Jonathan Liss

Royale Energy: Anatomy of a Market Hit Job

You seem concerned about the recent action but it looks like it's still up a bunch for long-term holders.

Three Reasons Solar Sell-off May Be in Early Innings

I think the argument the author is laying out against solar is a fairly short-term one. He never claims solar won't be a great business down the road. But if oil continues to plummet, Solar's high valuations will not be sustainable.

Value is about what a business is trading for relative to what it's really worth - even the greatest business can be overpriced and the worst underpriced. And at current and future PEs, solar profits need to keep growing at an insanely fast rate to sustain current valuations.

The Latest Changes to SeekingAlpha.com

David,

I like 'The Macro View' best as a replacement for The Big Picture.

Claymore First to Land Global Shipping ETF

As a follow up to the last paragraph, since that first day of trading, volume has picked up significantly, topping out at 121,382 on Wednesday.

Procter & Gamble Should Continue To Perform

Thanks for your corrections folks. We have updated the piece accordingly.

Obama Wants to 'Robin Hood' Exxon

'TheGiz' is correct, my comment was an attempt to play devil's advocate and spark debate to some extent. My main concern with Christoph's piece, whose analysis I respect very much and always look forward to reading, was that it took a reasonable issue and raised the level of debate to something bordering on hysteria. I am by no means voting for Obama but comparing him to Hugo Chavez and calling him a Petro-communist blurs the lines of reality and isn't constructive to a debate of the real issues in my opinion. So I wanted to at least present the other side. Glad it aroused so many strong emotions in so many people!

Obama Wants to 'Robin Hood' Exxon

To the author,

I think your point is not fair to middle class Americans who struggle daily with out of control energy prices. America already has less taxes on gasoline than all of Europe - yet you're not accusing them of Petro-Communism and companies like Shell and Total still seem to be making huge profits. Rather than tax consumers further, as is the case in Europe with gas at the pump, further curtailing discretionary spending, Senator Obama is proposing redistributing the wealth from a few wealthy people into the hands of millions of Americans in a way that will stimulate the American consumer. What's un-capitalistic about that?

Wednesday Outlook: Commodities, Emerging Markets

'eh' - Wachovia and WaMu were left off the SEC's 'Protected List' so that argument doesn't really explain the action in WB and WM specifically.

Wednesday Outlook: Commodities, Emerging Markets

Dave,

I think we're all scratching our heads after yesterday's action. Just wondering, what percentage of it was simply a short squeeze? My guess would be almost all of it.

Wachovia and WaMu especially were heavily shorted going into earnings (12% and 26% respectively since late June according to Yahoo - I can only imagine these numbers increased since). Once most of the shorts cover, I think we'll see significant downward pressure on the financials again as who is willing to ante up after these rallies and with these kinds of earnings reported?

iPhone Can Replace Laptops for Majority of Computer Users

Jason,

Nice piece overall.

However, I have to say i strongly disagree with its basic premise. Most laptop owners aren't buying their computers simply to surf the web. Their laptop computers are essential for being able to work from remote locations and require very specific software, a keyboard and a much larger screen than the iPhone offers. Can you see someone writing a screenplay or typing a deposition on a device the size of the iPhone? Editing a film or audio file? An accountant using Quicken or TurboTax? The list goes on and on.

Apple knows this. If they thought the iPhone would really cannibalize laptop sales, it's unlikely it would be worthwhile for them. Why have a $200 product replace a $2,000 one?

Curious for your take.

Best,
Jon

Thursday Options Outlook: ZION, KEY, JEF, AKS, DIA, RIO, NVDA, VCLK, BIG

Test

Google Talk for iPhone: It's Not What You Think

Not plagiarism - we have permission to reprint TechCrunch pieces - notice the TechCrunch logo on the left hand side, under the Author's picture.

Rhapsody's New e-Music Download Service Takes on iTunes

Prashanth,

Really good piece - tasty food for thought!

I have one disagreement - you say that "In my 5 years of using iTunes, there is not one song which I did not manage to find." In ;my own personal experience, there are often songs I can't find on iTunes. A recent example: the soundtrack to the movie Snatch, which I looked for in iTunes today and couldn't find. It's not exactly an obscure movie or soundtrack.

This fact means there will probably ultimately be room for more than one online 'mega' music store. I think if their content is differentiated enough, there will be room for both to thrive. After all, it's the content consumers are ultimately looking for - they don't care whether they buy it at Tower Records or Virgin - and I don't see why consumers won't use both online stores to buy music, with one complementing the other when they can't find what they want.

Three CEFs Offering Assets on the Cheap

Nice piece.

However, the risk with CEFs trading at a discount to NAV is apparent if you look at CAF's trading over the last 6 months or so: www.etfconnect.com/sel...

The China A-shares CEF spent many months trading at a discount of over 20%, topping 30% at a point. However, that gap has now closed to approximately 5% as Chinese markets have sold off. Needless to say anyone holding the fund through that time has not done well, and the discount is now no longer impressive enough to warrant holding it.

This of course may not be relevant to the CEFs you mention as they may not be 'market-specific' enough, as CAF is, to warrant such a precipitous sell-off and narrowing of their respective discounts.

Petrohawk: A Play on Appreciating Natural Gas Prices

Michael,

I added 'XTO' into the piece.

Best,
Jon