You are here
Are foreign central banks and investors tiptoeing away from the dollar?
Citi's Bob Rubin Is Back In The Game;
Politics, that is. He has Kerry's ear, and
that improves the candidate's credibility
By Marcia Vickers
Business Week
October 25, 2004
http://businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_43/b3905097_mz020.htm
On Oct. 12, the eve of the presidential debate
focusing on the economy and other domestic
issues, Robert E. Rubin, who serves as John
Kerry's top economic adviser, says most folks
have no clue who he is. "They don't remember
me. Do you think they do?" he ponders in his
self-effacing way.
Financial types certainly know who Rubin is.
And given the number of TV appearances he
has made lately -- four in the last two weeks
-- the average guy on the street may now
recognize him, too. Rubin, a Citigroup director
and former Treasury Secretary under Bill
Clinton, has been out promoting the paperback
debut of his book, "In an Uncertain World." But
he's using the opportunity to talk up the
Democratic presidential nominee.
Rubin's name is continually invoked on the
campaign trail. During the Oct. 8 debate, even
President George W. Bush mentioned Rubin
when he pooh-poohed Kerry's plan to keep jobs
from going overseas: "Robert Rubin looked at
his plan and said it won't work." Says Rubin:
"Bush misunderstood me. Kerry has his head
on very straight in terms of economic policies."
Whatever the case, having Rubin at Kerry's side
is a good strategy, say experts. Says Greg
Valliere, chief strategist at Charles Schwab
Corp.'s nonpartisan Washington Research Group,
"Rubin absolutely helps the Kerry ticket. He
reminds people of the mid-to-late 1990s, when
investors did well." Indeed, the "Bring back Bob"
chants seem to be getting louder, even from some
Republicans. Says Peter G. Peterson, co-founder
of the Blackstone Group and a longtime Republican:
"He engineered one of the most responsible fiscal
periods in recent American history."
Rubin, 66, is not officially part of the Kerry campaign.
But that doesn't mean he's averse to Kerry-related
close-ups. At the Democratic National Convention
in July he sat next to Teresa Heinz Kerry during her
husband's speech. On Sept. 15, he was with Kerry
at the Detroit Economic Club while the candidate
slammed Bush's policies and spelled out his own.
Says Gene B. Sperling, director of the National
Economic Council under Clinton and part of Kerry's
election team: "When Kerry has to make major
speeches or policy decisions, the senator almost
always asks that Bob be in the room or on the
phone." Rubin says he was holed up with Kerry for
two days this summer and has had countless phone
chats with him since. "He just called me this
weekend," says Rubin.
Kerry and Rubin work well together, but don't agree
on everything. "Kerry is more committed to
middle-class tax cuts than Bob," says a campaign
source. "Bob would rather take the deficit reduction."
No doubt, Rubin is in his element when talking about
reducing the annual budget deficit, now at around
$415 billion. He argues that it will lead to high interest
rates, which will curb investor enthusiasm and put the
brakes on the recovery. And to put it bluntly, Rubin
thinks Bush's tax cuts, especially those for the
wealthiest Americans, stink.
Rubin has his critics. "You need tax cuts to stimulate
investment and jobs," says Stephen Moore, head of the
Washington-based antitax Club for Growth. He adds
that "getting rid of deficits doesn't make interest rates
go down." Others say Rubin closed the budget gap
mainly because of the tech boom, when high
productivity and a bull market powered the economy.
If he helps Kerry win the election, Rubin is likely to
go to Washington as well. "I think he's bored with
what he's doing at Citigroup," says a close business
associate involved in the Kerry campaign. "My sense
is that he really wants to be the next Fed chairman."
Rubin denies this: "My mind isn't there right now."
What about Rubin's record at Citigroup, which has
seen its share of scandals? Critics are dismayed that
he emerged unscathed. A year after he joined in '99,
Rubin made a call to the Treasury Department to
intervene on behalf of Enron Corp. Soon after, Citi
was hit hard by the analyst scandal and had to split
its investment banking and research arms. And
Japanese regulators recently ordered the bank to
shut its private-banking operation because of legal
violations. Says Rubin: "Citigroup has a great
management team. It will work these things out."
Rubin says he has always had a hankering for public
life. If Kerry is elected, folks will likely once again
be reminded just who Bob Rubin is.
----------------------------------------------------
To subscribe to GATA's dispatches, send an e-mail to:
gata-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to:
gata-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------------------------------------------
RECOMMENDED INTERNET SITES
FOR DAILY MONITORING OF GOLD
AND PRECIOUS METALS
NEWS AND ANALYSIS
Free sites:
http://www.cbs.marketwatch.com
http://www.capitalupdates.com/
http://www.silver-investor.com
http://www.thebulliondesk.com/
http://www.goldismoney.info/index.html
http://www.minersmanual.com/minernews.html
http://www.a1-guide-to-gold-investments.com/euro-vs-dollar.html
http://www.investmentrarities.com
http://www.kuik.com/KH/KH.html
(Korelin Business Report -- audio)
http://www.plata.com.mx/plata/home.htm
(In Spanish)
http://www.plata.com.mx/plata/plata/english.htm
(In English)
http://www.resourceinvestor.com/
Subscription site:
http://www.lemetropolecafe.com/
Eagle Ranch discussion site:
http://os2eagle.net/checksum.htm
Ted Butler silver commentary archive:
http://www.investmentrarities.com/
----------------------------------------------------
COIN AND PRECIOUS METALS DEALERS
WHO HAVE SUPPORTED GATA
AND BEEN RECOMMENDED
BY OUR MEMBERS
Blanchard & Co. Inc.
909 Poydras St., Suite 1900
New Orleans, Louisiana 70112
888-413-4653
http://www.blanchardonline.com
Centennial Precious Metals
3033 East 1st Ave., Suite 403
Denver, Colorado 80206
www.USAGold.com
Michael Kosares, Proprietor
US (800) 869-5115
Canada 1-800-294-9462
European Union 00-800-2760-2760
Australia 0011-800-2760-2760
cpm@usagold.com
Colorado Gold
222 South 5th St.
Montrose, Colorado 81401
www.ColoradoGold.com
Don Stott, Proprietor
1-888-786-8822
Gold@gwe.net
El Dorado Discount Gold
Box 11296
Glendale, Arizona 85316
http://www.eldoradogold.net
Harvey Gordin, President
Office: 623-434-3322
Mobile: 602-228-8203
harvey@eldoradogold.net
Investment Rarities Inc.
7850 Metro Parkway
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55425
http://www.gloomdoom.com
Greg Westgaard, Sales Manager
1-800-328-1860, Ext. 8889
gwestgaard@investmentrarities.com
Kitco
178 West Service Road
Champlain, N.Y. 12919
Toll Free:1-877-775-4826
Fax: 518-298-3457
and
620 Cathcart, Suite 900
Montreal, Quebec H3B 1M1
Canada
Toll-free:1-800-363-7053
Fax: 514-875-6484
http://www.kitco.com
Lee Certified Coins
P.O. Box 1045
454 Daniel Webster Highway
Merrimack, New Hampshire 03054
www.certifiedcoins.com
Ed Lee, Proprietor
1-800-835-6000
leecoins@aol.com
Miles Franklin Ltd.
3015 Ottawa Ave. South
St. Louis Park, Minn. 55416
1-800-822-8080 / 952-929-1129
fax: 952-925-0143
http://www.milesfranklin.com
Contacts: David Schectman,
Andy Schectman, and Bob Sichel
Missouri Coin Co.
11742 Manchester Road
St. Louis, MO 63131-4614
info@mocoin.com
314-965-9797
1-800-280-9797
http://www.mocoin.com
Resource Consultants Inc.
6139 South Rural Road
Suite 103
Tempe, Arizona 85283-2929
Pat Gorman, Proprietor
1-800-494-4149, 480-820-5877
Metalguys@aol.com
Swiss America Trading Corp.
15018 North Tatum Blvd.
Phoenix, Arizona 85032
http://www.swissamerica.com
Dr. Fred I. Goldstein, Senior Broker
1-800-BUY-COIN
FiGoldstein@swissamerica.com
----------------------------------------------------
HOW TO HELP GATA
If you benefit from GATA's dispatches, please
consider making a financial contribution to
GATA. We welcome contributions as follows.
By check:
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
c/o Chris Powell, Secretary/Treasurer
7 Villa Louisa Road
Manchester, CT 06043-7541
USA
By credit card (MasterCard, Visa, and
Discover) over the Internet:
http://www.gata.org/creditcard.html
By GoldMoney:
http://www.GoldMoney.com
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
Holding number 50-08-58-L
Donors of $750 or more will, upon request,
be sent a print of Alain Despert's colorful
painting symbolizing our cause, titled "GATA."
GATA is a civil rights and educational
organization under the U.S. Internal Revenue
Code and contributions to it are tax-deductible
in the United States.
