BerkeleyBob

Wall Street: Dumb as It Ever Was

Thanks for a small but healthy dose of realism. More is at stake here than trivial rounding errors being seized upon by "experts"; the unpleasant fact remains that basic economic measures are massaged and manipulated until they have little meaning. Do you believe the employment or cpi numbers promulgated by the government? The folks at Shadow Statistics sure don't. Nothing like some good roots reggae to get you through the hard days--how about "Times Tough" by Toots?

Airlines: Some Costs They Can't - And Shouldn't - Cut

Deregulation theoretically allowed the airlines to compete by lowering fares thus benefiting passengers. The problem is that some of the cost factors are variable (fuel), the air traffic control system has been underfunded (possibly a subsidy to the airlines but most assuredly a public good), and entry of non-legacy competition (Jet Blue, Virgin, SouthWest) limited by airport and runway constraints. Does deregulation work over the long haul? More people are flying at lower fares, but there are some real externalized public costs. Good article; we know that commuter airlines and feeder pilots are having it even worse than the majors.

Why Mortgages Aren’t Modified and What a Ruling Stopping Foreclosures Means

Really excellent article and analysis. Encouraging home ownership and establishing a secondary market for home loans are not per se mistaken policy, although the surviving Wall Street players and their apologists griped about unfair competition from Fannie and Freddie. "We" are on the hook because a)Greenspan warmly endorsed the ARM as a boon to the consumer and b) Greenspan held interest rates too low for too long. I don't see any movement towards a structural change in mortgage servicing or "federalizing" the home loan process, clearly no longer a purely local matter with local bank holding the paper and engaging in realistic appraisal and underwriting practices.

Barnes and Noble's Nook May Not Ring Death Knell for Amazon's Kindle

I think we are in the early innings of a revolution in delivery of media content. The Nook has some features which represent an advance, some which don't interest. The ideal e-reader will be capable of color, larger screen than present, and allow delivery of newspapers and magazines on a subscription basis. We aren't there yet. It is probably a mistake to compare Kindle, Sony, and Nook to IPod and its competitors. I am long AMZN and considering taking a nibble or two on BKS at present price levels.

Big Banks: The Consensus Is Cracking

Doesn't this come back to the ill-advised repeal of Glass Steagal? Did not AIG structure its activities to escape regulation as an insurance company. Does a naked short seller or purchaser of a CDO have an insurable interest in someone else's property?

Three Ways to Make Money Fast

Old trader, from what I can dimly recall from my law school class on Securities Regulation, I believe the answer is "yes". Maybe you can afford to hire first rate representation, maybe you win but the experience will be expensive and protracted. Moral: Don't trade on inside information.

Is the Digital Magazine Coming of Age?

Dunno. I am very interested in a color e-book/reader which would provide a platform for magazines. I currently subscribe to a newspaper electronically, but don't find it satisfactory to use. Buying e-books is also appealing. Content doesn't come free, but if cheap enough, I am on board. I am not overly concerned with whether there should be web access within content delivered in a (future) color e-book/reader. Certainly, advertisers might like such a feature.

doubleTwist: An Amazon Powered Alternative to Apple's iTunes

Dunno, don't think doubleTwist will bring about the collapse of ITunes, but Amazon has available a pretty deep catalog and in a non MP3 format (higher fidelity). Of course, a shocking amount of pop music is shockingly poorly engineered and recorded. I am toying with the idea of a music server, because my collection of CDs and vinyl has considerably more dollar value than my system.

Gourmet Shuttered: What's Next for Magazines?

I continue to buy and read magazines, and was sorry to see Portfolio get axed. I thought it was doing some excellent journalism. There is something to be said for long-form writing, fact checking and paying content providers (oops, meant journalists) a decent amount. True, some content becomes available on the web for free and some (like me) are inclined to hold forth briefly on a variety of topics. Maybe the salvation for magazine publishing will be the next generation of electronic readers/tablet computers. When screen size increases and full color is available, I am on board to subscribe to magazines of interest. I currently subscribe to one newspaper electronically but don't find it as convenient as the print publication.

Mastercard Leads Q3 Sentiment for Financial Services

Wouldn't V belong in this cohort?

Banks Don't Intentionally Overcharge Credit Card Customers… Or Do They?

I've noted some similar problems with my gas company's credit card, now apparently handled by GE Credit. A way out is to put your checking and savings account with a credit union, which generally give their customers a fair shake.

SEC Ignored Warnings of Ratings Fraud

Good article. I am sure that Sen. "Friend of Angelo" Dodd will get right on this. The magnitude of the financial crisis, the transfer of wealth, and the public socialization of private loss more than justify a cool, rational postmortem similar to that which came out of the '29 Depression with rule-changing legislation. Our political leaders have been exposed, they have been pantsed by events. Frankly, I doubt the quality of legislative or executive leadership at present is up to the job.

Cramer Hammers AIG Founder Hank Greenberg

Under the leadership of "Hammerin" Hank Greenberg, AIG was no more and no less than an unregulated off-shore bookie that welched on its bets. He was forced to step down as CEO because of "accounting irregularities" ie, window dressing of reinsurance (largely unregulated) to prop up earnings. On this one, Cramer is right, but the remedy is difficult. AIG does have significant assets which could be spun off with returns to the taxpayers who have fronted many billions but in the present market, who wants to buy a profitable and large airplane lessor?

Is WFC Playing a Mortgage Shell Game?

Yet another example of why I don't like financials, with the exception of credit card processor Visa and probably the best house on a very bad block, JPM.

Ending the Off-Balance Sheet Charade

The short response to questioner is that if an investor can not make a fully informed decision on a transparent balance sheet and financials, that investor is not as likely to buy. This applies in spades to GE, which is emphatically not a stock for "widows and orphans" and to AIG, which I characterize as a off shore, unregulated bookie that welches on its bets.