Ames Tiedeman

Stay Away from AIG - Barron's

Stay as far away from this name as possible. It has been bid up by uneducated retail investors and short covering. Do the math. Negative tangible equity means the common is worth ZERO!

Nightmare on Wall Street? Upcoming Bank Earnings Could Rock World Markets

I am growing extremely skeptical that the March-June rally can keep going. The Contrarians will tell you that this is exactly why it will keep going-too many people don't believe it will correct. Barron's even did a pice on this for their monday edition. I do not think the employment numbers or earnings numbers will be anything to jump up and down about this week. I think the economy is in deep, deep trouble. The Fed may have prevented the financial collapse of the economy, but massive, structural deficiencies remain. The dollar is a flawed currency and we have a flawed world wide trading mechanism. The U.S. cannot run huge trade deficits any longer. They will bring instability to work markets. The 1980-2008 economic model for the world is over. What comes next? I am not sure. But it is 7,000 DOW before 10,000 DOW, this I am sure of.

No Bailout for the Governator: California's 'Fiscal Emergency'

Maybe they can start by cutting some of the 235,000 state employees. Can they not get by on 200,000 or 150,000, or even less? A complete mess. I can only laugh at how pathetic that state has become. I thought diversity was grand? The state is not governable. It needs a Warden, not a Governor. Fill the place up with illegals from Mexico and you will not have an American standard of living. This is just part of the problem. The other part is too many liberals spend like drunks.. Let them rot. Obama should say "fix it yourself, you get nothing."

Gold Gets Hammered on Jobs Data

Any meaningful correction of 20% or more in the price of gold represents a buying opportunity. The current and future balance sheets of the United States of America virtually guarantee gold will appreciate over time.

The Truth About Fossil Fuels and Renewable Energy (Part II)

What needs to be discussed is the fact that Alternative Energy will not be the jobs catalyst that the Obama Administration seems to think. Obama is yet again selling the American people a false promise. The next major jobs catalyst will be healthcare professionals given the aging population over the next 30 years.

Absurd Inverse and Leveraged ETF Product Whining (Updated)

Well stated. These inverse ETF's are neither good nor bad anymore than a hammer is good or bad. They are tools to be used, but they must first be understood. Too many people suggest they are horrific because they have not a clue with regard to how they work.

PIMCO's Bill Gross Sees a Bleak Future

The dollar will be absolutely crushed within 24 months. The entire exchange rate mechanism is going to have to be fixed. Floating currencies failed everyone except the currency traders. We will see a re-introduction of fixed exchange rates before it is all over. The days of the US running trade deficits of more than 1% of GDP are going to go away within 10 years..

Un-American Government Intervention

If the Fed did indeed "force" the marriage of BAC and Merrill then Bernanke must go. This type of meddling is beyond unacceptable. On a more up beat note, BAC has sure been getting a lot of interest from the street. Upgrades have been coming in with some fund managers hinting at a 30-45 dollar price target in the next 24 months. My question is this: What happens when the Alt A loans re-set and then go south? Most of the re-sets on these instruments come between 2011 and 2013.

Insiders Continue to Sell, Sell, Sell

September and October are historically bad months. Why will 2009 play out any differently? It won't. Many people elect to get short by Mid August and stay short until November. So many stocks and indexes are pushing up against resistance. Look at the charts. This market is extremely over bought.

GM and Chrysler: Why's Bankruptcy So Expensive?

Let these companies file. It is the only way to properly restructure..!

The Federal Reserve Is Immoral

The dollar has lost 97% of its purchasing power since 1913. Enough said. End the FED! How can we say we live in a free market economy when the cost of money is fixed by a body called the FED? END THE FED!

Indicator Update: Bull Market Correction

June may very well be the month that the March-June rally stops. A lot of charts are looking as if they might be a week from rolling over. One can buy the following to profit from this pull back: SDS, DXD, FAZ, SKF, SRS, QID. These are all ETF's that allow you go short. Look them up. Study them.

Surprising Upturn for the Energy Sector

A great run off the lows. I particularly like HTE, PVX, PGH, PWE, and AAV.

When Oil gets back to 75 look for the dividends to go back up.

Also, I expect Natural Gas to be over 5.50 in the next 12 months..

High-Yield Canadian Royalty Trusts vs. Dividend Growth Stocks

As Oil moves up one would suspect that the dividends from the Canadian Royalty trusts will increase over time. The deep cuts have offered a great entry point for a future capital gain and future, higher dividends. As Oil moves back to $70.00 you will see higher dividends and unit appreciation.

Bernie Madoff Comes Out of the Closet

Forget Hedge Funds. Do not send any of them your money. Stick with well grounded Mutual Funds like Fidelity or 20th Century or others. Back to basics. Do not be a fool and send your millions to a one man shop. Go with firms like Fidelity who cannot steal your money!!!! The track records of the many mutual fund companies are better than that of Hedge Funds anyway. Hell, buy your kids Coca Cola, JNJ, PG, and take the stock certificates and put them in your safe deposit box if you want. Do not mess around with these Hedge Funds and 1 man shops on the street! And stop following all the advise of the ETF crowd. If you have $10 million put 500k in 20 well run, good old fashioned mutual funds! Then enjoy life and look at your returns in 10 or 20 years...