Thanks for reading and commenting, Tony. The Fed's not so much attempting to artificially prop up the housing market here, as to solve gridlock that benefits no one but landlords. The problem is that a sizable subset of potential buyers can't sell because they're underwater and that even many of those not so burdened can't qualify for credit, while millions of homes sit vacant. That's a broken market clogged by the fallout from the housing bust rather a functioning one waiting for lower prices to clear.
Thanks for reading the article. Not really a thought experiment for me. In 2002, Warren Buffett and some others bought Level 3 convertibles on favorable terms and Buffett trumpeted the value proposition of a co run by a friend. The stock ran up even though Bufffett got himself the usual sweetheart deal with a well-marked exit. I called him out on that, he eventually cashed out and the stock soon tanked again.
Index Funds Aren't Worth The Trouble [View article]
Thanks for reading. I don't actually think that index funds "aren't worth the trouble," as the editor's headline has it. I do suggest that by leaving asset allocation to an index committee that makes changes infrequently one contributes to market inefficiencies others might possibly capitalize one. Whether a particular investor can do successfully is a different matter.
The Fed Takes Aim At Housing [View article]
4 Questions For David Einhorn [View article]
Index Funds Aren't Worth The Trouble [View article]
Dropping The Dime On J.C. Penney [View article]
Egypt Today, Saudi Arabia Tomorrow? [View article]