mpharbold1

Why I'm Holding On to Citigroup Stock

If C survives, than the US taxpayer is really getting screwed with the toxic assets. C and the tax payer cannot both win here. I'm routing for the more honest taxpayer. Death to Citigroup! God Bless America!

Problem Banks in 2008 Are Nowhere Close to 1990-91

2008 is over. How many problem banks are there now and how many will there be in 2010? My guess is the amount is inincreasing drastically.

Short Stories: Thomson Reuters

????????? Not much of an article. No compelling argument in this article. Sorry I wasted the 2 minutes it took to read.

Time to Buy Bank Stocks

This is probably one of the worst articles I've read on seekingalpha. It is totally one sided and completely neglects the current economy. How are the banks going to handle escalating individual bankruptcies? Have you noticed people have been losing jobs? How about more foreclosures? How about commercial developers' bankruptcies? -a new problem. Geithner never said how the government is going to handle banks that fail the stress test. He did not take off the table the possibilty of nationalizing them. Or they could be ruled insolvent and the FDIC could step in like it did with WAMU. The argument in this article is nothing more than "too large to fail." The toxic assets could be too large with C and BAC - I expect Uncle Sam to let the worst ones fail. At this point we have no idea as to the true magnitude of the toxic assets. If you buy insolvent banks now, you are rolling the dice on what Uncle Sam will do and you have no clue.

Financial Naked Calls, Post-Geithner

They are not mirror opposites. They should be and are described as being, but they are NOT! Check out historical prices for both going back 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months. I have researched this and their net gain is way under 0% for all 3 time periods. I could accept a little under 0 due to fund fees, but if you buy both with the same amount of money, you lose most of your money over time. FAS and FAZ have both caught my attention, but beware - they are scams!

Kass' Short Bet on Berkshire Falls Short of Reason

Amit is being criticized way too much here in these comments. I've been tracking him on seekingalpha for the last couple of years and he is about the best if not the best. I distinctly remember his calls on CROX, DSL, and COST. His arguments are well thought out and researched and he has been dead on most of the time.

The Short Case for Nustar Energy

I find it odd you are shorting a company that you actually like long term. I understand your logic of expecting a sharp market selloff. But why not short something you dislike long term as well? For example, isn't SBUX destined for $5 and possibly even declaring bankruptcy within the next 2 years?

Cruise Line Stocks May Be the Next to Sink

Glad you brought this to light. I would have guessed cruise operators were doing ok based on aging demographics, but this article would make me look much more closely before buying.

Get Set for the February Bull Run

This article is nothing more than wishful thinking. The problems this time are real - they are not made up by the media. The bankruptcies and the unemployment cannot be ignored. The terrible home sales and lethargic auto sales are real. And where does everthing come from these days - China. The depreciation of home values is real. My area of the country (South Central PA) is better than most and even it is getting bad. I understand being greedy when others are fearful, but this time the fear is justified. The gov't solution to the problem has been to print more money - more easy money for borrowing and that's what got us into trouble in the first place. Gov't is bigger than ever and just continues to grow while the tax base shrinks. I don't have the answers, but I recognize we are really in trouble this time.

Odds of Substantial Turnaround in Near Term Slipping Away

Obama himself said things are likely to get worse before they get better. I would not be nibbling at all yet.

Rite-Aid: Bewildering Optimism

RAD : RIP

Its inevitable!

Perry Ellis: Bargain Stock

I used to trade PERY and I did ok with it. But the landscape has changed. Today, I wouldn't buy any company loaded with debt that is directly tied to the consumer. The off-balanced debt load is enough to keep me away.

I like some of their clothes and if you want to get some good Perry Ellis clothes for a good price, shop on ebay. But, I wouldn't buy the stock in this environment.

If you want a good stock tied to the consumer, check out PSMT. Pricesmart has more cash than debt, growing earnings, and incredible same store sales comparisons. They do not rely on the U.S. consumer.

Perry Ellis: Bargain Stock

BEWARE!

total cash 7.73 million
total debt 222.39 million

Companies loaded with debt are dangerous when credit is tight.

Replacement Candidates for David Merkel's Portfolio: From AA to ZZ

David, In late January you liked VSH. Today it is much cheaper, but every quarter they seem to take a new non-recurring charge that turns out to be anything but non-recurring.The stock was moving up from 8.5 to 10.5 and now after a couple of terrible weeks, its back under 9 again. It looks cheap to me, but I don't see any catalyst on the horizon for it to go up. What are your thoughts today on VSH?

Region's Financial: A Good Short Play

You would have impressed me if you would have recomended shorting this stock a year ago.