lavalyn

12 Comments

    • Tuesday Outlook: Commodities, Emerging Markets [view article]
      Not that it hasn't been obvious for a while, but Yahoo Finance numbers will be arithmetically accurate when volume is less than 2^32=4294967296. Something about computer addition and that number. It *should* be a trivial thing to fix, but instead they'll just let numbers roll back to zero if the sum goes over that number instead. Jul 29 08:43 AM
    • What's Left to Spend in the 'Credibility Bank'? [view article]
      Or you could say that this is just desserts for a nation that pays hundreds of millions to CEOs that run companies into the ground, millions to professional sports players... and somehow gets paid more for less production than people in China.

      The "Chinese worker that make [an] average of $250 a month" produces the things Americans use. The question that it raises is normally phrased "why should the Chinese be paid so little?" when the real question is "Why should Americans be paid so much?"
      Jul 16 08:27 AM
    • Separate Abusive Short Sellers from Those Who Play by the Rules [view article]
      glassbox: all of those loan products really are part of the system. It's the irresponsibility of the lenders that got us into the subprime mess. No, subprime debt is not AAA grade.

      Short selling is also part of the game... it adds incentive for proper price seeking. Short selling is also one of the things that keep the selloffs mostly orderly. Yeah, we're seeing 30% daily moves in some stocks. Would you prefer a 75% hit in a day and ridiculous volume as price discovery fails and nobody can actually sell at the "last" price?
      Jul 16 08:21 AM
    • Naked Shorted Stocks [view article]
      That's your broker's problem, not yours. They're supposed to do the locate for you, as your agent. Jul 15 11:56 PM
    • Financials: Don't Believe the Rumors [view article]
      You'd be right if you didn't account for these companies' incredible leverage. You're right, FNM and FRE assets are not worth zero... but their decline in recovery value exceeds their shareholder capital. It's mostly surmised that LEH is in the same boat, with Level 3 assets as they are and their off-balance sheet playing with R3 Capital.

      Dealing with insolvent companies is a game that's risky to play, both when taking an equity position (it's technically worth zero) and as a client (what's the recovery rate going to be?).
      Jul 15 08:34 AM
    • Is the Fed Being Hawkish Enough? [view article]
      sedek: back up your numbers, please? Where is this $25 number you're quoting?

      Futures expired last week... that should have purged the front month speculators (who would roll to the next month)... and yet June futures did not close anywhere near $120.
      Jun 25 10:27 PM
    • Is the Fed Being Hawkish Enough? [view article]
      And people wonder why commodities, especially industrial commodities like oil and steel, are going up like crazy. Like it or not, those commodities will always have a use. A barrel of oil will always provide X BTU of energy, no matter how much you paid for it. There will always be somebody that needs those BTU... Jun 25 08:27 PM
    • Point of No Return or Perfect Buying Opportunity? [view article]
      There's no such thing as excessive speculation. Or rather, where there's excessive speculation, there's a profit opportunity.

      And no, oil going up like this did not cause the financials to implode. Overzealous and irresponsible lending by the banks did.
      Jun 23 10:21 PM
    • Point of No Return or Perfect Buying Opportunity? [view article]
      I like these "non-answer" type articles. If anything, it's these sorts of articles that help astute investors find alpha. Specifically, I don't like being spoon-fed the analysis and conclusion.

      Bespoke points out some anomaly in the market, to illuminate where to do some further due diligence. Sure beats the pumping of the usual suspects (ETFC, FSLR, etc.) by the usual fanboy/girl crowd.
      Jun 23 09:02 PM
    • Metrics, Mortgages and Analysts [view article]
      jbmaria - I'd agree, but with less... vitriolic words.

      Seriously, Cindy, you damage your credibility by lauding this one company, all the time, never faltering like this. I'm almost convinced you are a paid pumper.
      Jun 20 11:29 AM
    • Lehman Downgraded at Wachovia and Credit Suisse [view article]
      Having seen how badly analyst recommendations go, I'd say they're just late to the party.

      I mean, what was Merrill Lynch thinking when the *upgraded* LEH last Tuesday!? Anybody with real intent could have calculated the $3B loss from public information only... (25x leverage on total shareholder capital that increased 6B...)
      Jun 10 12:38 PM
    • Compared with Canada, U.S. Economy Looks OK [view article]
      Problem is the inflation; Canada is just as severely impacted by it as the rest of the world. Nominal GDP growth was 4.9% annualized, so there's a pretty hefty GDP deflator factor in play. May 30 06:59 PM
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