Seeking Alpha

Old Trader » Comments » AIG

  • Supply, Demand and the U.S. Dollar [View article]
    Dave,

    I'm not suggesting bonds as a "forever" investment. I'm merely suggesting how a portfolio might be positioned for a period in which debt outperforms equities. Btw, my "long term" timeline is 3-5 years; I make no attempt to look farther out.


    On Nov 22 10:28 AM Dave Wrixon wrote:

    > And what is 7.5% spread over 30 or even 10 years worth in faced of
    > annual inflation that could be approaching 20%?
    Nov 22 10:40 am |Rating: +1 0 |Link to Comment
  • Supply, Demand and the U.S. Dollar [View article]
    "Holding to maturity won't solve anything if inflation has rendered your principal, which is denominated in dollars, worthless."

    David,

    I'm not certain that's true, because if the market anticipates interest rate increases, the value of an existing bond will drop to reflect the anticipated rate. So it depends at what point the bond is bought. If a bond is trading at 93, and is bought and held to maturity, the purchaser would receive par, resulting in a 7.53% return in ADDITION to the coupon of the bond, which would naturally be a below market rate.

    As the article points out, this is less likely to happen in a fund, since they typically trade securities, rather than holding to maturity. The only way a fund can mitigate the damage is moving into the short end of the yield curve to take advantage of increasing rates.
    Nov 22 08:55 am |Rating: +3 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    "House panel gives green light to Fed audit."
    "Rep. Ron Paul, who has been trying for decades to obtain greater congressional control over the Fed, sponsored the provision."

    It sounds like Ron Paul is taking Rahm Emmanuel's admonition to "not waste a good crisis" to heart!!
    Nov 20 09:00 am |Rating: +7 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    I'm continually amazed at the fact that Geitner can continue to talk of supporting a strong dollar with a straight face. Since the President has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I humbly suggest that Geitner receive an Oscar.
    Nov 12 09:20 am |Rating: +11 -1 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    "Hedge funds alive and well."

    As stated, a response to the current low return environment. I tend to follow this area fairly closely, not because I have any money in hedge funds, but as a way to see what the "smart money" is doing. One promising change, is that the big institutional investors are pushing for MUCH more transparency, lower fees, greater flexibility in redemptions, etc.
    Nov 10 10:35 am |Rating: +2 -1 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    "Lending standards loosen. A smaller percentage of banks tightened lending standards in Q3, according to the Fed's loan officer survey, but credit conditions remain far from a comfort zone."

    More "less bad = good"? Where have I heard this before?
    Nov 10 09:06 am |Rating: +4 -1 |Link to Comment
  • The Capitalist Distribution [View article]
    From what I recall of my readings of Buffet and his technique(s), it was Charlie Munger who weened Warren from his Graham and Dodd penchant of buying "cigar butts"....


    On Nov 02 01:15 PM John Galt wrote:

    > Your data seems to back up the old Buffet idea.
    >
    > You are better off buying a good company at a fair price, than a
    > fair company at a good price. I agree.
    Nov 03 18:25 pm |Rating: +1 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    Geitner says its up to the private sector to lead the way, yet the administration and Congress seem bound and determined to place as many obstacles in the path as possible.

    Reminds me of Lucy urging Charley Brown to kick the football, as she prepares to yank it away...
    Oct 30 10:37 am |Rating: +6 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    User 18358,

    As soon as I hear the CEOs of FedEx, UPS, and BNI saying their shipments are skyrocketing, CEOs of major retailers saying their same store sales are through the roof, and the jobless rate is plummeting, I'll be sporting the BIGGEST set of horns you ever saw....until then, I'll just hang out here near the cave...


    On Oct 29 12:14 PM User18358 wrote:

    > I'm tired of the negative comments on seekingalpha. I usually get
    > more from the comments here than some of the articles. Can we start
    > marking lead commenters with permanent bull or permanent bear tags?
    > That way when the GDP comes in at 3.5% I know not to read the bears.
    Oct 29 18:37 pm |Rating: +3 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wednesday's Notable Market Action [View article]
    Steven,

    It'll be quite a while before we see RE providing any sort of "lift" to the overall "real" economy, and the price of oil is getting very close to putting a damper on economic activity (through higher energy costs).


    On Oct 29 01:36 AM Steven Francis wrote:

    > Actually the article contains so much technical terminologies that
    > I am not able to understand what they mean. What I think is that
    > the uplift in financial situation around the world, the prices have
    > started soaring again. You can see the oil prices and real estate
    > for example. But anyway it is beneficial for us. At least there will
    > be some jobs generated and this will help in bringing the society
    > up again.
    Oct 29 11:06 am |Rating: +1 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    "New home sales flatline."

    Not to worry, though....the home buyer's rebate will be expanded and extended, as the gov. struggles to revive that particular bubble.
    Oct 29 09:30 am |Rating: +10 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    Re Bove's "bomb";

    This IS big news, since Bove had been bullish on the big banks all along. I know I missed out on impressive gains, but I wouldn't touch any with a 10ft. pole..at least not yet.
    Oct 22 09:05 am |Rating: +3 -1 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    Maybe we can all hope Ben will develop a case of lockjaw, which would eliminate the "jawboning" and force him into some concrete action!
    Oct 19 18:30 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    I wonder if Bloomberg's acquisition of Business Week will have any effect on the "magazine cover contrairian indicator" .
    Oct 14 17:00 pm |Rating: +2 0 |Link to Comment
  • Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
    "Stimulus without the label."

    In the words of the Bard, "A rose by any another name....."
    Oct 06 09:01 am |Rating: +5 -1 |Link to Comment
More on AIG by Old Trader
Comments by Ticker
A, AA, AAON, AAP, AAPL, AAUKY.PK, AAXJ, AB, ABB, ABC, ABFS, ABK, ABM, ABT, ABX, ACA, ACAS, ACE, ACF, ACH, ACI, ACL, ACLI, ACM, ACN, ACV, ACWX, ACXM, ADBE, ADC, ADCT, ADE, ADM, ADP, ADRA, ADRE, ADS, ADSK, ADX, ADXTF.PK, AEC, AEE, AEM, AEO, AEP, AES, AET, AETUF.PK, AEZ, AFG,
Old Trader is a
Top 20 Commentor
1744 comments
Rating: 3401 (3874 - 473 )