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18 Comments

    • Tue Nov 18th 16:50 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Let GM Fail
      Yep, they sold 9,369,524 vehicles, with a loss of $38,732,000 in 2007. That means they are losing $4,133 for every vehicle they sell. What a great company.

      If they are really such a great company, why can't private investors foot the bill?

      ___
      GM outsold Toyota by about 1.2 million vehicles in the United States last year and holds a U.S. lead over Toyota of about 560,000 so far this year. Globally, GM in 2007 remained the world's largest automaker, selling 9,369,524 vehicles worldwide -- about 3,000 more than Toyota.
      ___
      View article »
    • Mon Nov 17th 01:02 AM | Rating: +2 0
      Commented on:
      The Autos and Mentality That Ruined Detroit
      Problem #1: American made cars have bad quality, bad branding, and the companies have bad management. There is no reason why these companies should be kept afloat.

      Problem #2: Letting one of the big three shut down would be an economic nightmare for this country and they can't be allowed to fail.

      Problem #3: Both of the above are right.

      So what do we do?
      My proposal:
      -Let GM declare chapter 11. It will be messy, but it has to be done. Private investors will have to put up the restructuring loan. If they can't do this, then part of the bailout can guarantee (but not act as) some of these loans. They can restructure their debt, pension obligations, and entire business model. If it works right, we might actually get an American car company that we can be proud of.
      View article »
    • Thu Nov 13th 01:25 AM | Rating: +1 0
      Commented on:
      Do the Automakers Deserve a Bail Out?
      List off all of the "American is better" reasons you want. At the end of the day, it doesn't translate into sales, so it's irrelevant. I'm still waiting for someone to name a single competitive advantage that any\ American car company has developed. I can't think of any. How can American made Toyota's and Honda's be profitable, but GM can't come close to breaking even?

      GM's losses have been in the BILLIONS since 2005, and they've still been paying out $500m-$1.1B in dividends yearly. Sounds like brilliant management to me.

      And as for your "patriotism" comment, I'm a two tour veteran of the Iraq war, and contempt for Detroit has nothing to do with loving you country.
      View article »
    • Thu Oct 30th 11:17 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      China's Greatest Trade Ever
      Trying to divine China's currency policy from a newspaper article is like trying to divine US tax policy from Joe the Plumber. It just doesn't work.
      View article »
    • Fri Oct 17th 02:18 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Countdown of Manipulated Gold Price Running Out
      I can never tell if who the goldbugs are trying to convince that gold is worth millions per ounce.

      They reason that futures traders can manipulate the price of oil both up and down, while somehow thinking gold is immune to this phenomenon. Guess what? Momentum traders will take the price to below ~50% of gold's high, just like they did to oil.
      View article »
    • Wed Oct 8th 02:24 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Cramer: Dow Could Drop Another 14%, Oil's Going to $50
      Cramer does have some insightful things to say, but it's hard to take him too seriously. The man is completely bipolar. This week, stocks are down big, therefore the world will end. Stocks will be up at some point next month which will then be the time to invest everything. Has Cramer ever had a counter-trend opinion?
      View article »
    • Sun Aug 31st 13:16 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Questioning Obamanomics
      I agree with your analysis 100%. Just remember, no politicians campaign on what they will actually do, but on what people want to hear. And you can't blame the politicians, because it's what people vote for.

      Who would get elected by talking about little things like the pension crisis or cutting social benefits?
      View article »
    • Fri Aug 29th 20:01 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      The Most Essential Secret to Successful Investing
      So why was patience a virtue several months ago, yet selling your position such a good idea now? Has something changed in the fundamentals, or are you ignoring your own advice?
      View article »
    • Wed Aug 20th 13:42 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Solvency and Liquidity: Non-Identical Twins
      Thanks for the good article David. I always find your posts insightful.
      View article »
    • Wed Aug 13th 12:18 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      The Economic Cost of the Military Industrial Complex
      Yes, defense is expensive. Have you tried considering the cost of NOT spending on defense?

      As a platoon leader in Iraq (2003-2004) I had more than $2 million worth of equipment for my 32 soldiers. Yes, that was expensive. However, that expensive equipment is what let me bring all 32 soldiers home. In one specific instance, I can credit thermal optics ($.5 million each) with saving the lives of myself and ten others.

      My question to you: If one of your sons were in the military, would your beliefs on defense spending change?
      View article »
    • Thu Aug 7th 12:26 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Wind's Our Future, but Natural Gas Is Now
      I completely agree that natural gas is the most common sense intermediate term power solution. Wind, nuclear, etc will all be significant too, as no single source can power everything.

      From an investing perspective, I prefer natural gas companies in Europe. The fundamental supply/demand equation is the same PLUS their primary supplier likes to arbitrarily triple prices every time there's a political disagreement.
      View article »
    • Tue Jun 24th 23:41 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Is the Great Moderation in Danger?
      What about globalization? The jobs most likely to be lost in a recession are assembly line jobs. Since a MUCH larger percentage of end manufacturing occurs in China these days, could we have simply off-shored the parts of our economy most vulnerable to a recession?
      View article »
    • Fri Apr 18th 00:55 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      A Little Financial Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing
      I agree with your idea that uninformed active investors will underperform index investors or professional traders. However, the idea that LESS financial knowledge will solve the problem is ludicrous.

      Which person is better off?
      1. The "average" day trader who underperforms the market.
      2. The "average" American with no savings and paying 15% on a maxed out credit card.

      In addition, how will the average American know if they can trust a financial adviser if they don't have a rudimentary knowledge of finances? The sad truth is there are any number of advisers that prey on people with no investing background.
      View article »
    • Thu Feb 7th 00:25 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      The Fed Cannot Resolve a Solvency Crisis
      Thank you for the great article.
      Question though:
      From my admittedly incomplete knowledge, I thought that one of the practical effects of a rate cut was to allow banks to re-capitalize their balance sheets (at least in the mid term). By depressing the short end of the yield curve, banks are able to raise funds more cheaply, while their income still comes from 30 year mortgages at ~5.5-6%. I know this doesn't have the immediate impact of massive write downs, but it does seem like a path out for the better managed banks.
      Again, my banking knowledge is limited, so let me know if my logic is incorrect.
      View article »
    • Tue Jan 29th 00:13 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Greenspan: U.S. Recession Far From A Done Deal
      Well I'm gad to hear that there wouldn't be any problems if someone from this forum was running things.
      View article »
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