Jack Lew - better buy gold?

Review & Outlook: The Rookie - WSJ.com: " . . . Mr. Lew's confirmation hearing was a substance-free zone, including his own job history. He was a senior executive at the giant failing bank (Citigroup) before and during the financial crisis, but over several hours Wednesday he gave the impression he was there mostly to cash a paycheck. And when Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) ticked off the problems that afflicted the two Citi divisions that Mr. Lew oversaw as chief operating officer, the nominee seemed to know less about them than Mr. Hatch. "I don't recall specific conversations" about any of several Citi-run hedge funds that were imploding at the time, said Mr. Lew. "I was aware there were funds that were in trouble." Citigroup funds with high leverage crashed and burned, requiring a taxpayer bailout while sparking fierce debates at Citi over whether customers had been adequately informed. But the COO who oversaw legal affairs for some of these units says he formed no opinion. . . . "

Just another example of dysfunctional Washington. No wonder the Wall Street Journal article cited above ran the subtitle "If there's a crisis on Jack Lew's Treasury watch, buy gold."

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