Limping along
This is in the way of an explanation and an apology. An apology to regular readers of Oligopoly Watch for my inattention in recent weeks and an explanation of why I have managed to avoid updating during some of the most turbulent and interesting world markets ever.
First, the simple issue. A few weeks ago, I underwent a full knee replacement (my second). I've been home from my regular job, but the combination of soreness and Percocet have made writing anything hard to imagine. The recovery is going nicely, I'm cutting (gradually) back on pain-killers, and am ready to get back on the writing chair, leg propped up
But surveying the accumulated pain is not easy. Up until now, my look at oligopolies and how they operate has basically been like critiquing a game. There were winners and losers, but as long as the ten plus year confidence game of acquisitions and deacquistions kept spinning, the real human pain had limits.
But the spectacular disappearances of trillions of dollars, the crash of markets across the globe, and the disastrous loss of retirement savings have been appalling. The abrupt switch from market fundamentalism to corporate socialism has been all too painless. Frankly, my mind is still spinning, and I distrust any glib affirmations by those who (almost everyone) were cheerleading the bubbles for years.
While the markets have been hit with a firestorm and the landscape is seemingly totally rearranged, the basic behaviors we have been tracking are all in play: even more acquisitions as the principle of "too big to fail" has been repeatedly verified; the desire to keep the once "Big Three" of the us auto business alive; the incredible power of those that have cash (sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East) and the opportunity to buy; and the rise and fall of great companies.
I'll get back on the beat, but I've used the time to think a little about the major changes in corporate power and the naked way in which national governments are manipulated to maintain that power. No doubt I'll be walking straight long before the economy is.
12:52:48 PM 
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