biomedlives

The Reluctant Bull: My Portfolio

GIM has been volatile lately, and it was selling at a 5% premium to NAV at the close on Friday. At this point, I'd prefer to invest in the no-load income funds run by the same manager.

Goldman, Buffett Deal with Fannie Mae Inked a Month Ago

I hope the Treasury tells Goldman and Buffett to go pound salt on this one!

My Two Healthcare Favorites

Copaxone is a branded drug for Teva right now, and generic versions from other manufacturers represent a threat to future profits for this product.

Why Is the Market Going Up When Jobs Are Going Down?

I don't agree that the US health care system is the primary reason companies base in the US choose to hire abroad. There's still a huge wage gap, which is not limited to manufacturing jobs, and there's not much the government can do other than wait for the dollar to decline to the point where the gap is less significant.


On Oct 27 12:05 AM GreenMom wrote:

> What if companies hire abroad and make profits abroad, and come to
> realize their profits are robbed by US corporate taxes?
>
> They spin off a chunk of the business to an offshore subsidiary.
>
>
> What if they witness a US government that is increasingly intrusive
> and anti-business?
>
> They move headquarters offshore for good.
>
> What if they want to hire within the US but the healthcare system
> overhaul makes it prohibitively expensive to hire American?
>
> They continue to hire abroad.
>
> A global economy means that your country's corporate tax structure,
> business friendliness, and labor affordability are continually being
> compared to the rest of the world. We are so far behind in all three,
> but I have no idea what it's going to take to get our legislators
> to recognize the problem.

Covered Calls: No Free Lunch

I agree with the Wall Street saying "Let profits run, but cut losses short," and thus writing covered calls doesn't appeal to me in general.

Malpass in WSJ: Devaluing Currency Has Never Led to Prosperity

From the WSJ piece: "A better approach would start with President Barack Obama rejecting the Bush administration's weak-dollar policy. This would invite capital and jobs to come back before interest rates have to rise." How would a strong-dollar policy, which would make U. S. wages even higher in comparison to those in other countries, bring jobs back to this country?

4 Ways to Protect Your Capital (Think Debt and Bond ETFs)

Note that, unlike many closed end income funds, GIM does not use leverage.

Climate Change: How to Invest for the Possibility

I recognize that there are trained scientists on both sides of the argument. My point is that the mere fact that celebrities with no scientific credentials endorse a particular position is not a reason to dismiss that position.

I'd be interested to know what data you would regard as convincing evidence that global warming is real.


On Sep 25 10:44 AM Jimbo wrote:

> Biomedives: there are also a large number of trained scientists who
> are skeptics about AGW. Astronomers at a well known observatory (Lowell
> in Northern Arizona) told me several years ago that they believe
> the main driver of global temperature, and much long term wet/dry
> cycles, are due to solar activity. My fear is that the Utopian movement
> has emerged from the ashes of the Soviet Union, the People's Republic
> of China, Cambodia, etc. to seek to seize control of all human activity,
> in the name of "science" of course. There has always been a delay
> effect in the seasons: Summer warmth persists into the Fall and Winter
> cold persists into the Spring. The recently reported melting of glaciers
> could be reversed by the now observed significant drop in sunspot
> activity. We need more data and not breathless speculation. To access
> the scientists who are AGW skeptics, see the Heartland Institute.

Climate Change: How to Invest for the Possibility

My understanding is that there a number of people who have concluded that global warming is a real possibility have scientific credentials that are considerably more substantial than those of Penelope Cruz, Tim Robbins, and Harry Hamlin (or Rush Limbaugh).

Onyx Pharmaceuticals: Is Nexavar the Next Avastin?

Two notes:
- It's worth noting that Nexavar is a small molecule drug, while Avastin is a monoclonal antibody.

- "logical reasoning suggests that a drug that can act in multiple ways probably has a higher likelihood of being more effective than a drug with one method." A drug that can act in multiple ways also has a higher likelihood of adverse effects.

Solar: Energy's New Growth Sector

"Oh, did you remember the batteries?" ?? Don't install batteries; tie into the grid, put your excess power into it, and draw from it when the electricity generated by the solar panels is less than what you use.

Though residential solar may not make financial sense in all states, it's a great investment in New Jersey. We just installed a Suntech system that will generate an annual return of about 20% on our net investment.


On Sep 19 03:02 PM Bigmoneymine wrote:

> Photo-voltaic (seekingalpha.com/symbo...) solar cannot succeed
> without being economically competitive head-to-head with existing
> energy producers. I'm all for solar if it works for you or your business;
> if you've done the math and determined the cost savings is worth
> the expense, then go for it. Just don't expect tax-payers to foot
> the bill via government-sponsored "incentives".
>
> For all you sensitive "greenies" out there: while you're having this
> big enviro-save-the-planet... you might want consider the dangerous
> chemicals & carcinogens used to produce all these wonderful solar
> panels not to mention what happens to old panels that have to be
> replaced. Recycling? Ri-i-ight, at who's expense? Oh, did you remember
> the batteries? Gotta have lot's & lots of batteries to store
> all that power. Gee, I wonder what those are gonna cost?
>
> Closed-circuit passive solar makes more sense to me -- scales up
> better for utilities. I haven't done the math but I'm willing to
> bet you could generate 1KW passive-solar (seekingalpha.com/symbo...)
> a lot cheaper than PV (depending on the efficiency of the PV panels).
> PS systems will not degrade over time to the extent that PV will
> -- older solar panels are less efficient than new ones. The only
> maintenance in a properly installed PS system would be the easily-replaceable
> pumps, valves, relays and some minor electronics; those items can
> be easily refurbished for aftermarket sale or re-cycled.
>
> Of course we could use more natural gas fired power plants to moderate
> the cost of energy; NG is an abundant domestically-generated "green"
> fuel. No one knows how much NG we have in the ground but conservative
> estimates say at least 200 years and that doesn't count supplies
> from Canada. Why not build more NG power plants instead of all this
> solar power nonsense? It's cleaner than coal, cheaper / safer than
> nuclear, plants can be built in 1-2 yr time-frame.
>
> All the government incentives and tax-breaks in the world will not
> make PV solar competitive with natural gas. In fact, there's not
> a single economically viable alternative to hydrocarbon fuels in
> the foreseeable future. Worried about dirty air, carbon emissions,
> then use cost-effective technological solutions to clean up the fuels
> we have. We did it with gasoline, we did it with coal ( an can do
> more).

SunPower: Made in the U.S.A.?

As Allie implies, the notion of "American company" is due for a redefinition. I regard a company that has a high percentage of its high wage jobs in the U. S. as more "American" than one that has a lower percentage. Companies that are sending research, development, and manufacturing jobs overseas and keeping only sales, upper level executives, and the people who cut the grass at headquarters in the U. S. aren't especially American.

Genesis Lease: A High-Flying, High Dividend Stock

What is the average age of its fleet?

Profiting from the Tapped Out Consumer

"To me, it looks like the consumers have finally hit the wall where there is essentially no pent-up demand left. After decades of systematic and constant demand stimulation via artificially low interest rates and the emergence of the “demand driven economy” (as if there ever was any such thing!), we have succeeded in borrowing so much from future demand that our present GDP has been overstated by 10-30%"

Amen!

Supply Glut Pressuring Natural Gas

Then U. S. wages, benefits, and working conditions comparable to those in developing countries would "mirror reality", right?


On Aug 31 05:38 PM Mmarrkk wrote:

> Fully agree! I'd add that the relentless collapse of u.s. manufacturing
> was driven in large part by the overreaching of two groups: organized
> labor and environmental terrorists organizations...both joined at
> the hip by the Democratic Party! Labor costs have gone through the
> roof due to benefits packages that don't mirror reality or the competitive
> nature of the world economy. Keeping up with ever changing environmental
> regulations that in many cases have no basis in cost/benefit analysis
> is also a driving force behind manufacturing leaving the country.
> With that manufacturing base leaving, the natural gas industry has
> lost a vital demand element.