alivewweb

Five Green Companies That Might Surprise You

FTEK looks to have some strong solutions however I am looking at very near term events and existing directives that require immediate action by utility companies and others. There are in the USA 50 major power plants that have been identified as major polluters. These and other must have mercury monitoring devices in place and operating by year end 2009. That is virtually overnight in the utility industry.

ALL of the major coal burners in the USA and eventually abroad will have to address these problems and the first thing they have to do is measure their emissions. That opens a wide door for some of the smaller high tech companies in this area.

I own one very small company that just landed a major utility CTEI and its up over 500% but the market caps it still tiny and they just opened an office in Bombay where they say there are more than twice as many major coal burners. Also China is building new coal burning power plants at the rate of one per week through 2020 according to recent estimates.

Many opportunities in the measuring area but not many pure plays.
I have a link posted below but it is way too long I think. Try searching Mercury-instruments/pr...

images.google.com/imgr...

A.

Five Green Companies That Might Surprise You

I would rather see a listing of the companies that manufacture the carbon and mercury monitors that the EPA will demand polluters purchase. They will be the first winners.

Take a Risk with Conseco

The point of speculation is outrageous returns in a short period of time and the point of investing is the same but the time span is different. The stock market has proven once again it is not the place to put your money when you think you are saving it.

In hindsight we were all speculating to different degrees as we are now. Even those watching from the sidelines with their hordes of cash. Players who are down now should realize it is a long ball game and like the Superbowl you are in it to win it.

Many of the best speculations have occurred when investors stop counting the companies assets and get caught up in the downward price spiral of the stock. If you believe in the company and its managers then double down or triple down or quadruple down.
It Is the only way to win this game.

CNO is also a personal speculation of mine as is GNW, ACAS and FMD.

Obama's Foreclosure Plan Helps Banks More than Stimulus

I think it would be better to help three families with their $250,000 mtg than one with at $750,000 mtg. But those in California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida might disagree.

Everyone that ever bought at home with 20% down knows or should know its takes a few years to get ahead but if you are a renter you are never going to get ahead (that is until recently). But the financial media won't give the homeowners a break. Yesterday for example they report homes sales down 7%, but nowhere did they report the actual number of new sales.

The glass is always half empty according to them. And recently a local Boston station showed a group of supporters and the homeowner in a small bungalow in unimpressive neighborhood complaining that agents from some of the largest banks in the USA convince her to refinance and refinance again because her home was worth $500,000.

So now she is going to lose it, but maybe she should have known better and by the way what did she do with all that money?

Housing: Where Is the Bottom?

Elsewhere it was mentioned that the average Bear market last about 30 months and we are now 16 months into this one. For this bear market to end means we will be heading up by that time (hopefully). It has also been suggested home prices can't stabilize until the credit market become unfrozen which is what the treasury is attempting to do right now ala the "dreaded" partial nationalization of some money center banks. No doubt the stock market will react more quickly to first light at the end of the tunnel than housing but things are cheap now and expectations are low.

It appears to me that we are at the beginning of the end of this crisis and its way too late to be afraid but a perfect time to be thinking about getting rich.

Again. Just my opinion.

As GM Goes, So Goes the Nation (Part 2)

This is an outstanding article.

I worked briefly for GM as a night cashier while attending Ga.Tech in 1956/7. I sold all of my 100 shares of GM at over $100 in 1962/3 to buy our first house for $18,000 with a $8,000 mtg. That had to be my all time best trade.

However there has never been any other car with the sex appeal of Elvis era Cadillac convertibles IMO.

Double and Triple ETFs Decay Their Value Faster, By Design

I think the real question is why the issuer created the securities in the first place.

Whose need are they addressing? Was it simply to roll over these holdings or churn them if you will to generate in-house commissions like a kid with his first margin account in the discount brokerage. Or did they issuers not see a real need?

I do not understand how these are created in the first place.I always assumed they were long and short the same basket of stocks. And a equal number of shares issued so that both side would inially have the same market caps.

And I was troubled by the simple fact the total market caps of both sides seemed to be contracting and perhaps for the reasons you suggest.

But the issuers have constructed these leverage finds incorrectly IMO. Take that basket long or short, double long or double short using margins, and triple long or short using options as the added kicker.

Pretty simple. Or perhaps just simple minded.

Nice article.

Wednesday Outlook: Commodities, Emerging Markets

I like this idea:

>>>Inspired by House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) and Obama Administration Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, two high profile government tax cheats:

patriotroom.com/articl...


Texas Republican Congressman and former judge, John Carter, has introduced legislation that gives ordinary Americans the same special privileges accorded to Democrat Charlie Rangel and our newly minted Democrat Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

As long as you pay your back taxes, all fees and penalties will be waived.

All U.S. taxpayers would enjoy the same immunity from IRS penalties and interest as House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) and Obama Administration Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, if a bill introduced today by Congressman John Carter (R-TX) becomes law.
Carter, a former longtime Texas judge, today introduced the Rangel Rule Act of 2009, HR 735, which would prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from charging penalties and interest on back taxes against U.S. citizens. Under the proposed law, any taxpayer who wrote “Rangel Rule” on their return when paying back taxes would be immune from penalties and interest.

“We must show the American people that Congress is following the same law, and the same legal process as we expect them to follow,” says Carter. “That has not been done in the ongoing case against Chairman Rangel, nor in the instance of our new Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. If we don’t hold our highest elected officials to the same standards as regular working folks, we owe it to our constituents to change those standards so everyone is abiding by the same law. Americans believe in blind justice, which shows no favoritism to the wealthy or powerful.”

Carter also said the tax law change will provide good economic stimulus benefits, as it would free many taxpayers from massive debts to the IRS, restoring those funds to the free market to help create jobs.

Democrats' hypocrisy has come back to bite them. Can Rangel oppose the bill? Can Geithner? When you cheat, you lose the moral high ground. There is nothing more antithetical to a Republic than to have one rule for politicians and a harsher one for the people.

And yet, unless this bill passes, that is exactly what we have.
<<<

Friday Outlook: Commodities, Global Markets

This morning I have on watch SKF ($142) and UYG ($3.28). It is my understanding these should mirror each others movements and they do. However if you add these two numbers together you get about $145.

The week of October 19, 2008 SKF dove under $90 while UYG held about $10 ;the sum of which was about $100. During the SKF spike to $250 UYG didn't break $3 until much later.

My question is if the prices reflect the value of an index or portfolio long and short or double long double short why the gyrations in total value? What are the actually measuring?

Maybe Leveraged ETFs Aren't So Hated After All

Another Puzzle:
On 10/19/08 I got a partial fill pre-mkt on SKF at 88.88 which turned out to be almost the low of that day after which it started back up. But I was also watching the other side UYG which was about $10 that day.

SO now if SKF drops 50% ($75 from 150) UYG ($3.25) goes where? +50% or $5.

Something doesn't add up.

Housing Prices Will Probably Recover in Next 48 Months

First you have to understand that all financial media people sold their homes and investment properties as well as their stock portfolios and moved in with their parents about 3 years ago. They can hardly hide their emotions when reporting only the grim statistics from the worst markets.

However I agree we are near the bottom in many areas of our country and all media people should buy something. Then we will begin to hear some success stories again.

Failed Short Sales Exacerbate Foreclosure Losses For All [Housing Tracker]

You are both 100% right.

I am so glad I have 80% of my life savings in my home and a 4 family apartment house and my ski chalet in the mountains of West Virginia and a small home in Michigan we just purchased. All bought and paid for in cash.

Our apartment building is generating record income and our ski chalet is having a near record year.

As I have said before after going through 1987 and 2008; houses don't really crash but stocks certainly do.

A

Real Estate Bubble Is Only in 4 States: CA, FL, NV, AZ

Distressed home owners need to consider do they really wish to abandon home ownership and return to the ranks of renters or do they want to dig in and make a stand. Dropping your keys off at the bank may seem like the easiest solution but double digit inflation may prove it to be an all time bonehead move and guarantee your going to be a pedestrian watching the home value parade for at least the next seven years.

Those that sold their homes two years ago near the top of the market have fared no better if they invested those funds in some of Wall Street's favorite blue chips. Many have suffered sever declines and some have dropped over 90% .

Home ownership pays dividends every day in more ways than tax savings and truly has in the past offered the best opportunity for the average person to growth their net worth over the years.

Others may preach the investment merits of gold, commodities or stocks over home ownership but you can't live in them.

John G. Mueller, real estate investor since 1961
aka [e-mail]

Real Estate Bubble Is Only in 4 States: CA, FL, NV, AZ

"Worst housing market since the Great Depression"
We have all read this headline from many previously reliable sources even CNN and Reuters but this article clearly shows those headlines are just another media attack on the American public trying to out-doom-and-gloom each other?

Anyone can claim this 2008 real estate market is as bad as the great depression because there are no actual records of exactly what happened in that period. However the pictures of business activity today look much different that the early 30's. Unemployment is near 6% not 25%. There are built in cushions in this economy whereas there were none in the 30's. Our government made matters worse by ignoring the situation then and refusing to boost the money supply even as the sixth largest bank in the country collapsed wiping out the savings of many citizens as well as businesses.

This is certainly not the situation today.

Buyout Not the Best Option for WaMu Shareholders

Question? How do they compute charge off? If they loaned 90% on a property now computed to be worth 50% less; do they charge off 50%? If so, seems very arbitrary.

Hot RE mkts cool off but the reasons these areas are desirable doesn't.