Fed governor Jerome Powell is living proof that we are heading for another calamitous financial meltdown. This clueless monetary apparatchik averred yesterday that the Wall Street casino is in the pink of good health with no evidence of irrational exuberance in sight. Said the former LBO guy from Carlyle Group,
‘Things are fully priced, but I really don’t see bubble territory,’ Powell said. ‘I can’t say we’re at significant risk of financial instability.’
Maybe he should glance at the financial papers, starting with the Merger Monday stories. Comes word this week that two more bloated debt zombies plan to mate – – and their financials scream nothing less than bubble mania.
To wit, Energy Transfer Equity (ETE), which has a TEV (total enterprise value of market equity plus debt) of $89 billion, plans to acquire Williams Companies (WMB), which sports a TEV of $79 billion. Needless to say, this is not about smart new technology or some other cutting edge mousetrap. The resulting TEV of $168 billion – -or a tad less than the GDP of Greece’s woebegone 11 million citizens – – is all about rolling-up dumb old technology into a bigger bundle.
This post was published at David Stockmans Contra Corner by David Stockman ‘ June 25, 2015.
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