vboring's Comments vboring's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.comuser/125368/comments GM's deal to sell Saab to Koenigsegg fell apart on "risks and uncertainties" as financing issues delayed the completion of the deal. GM's board meets today to discuss what's next, though it reportedly favors scrapping the brand. The breakdown reflects a similar collapse in the carmaker's plans to sell Saturn. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/37103?source=feed#comment-775320 775320
GM made things worse, but they started with a bad company.]]> Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:46:00 -0500
GM made things worse, but they started with a bad company.]]> As commissioner David Stevens predicted, the FHA's reserves have fallen below their required 2% level due to the wave of foreclosures. An independent auditor concluded reserves would stay positive under most scenarios, but not the baseline, where prices fall another 6.5%. Stevens insists no bailout is required. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/36420?source=feed#comment-757648 757648
They're only just barely stable even though significant foreclosure stock is being held off market, the gov't is pulling demand forward by subsidizing purchases, and underwater "owners" are stuck in the headlights hoping for a subsidized workout.]]> Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:35:31 -0500
They're only just barely stable even though significant foreclosure stock is being held off market, the gov't is pulling demand forward by subsidizing purchases, and underwater "owners" are stuck in the headlights hoping for a subsidized workout.]]> President Obama's maiden voyage to Asia has all the looks of a come-to-banker meeting, says William Pesek - except the reality dawning on Asia is that Obama can't promise that the U.S. can repay its debt and keep the dollar from crashing. Let's hope they call in the loan in a smooth way. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/36333?source=feed#comment-755941 755941 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:57:05 -0500 Whatever happens on the upside, gold won't fall below $1,000/ounce again, says Marc Faber of Gloom, Boom & Doom Report: "Central banks are all the same. They are printers. Gold is maybe cheaper today than in 2001, given the interest rates." Gold now +1% to $1,113.80. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/36312?source=feed#comment-755555 755555 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:37:12 -0500 Fannie Mae (FNM) rolls out its Deed for Lease program, allowing homeowners facing foreclosure to deed their property to the lender and stay in their homes as renters. The scheme is only for borrowers who have already missed a mortgage payment, and who aren't eligible for mortgage mods. Fannie's incentive? Buying time for a housing recovery, and preserving the value of its nonperforming assets. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/35941?source=feed#comment-746874 746874
There are so many stories of "owners" staying in the house for more than a year after their last payment at zero cost. So where is the incentive to pay for the right to stay put when you can do it for free?]]> Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:05:23 -0500
There are so many stories of "owners" staying in the house for more than a year after their last payment at zero cost. So where is the incentive to pay for the right to stay put when you can do it for free?]]> Mike Shedlock has a hard time seeing why markets went giddy over today's Q3 GDP data: "The government sloshed trillions around and yet disposable income is down, jobs are horrendously weak, and the only reason GDP rose is wasteful government spending, cash-for-clunkers and extremely unaffordable housing tax credits whose effect is soon going to start diminishing." http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/35425?source=feed#comment-736177 736177

On Oct 29 05:54 PM Stone Fox Capital wrote:

> it isn't about the quality but that the amount was better then expected.
> Fight the trend all you want. By Q4/Q1 the quality will be a lot
> better. What will the excuse be then?]]> Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:58:35 -0400

On Oct 29 05:54 PM Stone Fox Capital wrote:

> it isn't about the quality but that the amount was better then expected.
> Fight the trend all you want. By Q4/Q1 the quality will be a lot
> better. What will the excuse be then?]]> Contrary to opinion, the stock market will embrace a tightening monetary policy, says Jeffries & Co. chief strategist Art Hogan. Rather than seeing higher corporate borrowing costs, he says, investors will know the moves are coming because of positive economic signals: "The Fed has a pretty good picture of the economy, and can usually see around the corner." http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/35252?source=feed#comment-734284 734284
If this is true, all the Fed has to do is constantly adjust rates and the market will go to infinity.]]> Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:18:58 -0400
If this is true, all the Fed has to do is constantly adjust rates and the market will go to infinity.]]> The government may have gone the wrong direction when it stopped printing bills bigger than $100, David Reilly says; the way things have gone, maybe a $1M bill is in order. But with whose face? Helicopter Ben? Bush? Nixon, who broke the link to gold? http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/34937?source=feed#comment-727696 727696
They could get rid of 100's and 50's and the only people who would care are criminals and wannabes. I haven't used anything above a 20 in years.]]> Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:53:44 -0400
They could get rid of 100's and 50's and the only people who would care are criminals and wannabes. I haven't used anything above a 20 in years.]]> Electronics and other general merchandise [EGM] now accounts for 43% of Amazon's (AMZN) sales, vs. 54% for media. The rate of EGM growth (44%) versus that of media (17%) highlights its rapid and successful transition from a bookseller to an "everything store," which will become even more pronounced once it completes acquiring Zappos in Q4. (read Amazon's Q3 earnings call transcript) http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/34901?source=feed#comment-726985 726985 Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:42:27 -0400 The government will reportedly order deep pay cuts from the biggest bailout recipients in a plan the Treasury will announce in the next few days. The seven companies that got the most assistance will have to cut cash payouts to their top 25 execs by an average of 90% - to be replaced by stock that they'll be restricted from immediately selling - and cut their total compensation by 50%. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/34678?source=feed#comment-723997 723997
Personally, I think bank execs should be paid with the lowest quality paper their bank owns, but paid based on how the bank currently values it.]]> Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:35:07 -0400
Personally, I think bank execs should be paid with the lowest quality paper their bank owns, but paid based on how the bank currently values it.]]> The Service Employees International Union is urging government paymaster Kenneth Feinberg to stop retirement payments to Bank of America's (BAC) departing CEO Kenneth Lewis until the bank stops foreclosures and increases lending. Lewis' package includes $53.2M in benefits and $72.8M in accumulated stock and other compensation. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/33898?source=feed#comment-709285 709285 Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:20:33 -0400 The Service Employees International Union is urging government paymaster Kenneth Feinberg to stop retirement payments to Bank of America's (BAC) departing CEO Kenneth Lewis until the bank stops foreclosures and increases lending. Lewis' package includes $53.2M in benefits and $72.8M in accumulated stock and other compensation. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/33898?source=feed#comment-709255 709255
If his bank wants to insist that the face value of these products are the correct accounting value, then he should be happy to accept them as payment - at face value.

That could actually be legal, unlike simply stopping payment.]]> Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:59:15 -0400
If his bank wants to insist that the face value of these products are the correct accounting value, then he should be happy to accept them as payment - at face value.

That could actually be legal, unlike simply stopping payment.]]> GM's fling with eBay (EBAY) looks to be over, at least for now, as evidence suggests it drew a lot of lookers but not a lot of buyers. And some typical online-auction behavior: One bidder submitted a $2,500 bid on a $40,000 vehicle. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/33396?source=feed#comment-697204 697204
Now if they could just find a way to avoid sales taxes...]]> Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:45:22 -0400
Now if they could just find a way to avoid sales taxes...]]> Edmunds.com predicts September car sales of just 8.8M/year, a 28-year low and a 38% plunge from August's CARS-induced 14.1M blowout. "Cash for Clunkers was supposed to prime the pump," Edmunds' Jeremy Anwyl says, "but that is a physics concept, and economics is quite different. Demand has dropped off significantly since the program ended." http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/32928?source=feed#comment-686468 686468 Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:14:36 -0400 A 22-year-old man has received 15 months in prison and must pay back $200,073 after trying to open more than 58,000 accounts with E-Trade (ETFC), Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Google (GOOG) in the names of characters from the King of the Hill TV show (among others). The scheme was to steal the "micro-deposits," from 1 cent to $2, that firms make to test account functionality. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/32780?source=feed#comment-682970 682970
15 months for stealing $200k? Ridiculous.]]> Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:49:03 -0400
15 months for stealing $200k? Ridiculous.]]> The bad part of the U.S. employment situation, as we well know, are the droves of unemployed looking for jobs in a market where almost no one's hiring. The good part is that those that have jobs continue to enjoy pay increases almost as big as during the late 1990s boom. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/32593?source=feed#comment-679477 679477
Or maybe it is a shift in the median. Maybe the layoffs were concentrated in low paying jobs, so the median salary has increased and they misunderstood this as evidence of pay raises.]]> Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:01:09 -0400
Or maybe it is a shift in the median. Maybe the layoffs were concentrated in low paying jobs, so the median salary has increased and they misunderstood this as evidence of pay raises.]]> Steve Jobs' "one more thing" - the big news he usually saves for the end of events - seems to be a revamped iPod Nano with built-in video camera and FM radio, but Apple (AAPL) shareholders may have been expecting more, as shares take a sudden turn for the worse, down 1.3%. (earlier) http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/32185?source=feed#comment-669212 669212
What a dumb idea.

The anodized cases look nice, though.]]> Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:51:40 -0400
What a dumb idea.

The anodized cases look nice, though.]]> Alstead also defended Starbucks' (SBUX +3.8%) strategy, saying it "will not allow others to continue to define us in the customer's eyes." Earlier this year, a McDonald's (MCD -1.4%) billboard proclaimed 'Four bucks is dumb.' But MCD may not be getting the boost it hoped for from McCafe; earlier today it posted a disappointing 1.7% increase in U.S. same-store sales. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/32168?source=feed#comment-668728 668728 Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:47:09 -0400 Amazon (AMZN) and Sony (SNE) have each gotten a lot of ink for their fresh battle over the e-readership, but a Forrester Research report says their machines are still overpriced. The firm says the price point should be $50 for the market to take off, though the displays alone cost at least $60. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/31906?source=feed#comment-660940 660940 Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:43:04 -0400 GDP is notoriously hard to measure in some cases, especially in developing countries and at the city level, so three economists suggest a proxy: satellite photos of night lighting, which they suggest could make official estimates more accurate. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/31814?source=feed#comment-659206 659206 Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:56:57 -0400 GDP is notoriously hard to measure in some cases, especially in developing countries and at the city level, so three economists suggest a proxy: satellite photos of night lighting, which they suggest could make official estimates more accurate. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/31814?source=feed#comment-659185 659185 Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:54:20 -0400 A U.S. ethanol industry group is pushing to have gas stations label which countries their fuel comes from, because "most Americans don't want their paychecks going to Venezuela." http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/31637?source=feed#comment-656692 656692 Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:54:52 -0400 Germany wants 1M electric cars on the road by 2020 as it tries to become "the market leader for electric mobility." The government campaign will draw on €500M ($705M) set aside earlier this year as part of the country's stimulus package. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/30938?source=feed#comment-638491 638491
Tesla has demonstrated that EVs can accelerate to 60mph quickly, but there is no way it can go more than 30 miles at 100mph. Battery energy density is going to be a limiting factor for a good long time.

Or maybe they think low speed city electric cars are the answer, even though this strategy has been failing in France, Norway, Japan, and the US for more than a decade.]]> Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:39:53 -0400
Tesla has demonstrated that EVs can accelerate to 60mph quickly, but there is no way it can go more than 30 miles at 100mph. Battery energy density is going to be a limiting factor for a good long time.

Or maybe they think low speed city electric cars are the answer, even though this strategy has been failing in France, Norway, Japan, and the US for more than a decade.]]> Volkswagen (VLKAY.PK) July U.S. Sales: +0.7% to 20,590. Diesels account for more then 30% of total sales. (PR) http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/29621?source=feed#comment-613100 613100
not "more then"

Approaching the 50% diesel uptake rate in their domestic market. Makes me wonder what Ford and GM's problems are? They sell excellent diesels everywhere else. If VW can meet the US standards, why can't Ford?

I want a 50mpg Focus.]]> Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:19:27 -0400
not "more then"

Approaching the 50% diesel uptake rate in their domestic market. Makes me wonder what Ford and GM's problems are? They sell excellent diesels everywhere else. If VW can meet the US standards, why can't Ford?

I want a 50mpg Focus.]]> Relative to inflation, Treasury yields are at their highest in 15 years. The 10-year T-note, for instance, yields 5.1% after adjusting for inflation, vs. a 20-year average of 2.74%. The Fed needs nice plump yields to facilitate its record-breaking debt sales. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/28927?source=feed#comment-603678 603678
I expect today's 10yr t-bills to have a negative real yield.]]> Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:48:59 -0400
I expect today's 10yr t-bills to have a negative real yield.]]> GM's new CEO, Edward Whitacre, knows nothing about the auto industry. But he's not worried: "A business is a business, and I think I can learn about cars. I’m not that old (67), and I think the business principles are the same." Many who know him tend to agree. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/25748?source=feed#comment-540772 540772
Lutz proved you gotta love cars to make good ones.

Jay Leno should've been appointed.]]> Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:52:39 -0400
Lutz proved you gotta love cars to make good ones.

Jay Leno should've been appointed.]]> While others scramble to escape TARP, Wells Fargo (WFC) - which opposed the Treasury's $25B loan back in October - hasn't applied to repay. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/25705?source=feed#comment-539491 539491 Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:20:20 -0400 Bill Gates was 19 when he came up with the idea for Microsoft. Michael Dell was still a teen when he started selling computers from his dorm room. Here are ten young tech entrepreneurs to watch out for, courtesy of paidContent. http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/25251?source=feed#comment-528243 528243
These people are young and attempting to break into an existing industry.

The real corollary would look at kids doing things that nobody is making any money at. Things that most of us don't know anything about, because they don't exist as industries.]]> Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:29:25 -0400
These people are young and attempting to break into an existing industry.

The real corollary would look at kids doing things that nobody is making any money at. Things that most of us don't know anything about, because they don't exist as industries.]]> Socialism has failed. Capitalism is bankrupt. What comes next? "Whatever ideological logo we choose for it, it will mean a major shift away from the free market and towards public action." http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/21573?source=feed#comment-459093 459093
Or maybe we could try to copy the Saudi fiefdom?

Congo-style jungle law?

I'm gonna stick with a regulated democratic capitalism for the time being, thanks.]]> Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:26:12 -0400
Or maybe we could try to copy the Saudi fiefdom?

Congo-style jungle law?

I'm gonna stick with a regulated democratic capitalism for the time being, thanks.]]> Good news for sheep: The plunge in building has cut demand for flooring (carpets) and that has driven the price of wool to a 30 year low. [Bloomberg] http://seekingalpha.com/news/market_currents/post/21540?source=feed#comment-457780 457780
hopefully the milk solids market is holding up.]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:12:08 -0400
hopefully the milk solids market is holding up.]]>