Ultraman

The US Dollar Elevator is Going Up!

I'm sensing a lot of gloom and doom vibes here. Hmm..., maybe its time to start investing in stocks again.
The last time I hear US was still the largest economy in the world, no one else even came close. The total market capitalization of all the companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange is greater than the amount of money in the United States. Which economy but US has the capacity to absorb the savings of the world?
American shares are beginning to look exceedingly cheap relative to the rest of the world and given that balance sheet of the financials are been aggressively cleaned up, I believe when the economy start turning around which it will, investments will flood the American market which will result in massive dollar gain.
Economists, am I wrong?

Financials: The Dangers of Zero Weight

Mr. Nusbaum, you seem like the person who know his stuff. I have this nagging question which I hope you could shed some light into. Recently Merrill sold their CDO portfolio for $0.22 on the dollar and there are report of some banks marking down their holdings to near zero. If I'm not mistaken, CDO stand for collaterized debt obligation meaning the debts are backed by some properties. Now, if the debt is defaulted on, isn't the holder of the CDO entitled to the property collaterized. Are we saying the value of all this properties are now at 22%-0% of their original valuation? I don't remember reading anywhere that the values of property have plummeted to such extend.