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Introduction

Monday holidays always cut into our writing time, so this week we have elected to reprint one of the more interesting articles I have read recently.  I think you will like it unless you are a big Obama fan, in which case, you’ll probably find it disappointing.  In any event, I think this piece is spot-on as we close in on the mid-term elections.

Following that article, I will update you on the performance of Hg Capital’s Long/Short Government Bond Program which has continued its winning ways in 2010 following its record year in 2009.

I felt really bad about sending out last week's E-Letter in which I predicted that we will face another serious financial crisis and perhaps another depression sometime in the next several years. But later that same day, the latest poll by Fox News/Opinion Dynamics showed that 79% of registered voters believe that an economic collapse is still possible. 84% of Republicans, 80% of Independents and 71% of Democrats all agree that the worst may not be over. Obviously, there are a LOT of Americans that agree with me that Obama's trillion-dollar deficits and the skyrocketing national debt represent the biggest threat to our economic and financial futures.

This week, we take a look at the latest economic reports, most of which suggest that growth this year will fall well short of the 5.6% rise in GDP in the 4Q. We also review the recent actions in the stock and bond markets, both of which have had their share of surprises. And finally, we will review how the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office 'scores' major pieces of legislation in terms of their overall cost. You may be surprised to learn that Congress can game the system and get just about any CBO score they want - as was the case with ObamaCare.

This Thursday, all eyes will be on the 'advance' estimate of 3Q GDP, and most analysts expect it to be positive and confirm that the US economy emerged from the recession in the July-September quarter. Yet even if the GDP report is positive on Thursday, we all know that the unemployment rate (currently 9.8%) continues to rise and is likely to go up for at least several more months.

If the government counted everyone who is unemployed, or is working part-time because they can't find a full-time job, the real US unemployment rate was 17% as of the end of September. So even if the recession 'officially' ended in the 3Q based on this Thursday's GDP report, this economy is far from out of the woods. And if the dollar continues to fall, even more dire consequences (ie - a double-dip recession) are likely to follow. It's a lot to cover in one letter, so let's get started.

Last Friday's better than expected GDP report has caused many forecasters to declare that the recession is ending. While I would say that it is still too early to declare that the recession is ending, the latest data strongly suggests that we've seen the worst of this recession and the credit crisis. Even if the recession is ending, economic growth going forward is likely to remain disappointing since the unemployment rate will continue higher for some time to come. We will look at the latest economic numbers and draw some conclusions as we go along. We will also look at the latest survey of over 100 large hedge fund managers and what they predict for the economy, stocks, interest rates, etc. It all should make for interesting reading.