mangum

Citi Needs Up to $10 Billion in New Capital

Headline: "Citi Needs Up to $10 Billion in New Capital"

1st paragraph from WSJ: "Citigroup Inc. may need to raise as much as $10 billion...."

Anybody besides me see any difference between these two statements?

I guarantee you that nearly no one "educated" in this country over the last 20-30 years will see the difference. And that's just plain scary.

Why Bank Nationalization Will Never Happen

This is an encouraging article until one encounters this extremely foolhardy attempt at humor: "Granted, he [Buffett] is getting a juicy yield for biding his time and having more money than God."

Ah, not really. The truth is that God can buy and sell the entire world economy a trillion times with no more than His pocket change. Buffett's wealth, on the other hand, is no larger to God than a single mote of a dollar bill shredded so finely it would take an electron microscope to have the ghost of a chance to distinguish the individual bits.

The scariest thing of all is what lengths God will apparently have to go to in order to properly whittle the U S A down to size. The process is already underway.

Hedge Fund Redemptions: Let the Bloodbath Begin

Interesting that there is no mention here of naked short selling's demise (at least in theory) as a reality that will adversely affect hedge funds' assets to a degree that most are still in denial about. Most, if not all, the hedge funds mentioned here have used illegal, abusive short selling as additional leverage in making their ill-gotten gains.

Financial Terrorism? - Cramer's Stop Trading! (9/18/08)

Cramer needs to cite anyplace that anybody, any time, has said short selling has been, or should be, banned. Is the man such an idiot he doesn't know the difference between legitimate short selling and naked short selling? Evidently.

Could Lehman's Failure Cause a Systemic Meltdown?

User 243313 has just nailed it. Meanwhile, the SEC keeps trying to cure the disease by treating the symptoms. One wonders just how many more major IBs will go belly up before naked shorting in our markets is eliminated.

Obama, McCain and Offshore Drilling

You know, that's the thing about Obama. You never know what he's going to say or do next. McCain has a philosophy he sticks with. That's why McCain has my vote in November. I'd rather know where he really stands (which I can) than have somebody I'm always in agreement with (is there such a person?).

Picture of a Market Scared of Its Own Shadow

Fear drives everything and fearmongers are on every hand. That's why I laugh when I hear "the home of the brave" anymore.

Compressed Natural Gas: Key to American Energy Independence?

Dual fuel vehicles are nothing new in Argentina, where many privately owned vehicles run on gasoline or CNG.

The fly in the ointment with the rosy price savings forecasts if we redevelop the dual fuel vehicle is that Big Oil will jack up the price of CNG to about what gasoline is, or maybe even above it. See diesel fuel prices over the last 20 years if you don't believe it. Big Oil is never going to miss a trick.

SEC Considering 'Market-Wide' Short Sale Rule

Legitimate short sellers fear that a new rule would shut down their activity is completely unfounded. It's a red herring, a smokescreen for the thievery that is naked short selling. It's astounding that just now, after reams of data have been collected by independent groups on the deleterious effects of naked shorting, that the SEC is just now waking up to the financial terrorism wreaked in our markets through this unregulated practice. I'm skeptical; I'll believe such a rule is enacted when I see it. But it can't happen quickly enough.

The SEC's Campaign Against Short Sellers

You know, either Christopher Cox is extremely, but extremely slow mentally or the naked shorts have him in their pocket. I'm guessing it's both. Honestly (whatever that is!), how can such a high-ranking official be so totally dense?

Do Dividend Stocks Underperform the Market?

Of course Schwab is going to diss dividend stocks. People tend to buy and hold them, which means "lost" commission revenue for Schwab. Completely self-serving on Schwab's part.

And isn't it interesting that one can "lose" something one never had?

Do Dividend Stocks Underperform the Market?

It makes perfect sense that Schwab would diss dividend paying stocks. Investors tend to trade in and out of these infrequently, which lowers a brokerage's commission revenue.