NASDAQ RIP

#297 NASDAQ, RIP

As of now, no one’s making much of a fuss over this, which is surprising.

NASDAQ used to stand for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations. Now it stands for National Asset Sold to Dubai And Qatar.

When Dubai, Inc. tried to take over the running of American shipping ports, the cry went out and got so loud the White House had to kill the deal. A meaningless exercise because the Dubies or whatever you call them, wouldn’t have been able to touch security, which was the fear.

Now, these two sandbox countries have acquired 20 percent of NASDAQ. No biggie, right?

Suppose you controlled 20 percent of the vote in Congress, or 20 percent of the Exxon stock. You’d be a force to be reckoned with.

Twenty percent is what they’re telling us, anyway. That twenty could easily grow.

Let’s assume the Dubies and the Qatar-master corps are people of good will and just like the idea of playing with American securities. Let’s forget the notion that a clever outlander with a wad of stock and a wad of cash can do all kinds of things with the numbers, the flow of capital and the timing of trades. Let’s just assume they wouldn’t try.

So then, maybe, Iran decides it wants to expand its own sandbox and conquers these two little feudal states. THEN who controls NASDAQ?

Or maybe it’s not Iran. Maybe it’s China or Russia. Or India or Pakistan.

Not a pretty picture.

But where’s all the righteous indignation and protest?

You’d think the Wall Street types would be staging huge public demonstrations. There’d be a vast and broad-based torrent of telegrams (do they still have telegrams?) and e-mails to everyone who has any interest in keeping our institutions and the internal review processes in-house?

Where are the big shots from the big companies that trade on this exchange? Where’s Microsoft? Where’s Liberty Media? Where’s American Railcar? No one’s complaining.

Where are the right wing, God-fearing Anti-Arab pundits?

Where are the economists? The computer geniuses? The Grand Protectors of the American Dream? The crusading journalists? The FINANCIAL journalists?

We didn’t squawk to loud when Daimler took over Chrysler, but cheered when they made a mess of it and ended their occupation. We didn’t even squawk when Dubai Inc bought Barney’s New York. If they want Armani suits and Versace ties, fine.

But we ought to be squawking now. Before they set their sights on something REALLY important. Like Lockheed or Citicorp. Or MIT or Brooklyn.

I'm Wes Richards, my opinions are my own, but you're welcome to them.

(c) 2007 WJR