Five for the Weekend #75

Here we go -- five items for your consideration between now and Monday.

• If you've been thinking about donating money to Haitian relief, but aren't sure which organization to give through, consider the Salvation Army. Most of us, when we hear the name "Salvation Army" automatically think of volunteers ringing bells by kettles outside retail stores during the holidays. But from everything I've ever heard, SA is a great organization throughout the entire year. They probably are doing wonderful work transforming lives right in your town as I type this. They also do excellent work with disaster relief. They've been in Haiti since 1950.

• Randall Forsyth wonders on Barron's Online if government bonds aren't "the new junk." And he contends this is the reason for you-know-what's relative strength: "Writing in its Market Intellect research note, Michael Thompson, S&P's managing director of Market, Credit and Risk Strategies, and Robert Keiser, senior director of the unit, contend the strength of gold reflects concerns about sovereign debt and inflation. A move above $1200 an ounce, its peak touched last month before its retreat back to the $1100 range, would signal renewed worries on those scores."

• The Lex column in the Financial Times has an excellent piece on deleveraging that ends with this: "It may be economically and politically sensible for governments to spend money on making life more palatable at the height of the crisis. But the longer countries go on before paying down their debt, the more painful and drawn-out the process is likely to be. Unless, of course, government bond investors revolt and expedite the whole shebang. Wheatgrass juice and alfalfa sprouts, anyone?"

• Staying with the subject of deleveraging and the FT, Gillian Tett has a thoughtful column on how painful the whole process will be: "Either way, the real moral is that the task now facing the western governments is monumental. It is a pity that groups such as McKinsey were not producing these leverage charts three years ago. If so, the politicians might now not be in quite such a pickle, even - or especially - in the UK."

• Reading "Volcker Voices His Views in a Vacuum" in The Wall Street Journal leaves me wondering if we'll look back one day and see that Paul Volcker was used by Obama to attract centrist voters in the presidential election. Just like he may have used Rev. Wright to gain street credentials in Chicago.

Have a great weekend.

Comments

[Bob Gerwig]

Sir: The Salvation Army was always there with coffee and donuts when the GI's returned from overseas (San Francisco and the Brooklyn Naval Yard ) As a retired Chicao Policeman they would always arrive on the scene of large fires, civil disturbances, etc. and hand out food and coffee to the first responders, displaced citizens or anyone who went up to their wagon. When we would do suprise sweeps in the housing projects in search of guns, drugs and wanted offenders, the Salvation Army was there for everyone concered friend or foe. I give most of my charitable donations to them.

[John]

Bob: Thanks for your good words about the Salvation Army, they certainly jive with everything I've ever heard people say about them. I edited out your comments on another charitable organization because I have no way of verifying them. I hope you understand. And thanks for reading the blog.