Stone Fox Capital

What Are Leading Economic Indicators Telling Us?

stocks had little to do with the rise lately. Interest rates and money supply were the 2 biggest reasons for the gains.

The latest AAII measures of investor sentiment are indicating the fewest bears since May 2008 - and the highest bull-to-bear ratio since summer.

then why aren't they putting money into the market. Thats the problem with these surveys. Being bullish and making bullish moves are completely different.

New Chinese Coal Mining Regulations Mean Opportunity for Multi-National Producers

aren't they just consolidating the mines into the bigger producers versus closing the mines?

Equities Update: Modest Day Lifts Dow Over 10,500

Modest gains???? Really? Since when is the Dow the index that we key off? Most markets including the Naz and Russell 2000 had big gains of at least 1%.

By acquiring XTO Energy (XTO +15.1%), Exxon Mobil (XOM -4.2%) is essentially making a $31B bet that gas will be America's fossil-fuel power generator of choice. XTO's specialty in onshore extraction from tough fields is a big commitment for Exxon, the most conservative company in a conservative industry.

when everybody plugs in those electrical car, what do you think they'll use to fuel the car? Either nat gas or coal.

Citigroup's (C -5.6%) paying the price to get out of TARP, Felix Salmon says, with more losses to come and the repayment plan diluting existing shareholders. Strong capital ratios aren't everything; Citi needs to shed toxic assets and get smaller, faster.

this isn't news to the market. Any shareholder had to expect dilution. Thats the difference between reporting the facts and understanding the impact on the stock.

Analyst John Kaiser on Rare Earths

so were going from consuming oil for gasoline in cars to coal to produce the electricity for cars. Doesn't seem to be alot of people that understand that electric isn't exactly a great alternative. Nobody ever focuses on where electricity comes from.

Coal's Bright Future

Great info. Very interesting to note that even the US is still building coal plants. Isn't it true that one reason China and India rely so heavily on coal is that they lack the NG supplies that we have in the US. Would you build a NG plant and rely on resources from another country or a coal plant and mine it youself?

Consol Energy's Buy Signals and China Opportunity

The environmental issues in Appalachia is why we like the recent IPO Cloud Peak (CLD). Its been beaten up since the IPO but it is one of the prime reasons Buffet bought BNI.

David Rosenberg predicts heightened volatility in 2010, as the VIX creeps back up to the 30-40 range. He says investors have become complacent in a hurry, as witnessed by the low cost of buying index puts, and thinks sovereign risk could be one of the big stories next year: "Whatever bad assets that have been resolved in this credit crisis have almost entirely been placed on the books of governments and central banks."

when was the last time he was right?

Dec. Reuters/UofM Consumer Sentiment: Confidence jumped "mainly due to widespread price discounting by merchants attempting to spark holiday sales as well as somewhat more positive expectations for economic growth and employment."

so this confidence report is based on whether a soccer mom can get a good deal on a xmas gift? No wonder it doesn't correlate well with reality.

U.S. Steel: Overpriced and Overhyped

Inventory burn doesn't impact earnings as you suggest. It only impacts financing and cash flow.

Why Is the Government Holding Wells Fargo Hostage?

I'd like to see WFC go on the offensive and refuse any capital raises. They have the cash and will earn plenty more to pay for TARP. Of course, you get idiots on CNBC that claim WFC is next just b/c they read all the headlines. Though it wouldn't surprise me to see them let WFC pay back TARP so they can waste that money on some job package.

You might have missed something in the jobs report, says Paul Vigna - not nonfarm payrolls, but the openings/turnover numbers, with a steady rate since March. Which means if you bought into Friday's lower-than-expected unemployment figure, it's still true that hiring hasn't picked up: Long-term unemployment is still rising. And if you didn't buy into it, you're not alone.

everybody wants to spin this as bad. First you stop firing people, then existing people work more hours (were now at this point), then you hire more people. Its really not that complicated.

Three lunchtime reads: 1) Commodity prices and the Fed 2) Seven companies that won't make it to 2020 3) The real lost decade: Japanese GDP edition

Except for Sears I couldn't agree more. Sears has too many valuable assets and a strong balance sheet. If it doesn't exist by 2020 its because they've sold off the valuable assets and done away with the store concepts making shareholders a ton of money. It won't be b/c they went out of business.

By the way, ever been to a Home Depot? You can play roller hockey in those stores most of time as well.