Why Doom And Gloom?

I'm a little bit surprised by doom and gloom in financial press right now. Yes, we are definitely in slowdown. Yes, $4 gas is biting (but I traveled to Europe in April and gas was just under $8 there, and people still were driving around). But, we are not in recession yet! We are yet to see a quarter of falling output. I'm not Larry Kudlow, I can't say that everything is great all around. But come on! Unemployment is still low, inflation is still low, there are plenty of opportunities around. Let's work, let's make money, and yes, let's have a lot of fun! Stop talking about thrift, forget about austerity. Life is way too short to spend even one day in gloom, money is not a goal, it's a tool to make your life better! Don't pay attention to puritans around, they are dead wrong! Drink good wine or beer (just don't drive after), kiss your mate, eat great food, whatever your taste. Wear beautiful clothes, beautify your life, be happy! Enough whining!

Today was awful. Tomorrow is another day. I'm looking at my shopping list, and maybe it's time to buy something. Don't know what is it, playing this year by ear.

Couple more words on AT&T and Verizon. There was one more article on Saturday, citing loss of landline subscribers (here). I disagree. FiOS costs more than landline, and if Verizon can get one FiOS subscriber for three lost landline ones, it'll break even. It's not reality, it's perception. Telcos are raking money, pay big dividend, but market pushes stocks down, and risk is way too high. We'll see.