malach hamovess

Writing CDS on U.S. Government Debt: What's the Point?

It's like speculating what wines you'd serve at the Pope's son's Bar Mitzvah

Broad Equity Market Refuses to Break Down

something will happen; just not while everyone is on "staycation" in their backyards grilling cheap burgers, swilling Bud Lite, and trying to figure a way to pay the kids' tuition.

After Labor Day the market will pop - it's just that no one knows which way.

Feds to California: Drop Dead

california has a property tax system which penalizes new owners over long-time holders; as a result, most californians who've lived in their homes for long periods find themselves paying an extraordinarily low property tax

the state has to reform its tax system and reform its legislative and referendum rule-making system.

it has the country's strongest economy and should easily be able to fund its own needs -- except they're a bunch of spoiled crybabies.

Why Not Just Detach Capital Requirements from Mark to Market?

financial accounting is often blamed for society's ills; in this case, it's totally bogus. the crap assets on the books of the banks were all bought after the introduction of mark-to-market accounting. banks knew that at some point these assets would have to be valued, but were so full of their own bs that they thought they were buying assets which always would have a liquid market at the price they paid for them Fundamentally, they refused to accept the fact that was risk of a move downward. That's pretty dumb. and pretty arrogant all together.

Markets Have Hit a Bottom, But Is It THE Bottom?

tell me how many jobs will be lost in June-August; then we can talk bottoms.

Is 'Buy and Hold' an Antiquated Theory?

Pick any market strategy other than having next week's newspaper today and it's been totally discredited over the past year.

Buy-and-hold leaves you with Citi @ 1.20 per sh.

Obama Worries, Rather Than Impresses, Wall Street

at the time of the election, the Onion ran a headline "Nation Gives Black Man World's Shittiest Job"; it's truer now than ever

Orwellian Finance: Is 1984 Happening in 2009?

those who oppose government intervention are invited to come up with a better way to stem a total collapse of the economy

Has Cutting Interest Rates Saved Anyone?

Not all of us are trust fund babies; some have an entrepreneurial spirit and are, at the same time, risk-takers. Lowered interest rates mean that our investments in REITs will mostly survive the downturn, as higher cap rates will be offset by lower rates on commercial r/e loans.

A mortgage has a better chance at being refinanced if the decline in value of the property can be partially offset by lower rates.

And trust-fund babies should still work; it's good to get out of the house and meet people at work. Remember Jennifer Anniston in "the Good Girl". She worked at a Walmart "smell-alike" and met the guy who knocked her up there.

A Long and Painful Consumer Slowdown - Barron's Interview

what joe blue collar does will dramatically effect the retail world; there's a lot of retail space out there, regardless of whether it's 30 redundant Macy's or 300 redundant Walmarts.

Sooner or later there will be far more consolidation in the retail space; Macy's will either have to raise additional capital or turn the business over to its bondholders.
Target will survive because of its reasonably clean balance sheet, but other Gen'l Mdse companies will also be forced out of business.

If 15 percent of the retail space in America suddenly reverted to pasture, consumers would still have adequate access to all the goods and services they could ever want

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

the g-20 summit meeting will denounce bank failures and vow a pledge to improve their economies.

it will be as effective as UN resolutions condemning Israel's occupation or of Senate resolutions honoring mother's day

Did President Bush's Speech Spark the Rally?

George Bush couldn't spark a rally at a little league game. The "random walk" on Wall Street has morphed into a series of direction-reversing panics with all the activity reflecting waves of shorting and short-covering.

Obama Is Bad for the Economy - Barron's

Clinton v Bush on the Economy and the Stock Market:

s&p 500 on 1/19/1993 - day before clinton took office: 435.13
s&p 500 on 1/19/2001 - day before Bush II took office: 1,342.54
s&p 500 on 3/04/2008 - yesterday afternoon 1,2292.20

Bush's tax cuts have given us an increase in the deficit and national debt that eclipse any and all predecessors. Before an increase in the capital gains tax can matter, one has to generate gains; under Bush the pressures of the federal deficit have sucked the lifeblood out of the economy.