gracec

Is Deckers Outdoor Following in the Footsteps of Crocs?

I agree with your analysis of UGGs in a way. One only has to look at the spike up and down of Sketchers a few years ago. Shoes like UGG and Tevas are elastic commodities- people substitute it out for products that are similar that don't have the premium if they like that particular style. Decker will definitely go down but right now with such a high short interest I think it'll go sideways.

The Credit Card Industry Is Facing New Regulations

Here's a question, eventually the IPO shares that the banks are holding they'll sell it right? won't they flood the market with more V shares? How long are they locked up before everyone starts selling? Wont' that put downward pressure? Why is it trading at 210 times PE? Just at these levels I'd wait for a pull back before I buy.

The WSJ Is Wrong on the Housing Crisis

Need some input . Some have said that the tax credit of 250k /500k capital gains exemption spurred some of the boom in home prices (it got factored into home appreciation). They're still selling the no money down thing here in the inland empire which is still scary. By the way, all these people with foreclosures on their credit records what happens to their ability to buy the next house when the recovery happens? Most of the people were young who got caught up and now are mostly upside down in their homes. Also here in the california they have mello roos which is additional tax on new homes on top of your property tax of 1% which sometimes is double (1.7-1.8 depending on where you live) to pay for the cost of new schools, new roads, etc and this is an indefinite tax. It doesn't go away after a few years - it's unclear when it stops. With the avg home price in california that's an additional 6-9k a year in taxes on top of your regular property tax. So most people would rather buy a house which is 8 years old and save on the tax. Plus the empty neigbhorhoods in these new developments are depressing, unkept lawns, renters living near you rather than owners due to all the speculators. The worst parts are the new developments that have HOA -home owner association dues- which are not tax deductible and as more homes are foreclosed I've been hearing from a lot of home owner associations that they're forced to increase the fees because less people are paying the community dues. Also harder to sell. Also what happens when all these high paying jobs are outsourced to china and india or somewhere else? I've got friends who have masters in biology laid off at Amgen who are now working as salesclerks and coffee baristas just to make ends meet. They've been laid off for over 1 yr now. Then we have all those unemployed people from the housing boom- real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and everyone ancillary to that.