curious cat

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    • Wed Apr 23rd 23:39 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Closer Look at Household Balance Sheets
      there are as many americans as there are snowflakes. though, i'm pretty sure their circles intersect at wal-mart or sam's or cosco. some spend extra for a cup of coffee, some for a pack of cigarettes, some to wash their cars, some to see movies, some to eat out, some to take a cab, some to buy music or video games, and some to do drugs. they are living paycheck to paycheck because they enjoy their vices. otherwise, they would not work so hard or be in debt. americans have plenty of options.

      they can work a few more hours, borrow from their parents or stop feeding the family pet the high priced mix. when they finally stop doing drugs, when they stop buying lottery tickets, when hookers are on every corner and they have no customers, then i'll believe that americans have no way to save. honestly, the number of americans who are vegetarians, have a garden, recycle, make their own tea or coffee, eat at home, do not drink, smoke, do drugs or gamble and still walk to any other location are so few,...

      that i have yet to meet another.
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    • Tue Apr 22nd 15:29 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Things Go Better with Coke (in the Market Too)
      personally, i'm a vegetarian and a reasonable health nut, so i drink plenty of water and hot green tea. however, i do get hypoglycemic from time to time, from stress of as a result of a forgotten meal. in times like these, a coke can quickly refill the tank and give me enough energy to eat another healthy meal. in fact, i know some people who swear by coke's ability to keep them regular. sometimes, i'd like to give the world a coke.
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    • Tue Apr 22nd 14:24 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Gold Stock Bulls Are a Different Breed of Bull
      thank you. that is a very helpful analysis of stock price movement. it gives me the confidence to continue holding dhna and gnmt. i would have thought there would have been much more consolidation going on with small mining companies by now. any thoughts on that?
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    • Tue Apr 22nd 13:06 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Solar Power Will Be Transformational in the Next Decade
      supershort,
      where were you when he was touting thornburg? i could have used a sober analysis on that one too.
      thanks
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    • Tue Apr 22nd 12:16 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      No Stimulus from Stimulus Checks
      well, i hate it for the people who are losing their jobs, but they may become day traders and that might boost market volume. they may invent products or open competing firms. according to you, there are plenty of them around to do so. those reduced limo trips will reduce the demand for gas and that will be better for the environment and the inflation rate. in fact, if they all stay home for a while, that might reduce the average carbon footprint we make. man, there is so much upside to your bad news. by the way, happy earth day!
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    • Sun Apr 20th 16:08 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Walking Away: The Next Mortgage Crisis
      ok, i still need to know about laws outside the great tax state land bubble of california. most of the country is not in this mess, because most of us had more sense than to pay more for a home than we could afford. can the people in other states turn in the keys and walk? also, don't the mortgagors have a big incentive to keep rates the same? so what if the contract says they can raise the rate, when they see real estate prices dropping, recognize that borrowers are underwater and have walking papers, won't they just unilaterally act in their own best interests? why would they need government pressure to readjust?
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    • Sun Apr 20th 15:45 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      E*Trade: Primed To Turn Around?
      for those of you willing to read this far down, let me add a short personal testimonial. i have had an investment and trading account with etrade for years. i also have brokerage accounts at schwab and others. i was literally amazed that anyone jumped ship when they thought etrade was being attacked. their service and rates are that much better.

      in addition, my credit is excellent and just over a year ago, i was shopping for a $300+ mortgage. although i was a good customer with a net worth that easily covered the mortgage, i still had many forms to complete and much evidence to provide. despite good cutomer service, i was unable to get my lowest rate from etrade. i was able to beat them twice locally. this suggests to me that their mortgage department was not as aggressive as others and they were extremely cautious lenders.

      disclosure: i do not own stock in etrade.



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    • Fri Apr 18th 12:16 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      A Closer Look at Recent Upbeat Earnings Announcements - Don’t Believe the Hype
      for years, i beat myself over the head with what should be, as does the young author of this article. currently, i have decided to ride along with what is, instead. if you go to the race track, you can bet on a horse and watch him win or lose. the stock market winners are not betting on horses to win, they are betting that other bettors will agree with them and continue to drive up the price. that being said, i wish everyone reading this would please purchase some xdsl mphase and we can all win! thanks.
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    • Thu Apr 17th 14:36 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      The 7 'Golden Rules' of Picking a Gold Stock
      enjoyed your article, but our "paper" money is actually printed on linen, which is why you can wash and dry it and how it manages to stay in circulation so long and why you hear the word "threads" when someone is referring to it's composition.
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    • Thu Apr 17th 00:52 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      The Housing Crisis: Personal Responsibility and Wishful Thinking
      ponchovilla, greenspan didn't drive the truck to the frat. to extend your analogy, he just drove it to the liquor store. the store owner sold it without checking id or the teenagers bought it using fraudulent id. however, people who buy homes are not teenagers.

      erx, just because the devil urges you to jump off a cliff, does not mean you have to do it. well, maybe you do if you're a lemming. still, excusing people for buying above their heads, because they were trying to get into a decent home is the same excuse you can make for a cat burglar. they took risks and they knew it.

      how do i know that? well, i've bought two homes now and the closing takes hours because every piece of paper has to be explained to me, over my protests, even though i'm a lawyer. is it possible that the only place in the country that explains these confusing aspects (eg. monthly payment amount) of purchasing a home to prospective home owners is the great state of alabama?

      thedanza, in your analogy, you can make the piranhas well fed and sleepy. regardless, the swimmers should at least have known whether they could swim or not.

      malkiel, i have no personal enmity for those at the bottom of the food chain. i was born there and worked my way up. i love this country and the many opportunities it provides.

      basic finance, you certainly have one thing right. our kids should not graduate high school without some kind of basic finance course. lord knows we should also give i.q. tests to anyone who wants to drive or have children, too. we don't and we don't hold people accountable for the financial decisions they make, either. that's the beauty of this country, you are allowed to be an idiot, but you are given the opportunity to learn.
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    • Mon Apr 14th 00:10 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Fed Easing: No Free Lunch for Dollar, Oil and Commodities
      sbernard,

      lasting prosperity should not be a national goal. it should be an international goal. for years, americans have spent their hard earned dollars trying to help poorer nations. we aided those who could not free themselves, who could not feed themselves and who could not protect themselves. most of the world has forgotten our efforts, but they were valid goals, because one nation under god, cannot be free, well fed and protected, while the rest of the world is not.

      similarly, we have enjoyed the fruits of cheap labor from other countries for many years. it is time they enjoyed some of our goods and services at a more reasonable rate of exchange. why should our dollars be worth more when we have printed so many? the market will settle a value on the dollar that is equitable based on what we spend and have spent.

      if our people have to work a little harder, it will be good for our soul. if we have to accept some charity from other nations, it might be good for theirs. they say that money always goes where it is most appreciated. when corporations invest everywhere, that is in the world's best interests. it's win-win, sbernard, not the dark ages.

      let everyone work and everyone share fairly in the world's wealth according to their efforts. if we all act in moderation, instead of greedily, we can all give thanks. what is the nature of the world's discontent? they believe that we have everything and they have nothing. give them the opportunity to work and succeed. that's what everyone deserves.
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    • Sun Apr 13th 12:22 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      A Tale of Two Coasts
      hey bearfund, there are lots of new factors driving people back out of the city. sure, it costs more to commute, but people can now do their jobs at home and don't have to commute. others are making use of flextime to reduce the number of trips they have to make.


      fuel prices are going to have an impact, until demand affects decisions. some will buy transportation that is cheaper to operate, like motorcycles, or electric, or hydrogen, hybrid, mass transit, etc.

      the desire to escape the congestion of the city works against the effects of reducing costs. most people are willing to live in the inner city until they can afford to move away. of course, there are exceptions, like some people in nyc who have been brainwashed into believing they are the center of the universe, etc. by and large, though, the demand for freedom and autonomy, lower taxes, lower daily expenses, larger living spaces, will far outweigh the consideration of higher fuel costs.

      if anything, your contentions might hold true for smaller cities with lower taxes and better services. that might mean cities in the south.
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    • Sun Apr 13th 12:01 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Signs That Foreclosures May Be Peaking
      the price of a new home should reflect the cost of labor, the cost of commodities (like copper), the size of the home and lot and the location, location, location. since commodities seem to be the factor that is changing the most, it should be relatively easy to determine the true value of a home.

      if the builder can still build one a few blocks away from yours for 80% of the price you are asking, you are asking too much. homes are not a depreciating asset in an economy where inflation is a concern. the more it costs to build, the more your home is worth. the less your dollar buys, the more your home will cost.

      the only other concern we have is the decreasing number of buyers as baby boomers disappear. that can be solved by annexing mexico. we get their oil. they buy the homes they helped build. win-win.
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    • Sun Apr 13th 11:38 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Fed Easing: No Free Lunch for Dollar, Oil and Commodities
      the cheaper dollar is the solution to the world's biggest problems, my friends. america is full of people who are programmed to consume until they get obese. remember, h.g. wells time machine? we are in that future and those blind mole guys underground, providing for all our needs, have been cranking stuff out for many years now.

      if the dollar devalues, we consume less. that is good, not bad. most of us do not need one quarter of the stuff we have.

      if the dollar devalues, we consume less, our underground friends can give back some of the jobs they took. that is good, because americans were becoming a two class system, rich and poor. we need those manufacturing jobs to have a middle class.

      if the dollar devalues, we will only travel to other countries as much as they travel to our country. we need to balance out our books with the world. personally, i'm waiting for the day when someone in india calls us for help with their computer.

      i want to have a world where everyone is paid at least minimum wage, where they do not have to work 14 hour days, seven days a week, or sell their sister to get a meal.

      america has been supersized for long enough, my friends. if you believe in capitalism, you should know that eventually the scales must be balanced and those people willing to work the hardest, who create the best, will still enjoy an improved standard of living. but, we have had an artificial edge on the rest of the world for a half century now.

      what are the odds that america contained all the people who deserved an improved standard of life? when the curtain came down and true competition began, we had to come down some too, to meet the rest of the world half way.

      now, it's up to our advertising machine to convince them that they cannot live without big screen tvs, computers, three bedroom houses, etc. don't be afraid of the rebalancing act. their are huge opportunities being created.

      just consider, for a moment, the alternative. they could simply have waited a few more years and sounded the air raid sirens for their next meal.
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    • Sun Apr 13th 11:10 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      The Great Television Price Inflation Scam
      in most cases, you can still purchase the 2002 version of your tv, washer and dryer or car. the advertisers have convinced you that you cannot live without their improvements and you've convinced yourself that you can afford the improvements, too. if you shopped around and settled for less, you would not have gnashed your teeth so much. for example, you give the slightly larger screen as the equivalent, instead of the slightly smaller one or an average of the two.

      for the purposes of comparison, we can leave out negotiation skills, which arguably would have applied to 2002, as well as 2008. however, you do have far more options today than in 2002. there are plenty of wholesalers available on line, for instance, which now compete with your local best buy retailer. furthermore, we are in a global economy which has flooded our country with goods from more and more countries and we have more and more competitors in the cable industry, too. it is far easier today to pick up the phone and tell your provider that you are going to switch unless they give you a discount.

      i won't argue against the fact that some things have a higher sticker price, but generally, the actual purchase price increase is a function of our skills as negotiators and shoppers. you are five or six years older than you were in 2002, so you should be that much better.

      incidentally, if you had read consumer reports and shopped carefully, your products would have probably lasted longer. with constant use, my washer and dryer are 25 years old. i'm still driving a '92 and getting 20 miles to the gallon and i have my older big screen tv from 1998. even though, i have elected to purchase an additional car and two tv sets since then. if people would keep their things in good working order, we would require fewer goods and that would lead to less competition for those goods, keeping the prices reasonable. your willingness to pay more injures the rest of us because it makes the sellers believe that their products are priced correctly. on the other hand, i guess they can afford to give me a discount when they look at the average sale. maybe, you're a wash.
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