Respirate

Marc Farber: Gold Will Never Fall Below $1,000 Again

Never is a very long time ...

... maybe not if you're omniscient like Faber.

Spectrum (SPPI) and Ariad (ARIA) Pharma: Are You Paying Attention?

Justin - your logic seems sound on the face of it.

Looking forward to hearing more about Ariad (as well as SPPI). Can you suggest some sources to learn more about Ariad?

I'm usually reluctant be invest in biotech and small pharma. They tend to swing violently on events that are not well publicized and difficult to monitor. Any advice is appreciated, and from following your posts @ SA I believe that you're a trustworthy guy.

Thanks.
Long SPPI

Spectrum Pharma: CMS Rules in Favor of Zevalin

Thanks, Justin.

Are you buying shares prior to the earnings announcement? (ie, confident of positive news?)

-- R
Long.

More Reasons to Break the Plastic Habit

The real profit is in customers with lower credit ratings, higher risk, and frequently pay penalties and fees. Those of us (SA readers) with our financial houses in order want value for our money. So it goes.

Why Intel’s Earnings Don't Signify U.S. Recovery

Intel earnings alone don't signify recovery. ( And wholeheartedly agree the quivering flesh on CNBC is irrelevant except as cheap entertainment, as retail investors realize en mass.) However, the Intel earnings also don't mark a return to the dire conditions anticipated 8-12 months ago.

Marc Faber: Dollar Weakness a Symptom of Inflation in the System

Good video #2. Faber makes a very clear point that gold is a good store of value but a poor investment.

That in a deflationary environment gold retains value better then some other commodities is welcome and no surprise, but is largely irrelevant because as he clearly states, "inflation is the system" as evidenced by the chronically weak USD.

discl.: long gold E&P companies

Update: 10.9.09

I apologize to all for my previous harsh comment. In making it I assumed that other SA readers would realize that Spectrum Pharma is speculative and volatile. As such it should only represent a small position in a well established portfolio anchored by the likes of Proctor & Gamble, J&J, and ExxonMobil -- only my opinion.

The author Mr Hall would do a service to novice investors by including such advice when discussing stocks like SPPI.

Long SPPI & still holding a modest position.

Update: 10.9.09

"SPPI destroyed my portfolio." --

SuperPiker, why did you post this sad little blurb with no explanation?
If your portfolio is so weak that it is destroyed by a single speculative stock falling 18%, you shouldn't be investing in stocks ... or anything else for that matter. Invest in S&P proxy ETFs or US Savings Bonds until you learn that equity markets are not a safe place to play. You have to know what you're doing. Grow up.

Buy and Hold Isn't Dead Yet

I appreciate your low-risk buy and hold strategy. Thanks for sharing it.

I must question your choice of Aetna in your investment group. They may be profitable and investable (yes to both), but Aetna is the kind of health insurer you hope others do NOT emulate. As a healthcare administrator and provider I can say Aetna is the poster child for poor operational performance on behalf of both health providers and the insured. Just an ugly company to deal with - there are better choices in this sector.

I'd also suggest Conoco Philips COP as a well-run buy and hold substitute for BP. COP is poised to drastically increase earnings when NG demand rises in step with a gradually improving economy. COP recently announced a 6% increase to an already generous dividend, coupled with the sale of $10B of productive assets to improve its balance sheet.

Discl.: Long COP

Is Microsoft's Bing Losing Its Bling?

1. Reviews of Win-7 early releases have been overwhelmingly positive.

2. "You will need 20 gigs of free disk space for the upgrade, which will put it out of reach of many laptops." Most modern laptops have ample space to accommodate 20 gb.

3. "... still using the antiquated XP operating system ... ." XP is hardly antiquated, and is preferred by knowledgeable users and businesses to Vista.

4. Mad Hedge's comments begin with a focus on Win-7, but he piles on about what a pain installation is when he can't find installation disks and product keys. Since when is poor housekeeping Microsoft's problem?

Take his advice with a grain of salt. Listen to tech professionals you can trust.

S&P 500 Testing Downtrend

This unruly market just refuses to do what we naysayers think it should. Bad market, bad bad market. Sit. Roll over. Play dead.

The Sensationalist WSJ

Looks like Murdoch will do the same for a serious paper like WSJ that he did for Fox. It may be trash 'journalism' but it sells -- to the lowest common denominator. And that's what's really important, right?

Time to Invest in Tech Stocks

You make some reasonable assumptions, Super Stock Screener, and technology may be a leader in equities going forward. Unfortunately, your graphs detract from your argument. Your top graph shows that technology capitalization as a share of the total markets already at or above the norm. It only looks lower compared to the 99-01 tech bubble from which many portfolios have still not fully recovered. The second graph shows only that the YoY PPI is negative and yes, it will probably revert to the mean, but not that it will necessarily add much to technology market capitalization. In the end your article overall contains only very general assumptions and adds nothing new.

Procter & Gamble: Projecting a Resumption of Organic Growth

Tom - thanks once again for a thoughtful, well researched article. seems we have many stocks in common.

-R
long PG shares

Amedisys: A Great Short Term Trading Opportunity

David, you make excellent, very convincing points, and I'll take another honest look at AMED. The easy money ($30 to $34) has already been made since yesterday's initial knee-jerk reaction to the news.

It may be good for the longer term, until "investors regain their confidence". Some analysts opine that it was due for a pullback in light of the price nearly doubling from Mar09 lows, a powerful move for a company in this sector. Uncertainty regarding future Medicare reimbursement rates (also the basis for insurer rates) may also hold it back for a time. Still, this may be an attractive entry point.

Thanks again for the good information. -- R