WORST ON RECORD. DOW NOW STANDS AT 50 PERCENT LOSS FROM ALL TIME HIGH. THE REAL ECONOMIST OF ASTORIA, OFFICIALLY DECLARES THE WINTER AD 2008 TO AD 2009 AS THE WORST IN THE LAST FEW DECADES.
ASTORIA, NEW YORK
Another friday, another down day for the Dow. February closes with the Dow just above the 7000 area. The major culprit was Citicorp (C). It was forced to go back to the government and make another deal. The latest one will bring the government's stake in Citi's common to 36 percent. The move will dilute further existing shareholders. This week has seen other bad news including an increase in first time unemployment applications, a decrease in existing home sales and a 5.2 pct decrease of durable orders for January. The real economist believes that March could be a wild one for the markets. "After a dip below the 7000 level, it is possible to see a slim gain for the month if not better. We need to see spring soon ".

BREAKING NEWS<> MARKETS LIFTED BY BERNANKE'S SPEECH, OBAMA COMMITTMENT TO BETTER AMERICA

FIRST EVER STOCK PICK (FOR PROS ONLY) AT WWW.THEREALECONOMIST.BLOGSPOT.COM
Astoria, New York
A speech by Bernanke televised by TV stations across the globe, including the Italian tv station RAI24 news, had the objective of reversing yesterday's losses for the Dow. With Bernanke explaining that the recession could be over in 2009, investors jumped by short covering and snapping up beaten down stocks. As the real economist has foreseen some kind of relief rally this week, he is also concerned by negative news coming from different angles of this battered economy. It's like the Battle of the Bulge, where there are no clear winners, until something drastic happens. Hopefully, it will be on the upside. With Obama reaffirming, tonight, his committment in fixing this financial mess by sacrificing, people are still perplexed in identifying the exact road that Obama will be taking. Will he be more on the hunt for catching fraudulent activities or will he be taxing the rich to cut down the deficit?
The real economist in its first attempt, will make its first micro cap stock pick for pros only. Pros are considered experts and accredited investors. A regular or new investor needs to consult with a financial advisor or an expert to ascertain his risk tolerance and qualification. A pro should also do some due diligence and check reliable sources for additional information regarding the below mentioned company. Prices could fluctuate significantly causing a major gap in value. Bottom fishing and buying at the bid when combined, could prove to be a winning strategy. This is not a solicitation to buy or sell this security but just a stock pick for monitoring purposes only. The following security has the potential to surge on the upside for various reasons. The following security could also collapse and become worthless for unseen reasons too.
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STOCK PICK : GVI SECURITY (GVSS)
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Last Trade:	0.30
Trade Time:	Feb 24

MARKETS EXPECTED TO RISE A BIT AFTER LAST WEEK'S NEW CLOSING LOWS

Astoria, New York
With banks ,such as Citibank (C) and Bank of America (BAC) , getting ripped apart and causing the markets (and the Dow) to sink towards Dow 7,000 , the real economist sees some relief rally in the upcoming week. The implementing of the new stimulus and the effects of it, in the midst of a deteriorating economy, are still puzzling investors across the globe. On a technicality, markets should jump early but then turn cautious awaiting economic news by mid to end of week.
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http://www.economyincrisis.org/?gclid=CL_TocD78ZgCFQwNGgodN3NB1Q
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THE REAL ECONOMIST SEEKS ELECTRONIC SECURITY TO COMBAT FINANCIAL FRAUD

* ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE OF FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS OF $10,000 OR MORE
* MORE EFFICIENT MONITORING OF FINANCIAL COMPANIES WITH MORE THAN 1 MILLION IN ASSETS
* BELIEVES THAT FINANCIAL FRAUD IS EQUAL TO FINANCIAL TERRORISM
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Astoria, New York
Another alleged scandal, involving a Texas billionaire named Stanford, has crossed the wires today. This scandal involved CDs, a safe type of investment. This has shocked many people across the globe. Even though the size of the scheme of 8 billion is far less than Madoff's Ponzi, it has serious ramifications.
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For more information, please click on the following>
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Billionaires-bank-customers-apf-14407193.html

MICRO CAPS HUNTING (Part 2) THE FOUNDER

The beauty about micro caps is that they are easy to understand as compared to the BIG BOYS, the so called Blue Chips, (maybe you can call them Black and Blue Chops these days ). In this session, I want to discuss the difference between the founder and the other guys. The founder and co-founders if more than one, are the people that give light to the corporation, They could be scientists, professors, business owners, real estate tycoons, or just anybody who wants to start a business with the goal of making money. What I have noticed, is that most founders have a better attitude towards their company than the next guy down the block. He/She( or they), will be dedicated to the success of their company more than anybody else. They are dedicated and they devote most of their time to well-being of the company. Once the founder departs, because of sickness or other reason, the guy down the block steps in. He or she will have a different idea about the company. That could translate into an incentive. Will the new person do the job if the price is right? Will he/she be able to bring his friends in so they can raid the company with creative financing? Will he/she be able to run the company down because he has conspired with a competitor? Will he/she be careless and wasteful as long as he/she gets his/her salary, perk and bonuses? Will the accounting be more transparent as it was with the founder, or will it contain more hidden and forbidden liabilities? The good thing about the founder is that he/she will try to create longevity for the company through some sort of nepotism. The successor could be a child, a younger sibling, a spouse, an in-law or more distant relative. The founder, if he succeeds, would be more interested in the development of his/her successor than the other guy. I have seen companies like LMTI that are classical when it comes to this. And this one may involve the entire family. LMTI, known as Laser Master is not a laser but a gift wrap company. The founder has his children working for him, and together they have weathered many storms in protecting this company. Bottom line is that I am not against the other guy. I am just saying that I will favor a company with a founder if I am seeking longevity in a micro cap. The price of a stock could go in many directions, because I consider the stock as the soul of the body, while the company itself, as the body. ((Laser Master (LMTI) is company with its stock quoted on the Nasdaq bulletin board. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. The mentioning of this company was not intended as solicitation to buy or sell this security but for discussion purpose for the blog on MICRO CAPS HUNTING ( the founder). Usually, the risk of investment losses is higher with micro caps than larger and more stable companies. ))

*BREAKING NEWS - OBAMA SIGNS STIMULUS BILL IN DENVER

OBAMA GETS VOTES TO PASS STIMULUS PLAN; WILL SIGN BILL IN NEXT 48 HOURS

THE 787 BILLION STIMULUS PLAN IS MAJOR MILESTONE FOR OBAMA
RESULTS OF OUR RECENT POLL INDICATES STIMULUS WOULD HELP A LITTLE THIS ECONOMY
Astoria, New York
President Obama says that this is not the end of the deep recession but the beginning of the end of it. After debates, some alteration and major opposition from Repubblicans, the new Stimulus Plan has squeaked by the Senate earlier last week, and was passed finally by Congess on Friday. Obama wants to put Americans back to work with a massive infrastructure plan. He also wants to boost new green technologies to alleviate and eventually eliminate dependence on foreign oil. A stimulus break for $400.00 per person and $800.00 per couple is expected to affect 95 percent of Americans. As most top economists say, the Obama Stimulus would only help a little this economy and much more may be needed to bring it back to normal. Therealeconomist ( THE REAL ECONOMIST ) believes that in order to protect property values, governments may need to print more money leading to longer term inflation and the amount of stimuli needed in the U.S. for the next four years, would amount to between 2 to 5 trillions.
(( Top economist LARRY KUDLOW at CNBC believed that the damage was only between 10 to 20 billions (MAY 2008 at the TAGLICH CONFERENCE ))

MINI DEPRESSION VERSUS (GREAT) DEPRESSION

Astoria, New York
Last winter, I had tossed the idea of a possibility of a mini depression looming ahead. During the summer, I was convinced that we were heading towards one. What is the difference between mini and GREAT? A lot. In a Great Depression, people will be struggling to put food on the table. Most banks will be going bankrupt, and urban areas could become vacant lots because there are no jobs available. That doesn't sound nice. It did happen in the Great Depression of the late 20's and early 30's. The inaction of the government as well food shortages and calamaties could create another one. In a mini depression, instead, the government is more efficient in allocating its resources quickly and swiftly to deal with any rising problem. Food is available as well as housing. Credit becomes scarce and unemployment rises due to cost efficiency programs implemented by companies. Today, we have resources that can help us thwart another Great Depression. These resources were not available back then. We have computers that could give us information instantly. We have better technology and communication across agencies. We have security. We have food and transportation availability. We have medical resources availability. We have cooperation among foreign governments. And we have the spirit of moving forward. So, you may ask: " Can we head towards another Great Depression ?" And I would reply: " YES, WE CAN".
But we won't , if we can stick together and we tell the powerful fat cats to do the right thing. Government bailout money to bonuses for the fat cats??? That is a no no. I don't want to think about the idea of those fat cats living 2000 years ago in Rome if they were able to get away with it, if caught.
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ALERT<> SENATE TEST VOTE IN FAVOR OF STIMILUS
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THE NEXT BLOG > MICRO CAPS HUNTING (Part 2 )

THE SENATE READIES TO VOTE ON OBAMA'S ECONOMIC STIMULUS

Markets were higher in the United States and overseas on hope that the stimulus plan would stabilize the economy, but the debate continues on what to do about the bad assets, as well as how to allocate government spending.
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Stay tuned to http://www.therealeconomist.blogspot.com/ for more developments.
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PLEASE VOTE IN THE NEW POLL REGARDING THE STIMULUS. (in the right column) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------->
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THE NEXT BLOG> MINI DEPRESSION VERSUS (GREAT) DEPRESSION
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