Eric in IL

AT&T OKs VoIP For the iPhone, Too Bad Google Voice Isn't VoIP

More proof that minutes are dead. VoIP is a low consumer of bandwidth. The future of Mobile service is connectivity + some application platform.
Not sure how you mean Google Voice is not VoIP? Inherently, if the Google Voice app is communicating via IP from the iPhone to some switch somewhere, it is still VoIP. VoIP does not mean all IP all through the call. For the most part, any VoIP originating or terminating call hits a traditional switch, trunk, or other gateway when it travels internetwork. Hardly anyone peers.

Two Stocks to Short: Marriott, Green Mountain

GMCR "high-end retail???" Are you kidding. They provide the McDonalds coffee. I wouldn't call that high-end, i'd call that High Growth. I gotcha on the overvalued theory here... it should have a 50P/E, but still. I wouldn't short this name. I'd just buy it lower.

After sinking to $1.00, buyers step in to snap up shares of GM (GM), now +16% to $1.33. Reminder: Citigroup (C) bounced off $1 back in March and never looked back.

Execs have no incentive to make keep GM out of bankruptcy now... not that $81k to Mr. "Global Warming's a Croc" Bob Lutz makes a big difference to board members, but it is better than a kick in the pants with a golf shoe. Hey Bob, Global Warming is a helluva lot more likely to be with us going forward than GM. Here's another inconvenient truth: putting all your eggs in the SUV/Gas Guzzler basket probably wasn't such a good idea. Dipsh!t

Dollar's Purchasing Power Annihilated - The Chart They Don't Want You to See

Not that they don't want you to see, it is that they don't care, El Capitan Obvious. Put it in terms of hot dogs. I am sure a dollar bought 100 hot dogs 76 years ago. Everyone knows that though. Somehow this does not apply to Taco Bell. Dollar is still strong at the Bell. Argh. Anyway, it is all relative. Income has outpaced inflation. That is what matters.

Is George Soros a Contrary Indicator?

I wouldn't put Soros and Buffett side by side. Soros has been in trouble with regulators before. He knew how to manipulate markets or parts of markets. I put a lot more faith in Rogers.
Cetin: Dollar will strengthen near-term. And bearish news came out of China last night. They are seeing deflationary pressure.
After the near-term pullback, I still think Brazil leads the BRIC.

The prospect of nationalizing banks may give Americans nightmares about turning French. But in fact the French - notoriously cautious spenders and avid savers - haven't needed to rescue any big bank, let alone take one over. What's the catch?

French leverage is much lower. You couldn't ever buy a home with zero down. and in general Europeans use their bank accounts for transactions, instead of their credit accounts

U.S. telephone carriers have made a habit of downplaying the insiduous shrinking in landline subscriptions on the assumption strong mobile growth will more-than bridge the gap. But JPMorgan's Mike McCormack warns that fundamentals in wireless are now deteriorating. T -4.1%. VZ -2.5%.

Don't ignore TV, this is the next growth area for them. And they still have operational improvements in landline with cutover to VoIP. IPTV is a good product. Mobile should naturally slow, just grew so much in recent years, but Mobile is not gonna die.

Martin Weiss: A Depression Is Unavoidable

Gold will see 625 before it sees 1125. Is this guy ever not a gold bull, Fine have it in your portfolio for diversification, but you aren't gonna make money in gold in 2009

ETF Ideas for the Producer-Minded Investor

I think EWZ is finishing the Cup and starting the Handle. I really like EWZ moving forward. It is a buy and hold, but I would average in here. Could easily pullback 10%.

Rich Americans are facing a rising foreclosure rate too thanks to the "trickle-up effect." The number of foreclosures on homes worth more than the $729,750 jumbo-loan limit jumped 127% during the first ten weeks of the year vs. the year before.

Exactly. Not people with real money, so I don't think CEOs are feeling this at their level of the layer cake. A lot of people own 700k+ homes without the real income to back it up. Really, it was like people trading Forex in the housing market 200:1,

5 Reasons Bank Shareholders Will Take a Hit

A lot here is overbought here, I am hesitant to get long, but also hesitant to be short. I would rather wait for a correction (there will be one). There are certain pairs trades that I would consider. Short Gold, Long Platinum. Short Citi, Long BAC (I would rather wait on this one after BAC's run-up).
The one I am very excited about long-term is Long V, Short AXP. V is the debit leader, has no credit risk, and is not cannibalizing its business. AXP is clearly hurting and pulling credit for creditworthy clients. They must have serious cash flow issues.

Get ready for a "surprising rebound" in H2, Larry Kantor, head of research at Barclays Capital says. "Most of our clients have missed this rally."

I think the new baseline P/E (next 5 years) will be 12, not 17 on the S&P

Wednesday Outlook: Commodities, Global Markets

I looked back at Mar 9 articles. I do not find Mr Fry to be very helpful at inflection points. Either we gap higher soon or we head back to 750 on the S&P. I think the sideline money is waiting for some moving averages to turn positive.

Is the 21st Century Really China's? Its lack of creative thinking could rob it of an innovative edge.

Well, I am saying Brazil will dominate the 21st century. And have to call a spade a spade on China. They steal Intellectual Property and have stolen it for years. I think buying a Boeing aircraft to take it apart and copy it for their own reproduction is an unfair practice. Russia has canceled sales of jets to them for the same reason.
Also they are very dependent on the US Consumer.

All those 'green shoots' may be no more than humanity's inability to deal with protracted gloom. So the question becomes, can mental green shoots sprout real fruit-bearing trees?

I don't think you're right Cetin. Green shoots will turn into trees, but not overnight. I do actually think Obama is intelligent enough to push for mechanisms that will not allow overleveraging to persist. He does actually seem to have a brain, unlike some prior leaders. If it does persist, we will just continue the boom-bust cycle. And I do not think a lot of long term investment money has returned yet.

Keep in mind that the majority of regular Americans are gonna be struggling for the next few years. I think their pain will actually cause real change. Not sure if it has ever happened to you, but speaking from experience, losing your job is a fundamental shock to the system. It changed my entire outlook and my behavior... I have saved 40-50% of my net income every year since. I cannot imagine losing my home to foreclosure. We are gonna see 10% unemployment and more foreclosures, which is a huge reality check. Credit Card companies are seriously wounded and will not be able to extend credit like they once did. Aside from that the Fed has provided, leverage is not available.