Karl Glazier

On EPS and MLPs

By adding back depreciation, aren't you assuming the assets will never have to be replaced?
If the assets are depreciated over a shorter period than their expected life, an adjustment should be made accordingly.
But adding back all depreciation is not reflecting reality.
If I am counting only the maintenance expenses on my car, I am fooling myself.

I'm Stuck in E*Trade Land

Try Just2trade.com, they let you trade anything over the web and charge a $2.50 flat commission and have extremely low margin rates.

United States vs. European Union: Who Games the Crisis Better?

This is like 1932, when governments worldwide were afraid of deficits. The conservative attitude is always "Let's not try anything new, we are so afraid something might go wrong."
And the depression got deeper and deeper, and led to Hitler.
He did massive Keynesian deficit spending and Germany was the first country in the world to achieve full employment in 1936 after 33% unemployment in 1933.
That was the major reason he could stay in power despite being an obvious madman.

10 Upcoming Catalysts for ATP Oil and Gas

Why are 2010 earnings estimates only $.79 ?

GM: Are We in Looneyland?

When UAL went bankrupt, the stock traded for two more years before it was cancelled. At one time, it went from .5 to over $3 before it went to zero.
There is no prescription against stupidity.

Beware of Chinese Stocks on OTCBB

Your headline makes no sense, and links don't work.
Some companies on the OTCBB should not have come public, but that does not mean there are not incredible bargains to be found. For instance Orient Paper, OPAI.ob,, is trading at a P/E of 2,5 (2008 earnings) and growing over 30%. Sales were $65 mill., so they are not that small. Why would you want to avoid a bargain like that?
In addition, many OTCBB companies are preparing to transfer to the NASDAQ.
Are you saying we should wait to buy until they have switched and share prices are trading at a more normal P/E (after prices have tripled?)

Jim Rogers Agrees with Marc Faber

Jim Rogers is up to his usual scaremongering. That gives him an audience.
Increasing the money supply leads to increased nominal GDP.
According to him, that leads to inflation, as more money is chasing the same goods. RUBBISH!!!
In reality, it leads to increased production with no inflation as far as the eye can see, due to worldwide overcapacities in everything.

ECRI: US Economic Activity to Improve Shortly

Now we know why stocks have been rallying, to a constant deafening chorus of nay-sayers, even George Soros, all the technical analysts and most posts on SA. Anybody who listened to them lost a bundle.
That's why market timing is futile. If you find screaming buys, don't wait until the timers say it's o.k.
First stocks go up, then the leading indicators.

14 Tuition Breaking Stocks

On GHII, the 10K sounds scary (same as LTUS): They own only a variable interest entity.

"In addition, the terms of these contracts expire in August 2016 and there are no assurances these agreements will be renewed."
If not, they have nothing.

I think that is the reason for the low price on these two, especially since there have been quite a few scams among the small cap Chinese stocks. Like ETLT.ob just lately. Also CXTI.
When they can't prop up the share price with news releases any more, they just stop publishing reports and disappear with the shareholder's money.

On CNOA: They spent $16.5 mill. to buy a California luxury estate which produced wine in the amount of $450k (sales, not profits) last year. Makes no economic sense.
They say they make a lot of profit buying and selling grains. That makes no sense, that must be a business with razor thin margins.
I smell a potential scam here.

GNPH has far more shares outstanding fully diluted than people assume due to their $40 mill. convertible bond.
On the balance sheet, the company shows only about $4 mill. liability, saying the other $36 mill. will be converted. But they are silent regarding what dilution this will cause.
Not an open and honest management.

What concerns me about these small cap Chinese companies is there is no intention to ever pay a dividend (even if growth is low like NWD) or buy back stock.
If the shareholders never get any money back that way, the stocks have no value, theoretically speaking.
I think that is the reason for their low p/e.

What I like best is an American stock that paid, until recently, $3 per share in annual dividends and trades for $2.5: ACAS.
The have violated some bank covenants, but that just means they have to pay 2% more interest on half their debt.
NAV = $15 per share.
It is a play on an economic recovery, and a normalization of credit markets.
Even if the recovery comes only in 2010.

Bernanke Desperate, Fed Out of Ammo

This is a typical example of amateur economists (like Ron Paul) who have no idea how things work telling the experts what they are doing wrong.
It's like laymen telling brain surgeons they are doing it all wrong.

Bernanke is putting the most advanced theories into practice.
With widespread overcapacity, increasing money supply will not lead to inflation, but to renewed economic growth.
And the Fed is not out of ammunition, because they can create unlimited amounts of money, whatever is needed to get us growing again.
Ron Paul's libertarianism (represented by Greenspan's refusal to regulate) is what got us into this mess.
Unregulated markets lead to booms and busts.

Buffett Metric Doesn't Say It's Time to Buy

In recent years an increasing amount of earnings of U.S. stocks have come from international sources.
That, and today's record low interest rates means today's 75% is probably comparable to 1975's 50%.

Revised Economic Forecast for 2009 with New GDP Data

Amid all the gloom, some refreshing optimism.
If you are right, the stock market should bottom about now.
But right now we are in a downward spiral, with mass layoffs leading to less spending etc.
How will this be broken?
Where will the growth come from?

Amazon Bucks the Retail Trend, Reports Strong Q4

First quarter 2009 income guidance is below consensus estimates:
"GAAP operating income to be between $125 million and 210 million, or between 37% decline and 6% growth."
The midpoint is a 15.5% decline.
Yet the stock has a P/E of 34, like some super growth stock.

Inflation Risk Is Underpriced

In the current environment, increasing the money supply does not lead to inflation.
There is worldwide overcapacity in everything leading to sinking or at least stable prices.
The money supply cannot even be defined properly, that's why you have M0, M1, M2 etc.
It is an absurd concept.
It is Friedman's pet theory, which is just as wrong as his market fundamentalism, which brought us to the current crisis (lack of regulation).
Prices can only rise if there is more demand than supply of goods.
Where is the demand supposed to come from?
Consumers either don't want or can't get more loans to increase consumption.
Only when the economy is booming again, do we have to watch inflation, and then it is easy for the Fed to sell the securities they have bought and thereby decrease the money supply, if needed.
That may not happen for years.

Top Growth Market of the Week: Indonesia

So what's your point?
It's irritating how many posters waste our time with irrelevant posts.
You made no effort to explain why Indonesia would be a good investment.