Investing Caffeine

Stewart Makes Skewered Beck-Kebabs

December 15, 2009 at 2:00 am 2 comments

Since Fox news-host, Glenn Beck, has been peddling death and destruction, John Stewart, host of the The Daily Show, decided to dish out some devastation of his own to Mr. Beck by skewering him on several issues. Specifically, Stewart questions whether Beck’s Armageddon view on the economy may be influenced by an economic conflict of interest in gold (not just a political axe to grind)?

Beck on Gold

View The Daily Show Clip on Glenn Beck

As the third party mentions, “If you are worried about worrying, you go out and you buy gold.”

Is Glenn Beck a worried, gold lover? (see other IC articles: Gold #1 & Gold #2) Well, judging by the seven responses of Beck specifically spouting out “gold”, along with his panic-filled quotes, I would say “yes”:

• “America is burning down to the ground!”
• “Here are the three scenarios that we could be facing: recession, depression, or collapse.”
• “Here’s our second scenario: global civil unrest.”
• “You are the protector of liberty. You are the guardian of freedom.”

If these feelings were not enough, Beck also goes on to compare the country’s situation to Nazi Germany.

Do any of these issues worry you? Well if they do, then good for gold prices and good also for Glenn Beck, because he is a paid spokesman for Goldline.com, a site that sells gold.

This is how John Stewart boils down the incestuous relationship between Fox, Goldline.com, and Beck:

“This is a kinda nice feedback loop.  Glenn Beck is paid by Goldline to drum up interest in gold, which increases in value during times of fear, an emotion reinforced nightly on Fox by Glenn Beck. Alright, I’m almost sold. Fox is vouching for Beck, and Beck is vouching for Goldmine.”

Gold Pricing & Demand

With gold prices setting new all-time highs earlier this month, one might expect gold demand to be sky-rocketing…actually not. Just last month, the World Gold Council said gold demand totaled 800.3 tons in Q3, down -34% year-over-year. What’s more, the supply of gold inventories is at record highs (Comex) and mining production rose +6% over the same time period. Generally speaking, economics would say the combination of these factors would be a bad formula for prices.

Beck and the CEO of Goldmine.com use inflation adjusted prices based on the last $850/oz. peak in 1980 to rationalize $2,000/oz+ targets for gold. If that’s the case then I guess NASDAQ targets of 10,000 (2x of the 5,000 year 2000 peak) shouldn’t be out of the question either (the index currently trades around  2,190)? In the meantime, I’ll let the speculative gold dust settle and comfortably watch from the sidelines.

Source: InvestmentTools.com

Hemorrhoid Hypocrisy on Healthcare

In an earlier The Daily Show episode, Stewart questions the consistency of Beck’s changing views on healthcare. So which one is it? Is it the best healthcare program in the world, or the one that doesn’t care for Glenn Beck and the “schlubs that are just average working stiffs?”

In creating a feeling of alarm regarding healthcare reform, here’s what Beck had to say in the middle of the healthcare reform debate:

• “You’re about to lose the best healthcare system in the world.”
• “America already has the best healthcare in the world. We do take care of our sick.”

Rewind 16 months earlier upon completion of Beck’s hemorrhoid surgery:

• “Getting well in this country, can almost kill you.”
• “No matter how much the health care system would try to keep me down, I’m back.”

See Daily Show Clip on Healthcare and Glenn Beck

All this bickering can upset your stomach, but after John Stewart’s skewering of Glenn Beck, I have this sudden urge for shish kebabs. Bon appétit until next time…

Wade W. Slome, CFA, CFP®

Plan. Invest. Prosper. 

www.Sidoxia.com

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Entry filed under: Profiles, Themes - Trends. Tags: Daily Show, Fox, Glen Beck, Glenn Beck, gold, goldline.com, healthcare, John Stewart, reform.