Somali Pirates to Acquire Citigroup: A Cliff Notes Summary of Our Times

My friend Tom Barrack of Colony Capital sent me a recent article of his with the headline Today’s Debt is Equity plus A Few Suggestions to Help President-Elect Obama Ease the Pain. He bullet pointed the latest events pertaining to the economy--twenty two of them--and I realized that at any other time, just a few of these would be huge topics in themselves. It’s a good indication of how alert we need to be right now.

His Cliff Notes summary: Real estate is experiencing a seismic liquidity shock as a result of a complete closure of the credit and capital markets for both debt and equity. CRE (commercial real estate) and the debt which fueled its growth are in a massive meltdown.

Then he adds: And just when we thought that all of the unpredictables had passed--a tribe of African pirates in speed boats hijack a Saudi tanker for ransom--a satirical headline read: “Somali Pirates in Discussions to Acquire Citigroup.”

All this and pirates too. Somehow it helps to know the world hasn’t changed all that much if pirates are still out there doing their thing. That’s one take on it. The other take is that vigilance is certainly necessary in every walk or strait of life. Let’s take the approach of famed hockey player Wayne Gretsky: Go where the puck is going, not where it is.

That’s an easy visual for being prescient. I had predicted this situation two years ago, although the perfect storm that resulted from the credit concerns is most likely more than anyone could have expected. My Cliff Notes Summary is this: Look at thesolution, not the problem. Focus on the positives--but don’t forget the pirates--and  listen to guys like Tom Barrack, a great investor with great visions of what the world will be in the future.

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