Listen to Jim Rogers

It is worth watching Cavuto on Business from time to time, if for no other reason than to listen to Jim Rogers. Sometimes you wonder why he bothers - his wealth and market knowledge are clearly multiples of the combined wealth and knowledge of all the other guests, and there are times when he seems irritated with some of the dumb things they say.

We'll get to Ben Stein in a minute.

Rogers went to Yale and Oxford, then made many millions of dollars with George Soros back in the seventies, then semi-retired in 1980 at age 38 to travel the world and occasionally teach. He has a fascination with bowties, his own wiki page, and has penned three excellent books:

• Investment Biker : On the Road with Jim Rogers (1994)
• Adventure Capitalist: The Ultimate Road Trip (2003)
• Hot Commodities : How Anyone Can Invest Profitably in the World's Best Market (2004)

The world's best known commodity bull, he founded the Rogers Raw Materials Fund in 1998 which has beaten nearly every other market index since its inception. Despite some recent problems with the Refco debacle, it seems destined for continued gains in the years ahead.

In last weekend's program, there were some particularly interesting exchanges between Jim Rogers and both Ben Stein and Gary Kaultbaum - they are related here.

On the potential impact of current White House and Republican party problems on the stock market:

Ben Stein: But it has nothing to do with the stock market. This market is undervalued. As the price of oil subsides, as the price at the pumps subside, this market is ever more of a buy.

Jim Rogers: Quite to the contrary Ben, as much as I love you like a father. The market is going to be down this year for it's own reasons - you say the market depends on earnings and interest rates, and you're exactly right. It's going to be down this year, and it's going to be worse next year, and part of the problems in Washington are going to contribute to the decline next year as well.

While Ben may be good with trivia, he does seem to have selective memory - his book from just a few years ago, Yes, You Can Time The Market, made a rather compelling case that stocks, in general, should be avoided for the foreseeable future. Now he seems to be spouting the supply side mantra at every opportunity, bullish on the market as a whole, with a mild obsession with energy stocks (the part about energy stocks is completely understandable).

On the health of the economy:

Stein: There's a big story out there, which is that the Federal Reserve thinks the economy is too strong. You're asking if it's going to falter and become too weak. The Federal Reserve thinks it's too strong and that aggregate demand is too powerful. They've got a big staff of economists headed by a very smart guy. They're saying White House problems or no White House problems, this economy is very, very strong.

Rogers: Ben, what more do you need to know? You get your advice from the Federal Reserve? Those guys have never gotten it right and they're wrong again. The economy is slowing down and it's going to be slower next year, and we'll probably have a recession next year.

Stein: Well the data is not that it's slowing down, with all due respect, the data was weak the quarter before this, the data this quarter is quite good. And I'm sorry, I know your intuitions are quite good and they've made you a rich man, but if they were perfect, you'd be richer than Warren Buffet.

Neil Cavuto: He is richer than Warren Buffet.

Ben's problem here is the same problem that millions of other Americans have - believing the government's economic statistics and hence mistaking grotesque Frankensteinian economic growth with that of a healthy economy. He believes the preliminary GDP growth of 3.8% reported last Friday is a sign that all is well, that recent employment gains are broad-based, and that inflation is under control.

Jim doesn't believe any of this - he knows better.

While Ben thinks about these last two exchanges, Gary Kaultbaum makes the mistake of recommending banking shares:

Gary Kaultbaum: If there's any one group I like right now it's PNC bank, the financials, PNC bank is breaking out to new highs for whatever reason the group is getting great money flows and I think there's a lot more to go from here.

Rogers: For what it's worth Gary, I'm short money center banks, I'm not short PNC, I have no position at all, but I think you're on the wrong side - finance is not the place to be.

Cavuto: Because interest rates are rising?

Rogers: Interest rates are rising, that's where all the speculation has been, there are gigantic derivative problems in the financial community, all of this is going to fall apart.

Gary might be better to go with some obscure natual resource company next time, so as not to be made such a fool. It should be pointed out however, that Jim's track record with shorting is not very good, once commenting that, "The only thing that goes straight up are my shorts" - maybe PNC is worth a look after all.

On the Bernanke appointment:

Rogers: Well, helicopter Ben Bernanke was appointed head of the Federal Reserve. He is as bad if not worse than Greenspan. Wer'e going to suffer the demise of the Federal Reserve, under this guy. It's really Greenspan's fault, but Bernanke is just as bad, so the two of them have ruined it.

Stein: Well, first of all Alan Greenspan is the best central banker that's ever been in the history of central banking by far, and, second, the inflation jitters are going to come out of the economy very soon as we see the effect of declining oil, natural gas, and gold prices. And, the market will see that and rally strongly.

Rogers: I hate to say it Ben, Greenspan is going to go down as one of the worst central bankers in the history of the country.

Stein: No, he has presided over a long period of financial growth with low price variance and that's very, very rare. OK, who would you say was a better central banker?

Rogers: Volcker was much better; the guy in the sixties was much better.

With near-endless yammering on about the virtues of our current Fed Chairman, Ben Stein reveals himself as another Greenspan sycophant in the mold of George Will and Alan Blinder - somebody, please (start echo chamber sound effect) Take Away Ben Stein's Microphone.

It is clear what makes Jim Rogers so likeable - he is negative about all the things that should be treated with disdain, and he is wildly bullish about things that one should be bullish about - commodities. He has the sensibilities of one who is not easily fooled and does not go with the crowd - he is refreshing to watch from time to time.

Listen to Jim Rogers.