John Cordes

Wall Street Gets Downbeat on Solar

Gumby, your comment sounds contrived. Solar is like cloud computing. There are utility sized projects, then there is individual sized. The vast majority of Spain's incentives went to individuals. Quite often small plot holders who could utilize a little space to build their own little solar farm. Here in Austin Tx. the city just announced a 30 MW plant, and the city currently cash rebates $4/watt on new commercial and residential installs, exclusive of any federal incentives. That was last year's rebate package, most likely it will get better. That is clearly the trend and it will propagate around the country. Especially when oil starts uptrending. The most popular aspect of President Obama's campaign rhetoric was his promise to instigate renewables as a national priority. Maybe you're long on coal or short on FSLR, I don't know, but your arguements, along with R.MOran's are contrived and counter to the mega-trend or macro tendencies within our society. You can't fight it, and pissing on it will only cause you to miss the next technological trend. All great macro-trends based on technological innovation or application is initially capital intensive. When whale oil was replace by petroleum, railroads, combustion engines, air travel, nuclear power, computing and internet infrastructure. Yet in all cases we cannot imagine life without them and how we could have flourished in their abscence. It becomes intuitive in hindsight. That is the macrotrend of renewable energies you cannot inhibit.

Freeport McMoran: Latest Update Is Reassuring

Good summary. Wish you had a little more detail on currently suspended projects.

Is Nationalization Contagious?

It"s rather amazing to see how many people think that a cataclysm is a viable option. It's almost as though there is a perverse vengence or subtext of hoped for melt down in which all those who are underserving malefactors and the elite will suffer and set the stage for the survivors to ascend. Too many movies and armagedon dwellers I think. It's a particularly American characteristic perhaps, wipe the slate clean, start over, the losers deserve it mentality. I think it's a product of social darwinism and a culture that has insufficient experience with humanistic philosophies and spiritualism. Not a plug for religion, just an observation.

By the way, nationalization is tantamount to a collapse, just more costly to the public. As one poster noted, Obama's team is too smart to do either. Distasteful as it is, we will preserve the big three banks for the sake of the economy, which could not endure another psychological blow of this magnitude nor the financial bomb it would set off. Think of it as you like, either a spider web, a cancer, a root rhizome that goes everywhere and is tangled up with hundreds of corporations and businesses. A bankruptcy of such magnitude is like an emt explosion that frys the infrastructure of everything it touches. Look at what Lehman's collapse did to dozens of otherwise innocent corporations and funds. Magnify that by 50 in the case of CITI or BAC.

So grow up people, it's not a Mad Max movie, it's your society and economy as you know it. No fuzzy, grainy black and white newsreels of hobos and soup lines, but a modern day catastrophy that would produce havoc and wealth destruction that would last for years and most likely change world order politics and our own social fabric. Unless that's what you Mad Maxers think we need.

SPX Corporation: Bring on the Boring Stocks

It's also trading at a very decent PE, relative to the sector and fundementals.

The Crude Oil Contango Trade Drives Up Tanker Rates

Concerning drybulk shippers, it's not the Asian exports erosion that's hurting them, it's the import slow down. Finished goods do not ship on drybulkers and Asia (China) is not exporting raw materials or fertizer.

2009 Market Outlook: I'm Taking the Middle Road

I see a dart board. I see a blind fold. I see predictions without predications, justifications or analysis. I see erronious conclusions.

Survival Kit for a Credit-Starved Market

You could have summed up your comments in the last 250 words and saved us from the onslaught of mixed metaphors and personal opinions.

Barron's Finds a Win in Linn

The previous quarter's efforts of hedging by LINN were a disaster.

Great Shorting Opportunity, Care of Obama

Crawl back in your hole.

Solar Stocks Come Back to Earth

Lower polysilicon prices are counterintuitive for FSLR. Obviously this makes the panel makers more price competitive. You state; good conversion efficiencies, such as First Solar (FSLR). FSLR's conversion efficiency is among the worst in the market place. FSLR's only advantage is priceing to polysilicon, which is being eroded by the drop in poly prices.

Your article is full of erroneous comments and conclusions.

Time for the American Government and People To Confront Reality

Mr. Lee or Mr. Potter? Consumers will buy what is offered under a payment plan. While some are frugal, the vast majority of people will buy the geegaw maximum trinket if extended the credit, and a payment that appears plausible.
Now do you suppose that proffessionals trained in appraisal, loan ratios, credit analysis etc. might provide a product and service that is not guaranteed to bankrupt the purchaser? Pay day loans with 5% fees, credit cards with 24% plus rates, home loans that reset or amortize negatively without documentation. Who really is at fault Mr. Potter?

Then there is, of course bond and securities rating agencies that hand out AAA ratings like candy at Halloween, not to mention conflicts of interest. Commercial banks bundling up the crap and leveraging at 1/40 while their hedge fund entities are short squeezing the very same depository banks and commercial lenders.

The horror, the greed, the culpability......... but according to you we all need a dose of reality. Enron times 10,000. Massive fiduciary fraud, destruction of capital, pensions and companies for greed, then blame the consumer. To be sure, consumers, workers, middle class families will take the hit, not the hedge fund CEO's who's assets are cushioned and safely stashed.
Reality check? We are already in the death grip of reality, unfortunately there is not an equivilant guillotineto address justice for all the perpetrators.

Staying Afloat: A Primer on the Shipping Industry

Zach, could you cast more light on the dry bulk co/s which you think may be in danger of collapse and illuminate those you believe will weather the adversity and emerge in tact. Also, which companies do you believe can maintain dividends and which will abandon them?

Hang on to Your Gold

Gold has only one value. It is a hedge against inflation. The entire universe is in deflation, equities, commodities and realestate.

What Will Make Solar ETFs Shine?

To the comments: Don't store grain during abundant harvests in case there is a drought next year. Don't create a sinking fund, rainy day fund, in case there is financial stress in the future. And for God's sake, you certainly wouldn't want to plan ahead with alt. energy, just in case the cost of oil and energy might escalate. No future in that. No sir.

Gee, maybe this time we've elected some politicians who can see past the end of their noses, and just maybe the solar and wind industry will not collapse entirely because oil is temporarily and marginally plentiful. Who knows?

Fannie, Freddie and the 4.5% Mortgage Myth

In a past life as a Real Estate broker, I can state with some confidence that people will buy a mortgage payment over gross selling price. In other words, the price of the home is a good deal less important than the monthly PITI amount they are willing to take on. After all this was the primary locus of the housing bubble, inflationary spiral created by readily available cheap financing. Ergo the first half of your article's premise is wrong.

However I agree that the limited time frame proposed of one year will only result in a temporary spike in home prices or a mini-bubble, if you will. Of course stemming the foreclosure tide, if even temporarily is still a good thing.

Appraisals used to have meaning in the mortgage business, now they are mostly a tool for marketing. Therefore this program could actually raise all boats for a while, pulling a little sales momentum back from the depths. Certainly it would be foolish to demolish FNMY stock at such a time.