chagrinned1

Time to Exempt Mortgage Securities from Mark-to-Market Rules

Some of the readers do not understand your analysis, but I do and you are absolutely correct. The Financials will have a boom once this cyclone turns and values return. So, now they write off absurd sums to mark to absurd market; tomorrow they raise the values and their earnings marking value to tomorrow's market. I thought about this after first quarter earns were publicised. It will happen and it is absurd.
While there are few experts in the future, most Fin'l execs have seen this happen before and have some idea of what the asset will be worth after this time of distress. Their SWAG
(scientific wild ass guess) will be reviewed by the Acct Firm and modified or not based on judgement. This has been done well by Private Equity Firms in the past. Checks and Balances "may" be necessary to ensure honesty. Rick

10 Winning Stock Themes in an Obama Administration

Talk about a waste of time. We already have both Houses of Congress in Dimocrat's hands based on the promises they made in the prior election. Hmmm, has anybody noticed any improvement in our lives? Has it been a kinder/gentler Congress as promised by Ms Pelosi/Mr Reid? I warn you now--You will not like the results if we have all of Congress and Presidency controlled by one party. The offices of Pres and Congress NEED contention(checks and balances). We may see that not happen in 2009. We may end up with one party rule= DISASTER!! (irregardless of which party).

The Best Man for the Fed Chair Could Be a Woman

Balderdash!!The current problem is primarily due to Geenspans inattention to the impact of 1% Fed funds Rate and the effect it was having on the mortgage markets. No Doc mtge loans were a way of life towards the end of this bubble and he did not act soon enough to fix that. The low interest rates doomed the value of the dollar,ergo oil price soared as producers sought higher rates. And the biggest flaw in the Federal Reserve is the mandate by Democratic led Congresses to have an absurd number of public forums with the Fed chair, so that they can get their faces on TV. They declared it "the end of secrecy at the Fed" and was a fool move on their part. Prior to that the Fed made moves without "consulting" congress and it worked! The truly low rates scalped savers, made our $ depreciate daily, BUT it allowed everybody to own a house(true socialism) even if that was not feasible economically. (gotta think of votes)
But to show you how sensitive I can be I will visit my Wachovia Branch Monday and seek out the lady I know has been there for many,many years and holds a supervisory posn for a recommendation to the Fed Board. That is AFTER I find out her reasons for the utter bombing of our banking system. Patsy may have a compeditor here. Chagrinned1

David Einhorn: The Irony of It All

This is complete horsepucky!! Einhorn shorted Ald and has spent all the time since he took this position bad mouthing the company with the help of dorks who publish his analysis. If all who shorted stocks spent their career trashing the companies and had media assistance(as with ol' Herb Greenberg of CNBC(a Marketwatch flunkie), there would be NO RISK in shorting securities. And, yes, I also have shorted securities and licked my wounds, thought I was correct in the first place and then I MOVED ON!! Einhorn is not satisfied with moving on even though he has made big $$ I assure you. This San Fran cheap trick never moves on and you need to beware of that type. I am sure most investors have had their fill of Einhorn and his tirades. His minions say he is a flaming success. If this is how he suceeds, he needs to be banned from Wall Street. Seriously!! This has gone on for 6 years. It is now an Einhorn vendetta...Big C

American Capital Strategies Illustrates Private Equity Risks in Merisel Pull Out

Unfortunately you are second guessing the reason ACAS is
rejecting the deal at this time. Could you be related to David Einhorn or his good friends on CNBC?? There is a tendency to tear down bus development companies at a disasterous time in the market. Up to now I have kept/added to long positions except in disasterous banks. Now with all these critics I have to rethink my posture. THis possibly could be a time for your restraint when you limit discussion to your navel?? And yes I am long ACAS.

Oil Will Peak at $150-200 - Barron's Interview

THe more Barrons/Goldie Sachs/Morgan Stanley forecasts we get the price of oil surges in response. There are folks who treat these forecasts by respected investment houses as the gospel. Time to discontinue ALL forecasts for oil prices. THey add fuel to the fire and serve America poorly. WE are in trouble here and fanning the fire is not warrented.

Pfizer’s Celebrex: Mass Tort Madness

I am proud of you for publishing this article and love the comparison of tort lawyers to cockroaches. This is not only due to their trails left where they have fed at the trough, it is also due to the way they multiply in the face of big $$ They are truly the ambulance chasers of today and proud of it.

Greenlight Puts Red Light on Financials - Fast Money Recap (5/23/08)

David Einhorn sure gets the media attention he does not deserve. He is an inverate short seller who truly believes he can talk down the prices of his short sale holdings and thereby profit. Must you folk be the tools he uses to do this???

Has the Federal Reserve Become Too Powerful?

The Fed's imprimater was conferred by the socialists during the Volcker tenure. Dimocratic congressmen decided that having the FED disclose more in public forums would expose their faces to the public via TV. So, there is endless facetime between FED chair and Senators/Reps frequently for no apparent reason except to get Dimocrats better known by bored TV viewers. Ergo, the public looks to the Fed for all the answers.

Paul Krugman Wonders If He Is Dumb. I Say: "No!!"

No question Paul Krugman is truly dumb!!

Thornburg Mortgage Must Sell Its Soul to Stay Afloat

We are going to end up with about a dozen major Banks in USA as they reneg on loans made for home equity and corp
securities. Many lenders either will go under or never recover from the lack of funding. Margin calls under the current circumstances should be on hold, except for egregious and flagrant borrowers. Thornburg is not one of the latter. Banks always win and dead bodies in the way will be brushed aside.

Import Prices and Retail Sales: Two More Clues About the Future

Unfortunately the characters involved in the sub-prime fiasco are not the ones to be hurt by the medicine provided. Most of the banks and mtge brokers will be bailed out with easy money.
The ones most hurt are the retirees or near-retirees who will see lower CD/money market interest and reductions in their 401Ks and IRAs as well as their brokerage accounts. Is this not the case when the savings banks fouled up in the early 1990's? Retirees have higher inflation to contend with as well. Once over the hump Banks will mark up their loan portfolios and it will be business as usual. Is it any wonder Americans do not save more?? Rick

Markets Look Set Up for an Ugly Fall

I have been thinking and saying this for some time. The psychology of the markets needs change. Daily feedings of negative news in the markets begets negative results. Rick

Recession: A Self-Fulfilling Media Prophecy?

Have to agree with this author. The media specializes in bad news. Good news is NO news at all. That applies to markets as well as the War on Terrorism..

What Happens When Globalization Goes Bad?

Antaganism against illegal immigrants is a security issue for most folk. No other country has allowed illegals(no-docs) easy access. It does not take a genius to figure out there are people wanting more US citizens dead than alive.