Nobody's supposed to know when we've hit the bottom until well after the fact. This bear, though, has just been killed with a super-weapon never seen heretofore: PPIP.

PPIP adds profits to the banks, as pointed out by several people (see here for an example).

Some know the story of the man, looking under a street lamp for something. A passer by asks, "What are you looking for?"

"My wallet," the man replies.

Sure, who wouldn’t like the market to show its true bottom and start a new climb to the stars? However, it’s not happening now. So, are there any lemonade recipes out there for the lemons we’re drowning in?

Good recipes usually have their roots in the concoctions of the master chefs. One of the aromas emanating from Chez Buffett lately has been preference shares. Now I’m as eager to follow him (and as battered by the Dow) as the next person, so I considered the idea of following his lead. But how? Picture the reaction from Goldman Sachs to my offer to invest $5,000 of my precious IRA in these preferred shares paying 15% per year. Yeah, right.