Thomas Smicklas

iShares Diversified Alternative Trust ETF Seeks Alpha

Thank you for providing a good primer for this product.

The Trouble with Clean Coal

While I doubt that there will truly be "clean" coal, over the long haul my greater fear is that we continue our slide into an "old Europe"-style country. With China then free to become the dominant superpower, militarily and strategically, they will dictate environmerntal terms a decade or so in the future.

And I would be willing to bet that they will preach green (sustainably second-rate) economies on the rest of the world and do what they please internally to be Numero Uno, which will most certainly include burning coal, as their current energy policy indicates.

Therein lies a big problem.

Time for the U.S. Economy to Reindustrialize

I agree that our economy needs to emphasize industrial products. In previous ages, individuals, trusts and later, corporations were allowed literal free reign with little or no confiscatory taxes, government regulation, politically correct mandates ("green", anyone?) and competing industry subsidies to produce items of value. Not that any era was perfect, but it seems to me that the present time in America is not conducive to instrialization.

Unfortunately, many in our society look upon productive labor as a dirty phrase and prefer to confiscate wealth from others.


On Nov 15 07:51 AM Tom Armistead wrote:

> You are too polite in labeling GS, BAC, JPM et al as participants
> in a knowledge-based economy. Too much of their operations are in
> the fantasy land of financialsim, and too little in the prosaic world
> of utilitarian financial products, loans that support industry and
> the creation of productive assets.
>
> Eamonn Fingleton's "In Praise of Hard Industries, Why Manufacturing,
> not the Information Economy, is the Key to Future Prosperity," written
> in 1999, makes an extremely good case for the need for the US to
> retain (or rebuild) its manufacturing and industrial base.
>
> It also includes, in its 3rd chapter, an incisive and prescient critique
> of financialism. If there is one lesson coming out of the meltdown
> of our financial system, and any hope for constructive change, it
> is in the area of rebuilding a strong manufacturing capacity in the
> US, providng real jobs that create value.

What Does It Take to Become a Truly Competent Investor?

Investing is very simple - in hindsight.

I remember the Wall Street Journal having an annual "contest" between a respected stock picker and a chimp throwing darts at the NYSE listings. The chimp almost always won.

Although we are all serious investors, having a sense of humor about it all is not a bad quality to possess.

Can Gold Supplant Commodities in Your Portfolio?

Excellent article. My simplistic thought is that when it seems as though everybody is piling into an investment, including those eeking out an existence living in double-wides selling their gold via mail due to an avalanche of television advertisements, it might not be the most appropriate time to gold-up. Then again, I was thinking the same when gold at $900.

Green Energy Investing for Beginners, Part II

Donations are investing? Promoting religious,political or social agendas under the banner of investing is an interesting concept. I do own a few green technology stocks within my portfolio - but they are owned to increase the value of the portfolio, not to be confused with donations or ideology strategies which should never be touted to investors as such. For the truly rich, CFAs will use giving (donating) as a tax strategy - to avoid contributing what I believe many view as their fair share of taxes. How noble. That is the essence of a substantial part of the CFA curriculum of which you speak.

On Nov 13 01:17 PM Tom Konrad wrote:

> Thomas,
> I suspect that your complaint that is really that you *don't* believe
> that investing in green energy is the right thing to do, not that
> it should not be part of an investment allocation strategy. Do you
> also believe that planned donations to charity (because they are
> the "right thing to do") should not be considered as part of investing
> strategy? If so, your attitude conflicts with the approach to asset
> allocation I studied as part of the Chartered Financial Analyst(R)
> curriculum.
>
> I see an investment in Green Energy because "it is the right thing
> to do" as part investment and part donation to charity, and hence
> believe they should be included in any asset allocation plan where
> the belief exists.

Rent-To-Buy

Several acquaintances have done jail time extorting money from "victims" in rent to buy schemes. This has been a notorious (and notoriously profitable) urban scam for many years. It continues.

Green Energy Investing for Beginners, Part II

"Is it the right thing to do" is not especially astute investment advice. Green investing is just another sector that will be subject to the vagaries of the market. Even moreso, green investing, being a recent managerie of disparate eclectic securities, will be the recipient, as are most sectors, of unintended cosequences such as protectionist regulations (GE is already complaining about that in their Asian market) government subsidies,litigation, and, God forbid, if the premise of green technology to save the planet is flawed.

There may well be a case made for a double short ETF in this sector if profits (the prime reason for investing) are to be made, short and long term.

That said, I enjoyed your article and appreciate your view.

The Global Oil Scam: 50 Times Bigger than Madoff

You think THIS scam is big? Peanuts, compared to Congress and the Feds.

E*Trade: Potential Ameritrade Merger Makes Sense for Both Companies

Don't own the stock, but I will add that ETrade has the best bond platform and pricing of all the online brokerages.

Green Bankshares: Value in the Tennessee Valley

Interesting and detailed analysis. Now, back to my moonshine.

Why I'm Long Helios Total Return Fund

I am most reluctant to get into this product at this time.

Las Vegas Real Estate: Turning a Corner?

Your comments are accurate. Thanks for bringing this matter to readers' attention.

Foreclosure Rates Continue Their Steady Decline

Nationally, there are a large number of foreclosed properties banks have not even begun to market. Resets of mortgages for homeowners this year are expected to default (again) in 2010 at a rate as high as 70%. Home buyer traffic trended down in late October as the first round of tax credit purchases was about to expire. Many are predicting that the Congressional extension will not have as big a pop as the first program. Unemployment is very, very high. Novice investors who stepped to the plate to buy foreclosures as rental properties with little or no management experience are already seeing vacancy rates go up and discovering that being a landlord is not just owning a piece of brick and mortar.Etc., etc.

Being in the business as a builder, property manager and landlord, I submit that the housing situation is nowhere near a satisfactory conclusion..

Home Buying Slips in October: Now What?

As a contributor to this report, CS takes seasonally adjusted trending into consideration. Thanks for stating your observation. I should have stated as such in the article..


On Nov 12 05:42 AM chris coonan wrote:

> Keep in mind that even in good real estate markets, this not being
> one of those, there is VERY LITTLE home buying around the holiday's.
> November - Superbowl will be extremely slow, except for those vulture
> investors. Expect bad reports for the next 3 months.