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- Not All Financials Are Poison [view article]
- Assurant Is A Compelling Short Sell [view article]
- Stocks with Biggest Change in Short Interest [view article]
- It's Time to Break Up AIG [view article]
- At These Prices, It's Time to Go Overweight Quality Financials [view article]
- Five Solid Financial Stocks [view article]
- Housing Bubble and Real Estate Market Tracker [view article]
- Russell 1,000's Best, Worst Performers Since the 10/9 Top [view article]
- Assurant Down 10% - Good Buying Opportunity [view article]
- Insurance Stocks: Shooting Down An Overwrought Valuation Metric [view article]
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- Not All Financials Are Poison
- Assurant Is A Compelling Short Sell
- Amid the Turbulence, Infrastructure and Basic Materials Provide Long-Term Growth
- Assurant and Intelligent Acquisitions
- It's Time to Break Up AIG
- Stocks with Biggest Change in Short Interest
- Buy Other Insurers on AIG's Bad News
- At These Prices, It's Time to Go Overweight Quality Financials
- Five Solid Financial Stocks
- Morgan: Investors Overpaying for Assurant At Current Levels
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Not All Financials Are Poison [view article]
nyka,A bit harsh....actually, the author's to be commended for pointing out there ARE some/a few things worth looking at in the sector, AND he had the stones to be explicit vis a vis personal holdings.
A good piece, Dave. I pay attention to your "stuff".
old trader Reply
Not All Financials Are Poison [view article]
This fails to pass the "Who cares?" test. ReplyNot All Financials Are Poison [view article]
If you are someone that is interested in investing in stock mergers, you should check out www.madmergers.com. There, you can find all the pending stock mergers that trade on U.S. exchanges. ReplyNot All Financials Are Poison [view article]
Historically, it's been hard for insurers to turn a profit when reserves can't be invested profitably. Why should we expect them to be profitable when there's no other investment that is?Casualty risks from weather events are at an all-time high.
I don't see much future here, but good luck to you. Reply
Assurant Is A Compelling Short Sell [view article]
Excellent trade idea. This has become a top short holding for me. Got in at 70 with a short limit order. Keep up the good work! ReplyAssurant Is A Compelling Short Sell [view article]
What is the stop loss? When do you cover because the trade goes against you? Replyspeculator
Assurant Is A Compelling Short Sell [view article]
Even great companies are going down. GE is down 31% over the last year. The easy money is made on the short side. That is why I went short on May 2, 2008. ReplyAssurant Is A Compelling Short Sell [view article]
Could the reason for the small write-down be that the MBS are agency-MBS?These have held up far better than private MBS. Reply
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General Discussion on AIZ
Is this a buy or a sell? ReplyStocks with Biggest Change in Short Interest [view article]
Thank you Bespoke IGrp for all the reviews given till today! ReplyStocks with Biggest Change in Short Interest [view article]
Perhaps, it's time for VMWare (VMW) to move out of it's wood shed and back onto the playing field. Gregory Ness outlines how the company offers its protection along with it's teammates such as Symantics, Mcafee & Checkpoint. Vmsafe initiative, a milestone, is making a difference. Institutions appear to be buying. Finally - we'll see it's return! ReplyIt's Time to Break Up AIG [view article]
David, so you have been reading the Yahoo message boards. Why not cut & paste some of what I've written there regarding splitting up the company, enterprise risk management, etc.On the Yahoo message board, it was an eye opener to read of another aspect of the mortgage industry -- the appraisals themselves and how companies like an AIG (and others), can play hard ball / bully the appraisors and their firms. As the mortgage industry is scrutinized further perhaps issues like this will become more apparent and the "bully" advantage will decline.
Years ago there was talk in the industry of some insurers making money by not paying claims (or significantly delaying). Some other companies made money through "float" (accepting money as an intermediary and then holding it for a little while before paying it over to the party it should go to). How much additional income is still generated by the insurance industry through such practices?
Where was the ERM? Derivatives? that are illiquid? There is always a winner and loser with derivatives. Sure, just keep taking one side of a derivative trade, oh and be sure not to protect against losses through purchase of a security at, say, a 10% loss level. Oh, we never thought about it? Oh, there is no one offering that type of derivative of the magnitude of our portfolio? Oh, PwC said we had a material weakness because we did not record the credit quality of the business underlying the derivatives - who needs to know that? Oh, forget Kevin Costner, we are the Untouchables.
The competitive advantages that this company once had have been and continue to erode, just like the US dollar.
Reply
It's Time to Break Up AIG [view article]
"Can anyone inside AIG understand all the exposures that they face?" Somebody MAY be able to understand all the exposures they face, but, it's probably only a chosen few, and they seem to PREFER it that way. Some years ago, while I was a territory manager, at AIG, I tried to explore the full role of Starr Technical Risks Agency, Inc. ("Starr Tech," as the AIG insiders refer to it) in the overall hierarchy of AIG. I was told, RUDELY, by the regional Starr Tech manager that Starr Tech's role was known to Starr Tech management, and that Starr Tech's management was the ONLY group that NEEDED to know. Months later, an AIG Senior Vice President mentioned to me that he had been told of my curiousity about Starr Tech, and that it was "probably best not to go asking that kind of questions." The Starr Tech secrecy was not the only "unmentionable&qu... area within AIG, but it's a good example of how difficult it is even for management level employees to find out what the company is really all about. Would AIG knowingly HIDE important information, from outsiders? WHAT DO YOU THINK?Reply
It's Time to Break Up AIG [view article]
mature adult - you miss the point here. you need - literally - a magnifying glass to see all of the different business enterprises this company has created over the years. it is out right labyrinthian. one of the purposes of this structure was to maintain the all roads lead back to Hank concept. he literally was the ultimate authority over any capital decision. absent Greenberg, the company fell into disarray because Greenberg was AIG. the company never was the product of talent and seasoned management. ask anyone to what extent the company succeeds at grooming, training and empowering management? they deserve to be broken up. it's also a company that fails to pay which was Greenberg's philosophy, focused on reducing expense. the immediate casualty was that it is a disincentive to stay there. AIG was and is a stepping stone in one's career. I find it ironic that most of Greenberg's wealth now is tied to a company over which he exercises no control. my bet is that Starr will make a bid for pieces of the company and it will be broken up. AIG was good at making easy money but never groomed the real investing skills that will be required to compete in the current environment - and I do mean insurance as well as the investment management business. ReplyIt's Time to Break Up AIG [view article]
First loss in how many years and it's time to break up the company? Come on. Reply