GlobalTrekker's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.comuser/254976/comments http://seekingalpha.com/article/179771-cornerstone-progressive-return-cfp-an-overcrowded-short?source=feed#comment-820417 820417 Thu, 24 Dec 2009 11:15:42 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/179513-more-on-bdv-investment-yields-and-closed-end-funds?source=feed#comment-818991 818991 Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:13:40 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/178636-six-additional-comments-on-cornerstone-progressive-return-fund?source=feed#comment-810498 810498
Mr. Olin may be sincere in his belief, but there is very little reason for the average investor, or even the above-average investor, to share this sentiment in terms of long-term investments. Actively trading CEF shares with a view to discounts and premiums and a wariness of the high-priced management can outperform the markets. But most CEF managers view you and me as captive investors, and they milk these funds for fees with little concern for performance. Very, very few CEFs outperform their representative indexes, and when they do, it is usually because of leverage. Thus, on a risk-adjusted basis even fewer funds best the indexes. Not one of the Cornerstone funds' NAVs has outperformed the S&P 500.]]> Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:42:06 -0500
Mr. Olin may be sincere in his belief, but there is very little reason for the average investor, or even the above-average investor, to share this sentiment in terms of long-term investments. Actively trading CEF shares with a view to discounts and premiums and a wariness of the high-priced management can outperform the markets. But most CEF managers view you and me as captive investors, and they milk these funds for fees with little concern for performance. Very, very few CEFs outperform their representative indexes, and when they do, it is usually because of leverage. Thus, on a risk-adjusted basis even fewer funds best the indexes. Not one of the Cornerstone funds' NAVs has outperformed the S&P 500.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/178049-cornerstone-progressive-return-fund-clever-ipo-distribution-strategy?source=feed#comment-804931 804931 Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:59:13 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/178060-should-you-invest-in-the-land-of-komodo-dragons-indonesia?source=feed#comment-804925 804925 Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:56:43 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/177029-2009-cef-year-end-strategies-part-1?source=feed#comment-795627 795627
Disclosure: commenter owns at least small positions in every U.S. listed closed-end fund.]]> Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:21:12 -0500
Disclosure: commenter owns at least small positions in every U.S. listed closed-end fund.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/173498-closed-end-funds-and-tax-free-dividends?source=feed#comment-762134 762134 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:46:58 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/173199-pimco-global-stocksplus-income-fund-looks-overvalued?source=feed#comment-758954 758954
Were I long, I'd sell. Otherwise, I'd look at the recent (one year or so) discount/premium profile and see where it is now. If it's particularly high by *that* measure, and you have the stomach for it, it could be a good short. I am short it now.]]> Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:02:33 -0500
Were I long, I'd sell. Otherwise, I'd look at the recent (one year or so) discount/premium profile and see where it is now. If it's particularly high by *that* measure, and you have the stomach for it, it could be a good short. I am short it now.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/172890-why-i-m-long-helios-total-return-fund?source=feed#comment-756642 756642 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:19:54 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/149646-cef-mergers-drives-special-equity-funds?source=feed#comment-746131 746131

On Jul 19 10:27 PM Joe Eqcome wrote:

> GlobalTrekker
>
> A little history lesson for you. When economics was original taught
> at Oxford the course was entitled “Political Economics”. The reason
> was economics was, and still is, considered a social science. Political
> policies are designed to influence economic and investment behavior.
> So, it is almost impossible to separate politics from economic policy
> and sound investments decision making.
>
> Since America is still a country that recognizes free speech and
> debate, rather than not injecting my economic and political views—which
> I believe is crucial to sound investing, why don’t you countermand
> my arguments with your views if you disagree?
>
> I, and I’m sure others, would like to hear someone defend an out-of-control
> fiscal policy and what would be the best places to invest if such
> were to become an economic reality.
>
> Joe Eqcome
> ]]> Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:22:15 -0500

On Jul 19 10:27 PM Joe Eqcome wrote:

> GlobalTrekker
>
> A little history lesson for you. When economics was original taught
> at Oxford the course was entitled “Political Economics”. The reason
> was economics was, and still is, considered a social science. Political
> policies are designed to influence economic and investment behavior.
> So, it is almost impossible to separate politics from economic policy
> and sound investments decision making.
>
> Since America is still a country that recognizes free speech and
> debate, rather than not injecting my economic and political views—which
> I believe is crucial to sound investing, why don’t you countermand
> my arguments with your views if you disagree?
>
> I, and I’m sure others, would like to hear someone defend an out-of-control
> fiscal policy and what would be the best places to invest if such
> were to become an economic reality.
>
> Joe Eqcome
> ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/171430-the-imminent-collapse-of-municipal-bonds?source=feed#comment-746020 746020
Interest payments are usually very senior in the states' hierarchy, and revenue bonds continue to collect tolls, fuel taxes, and utility surcharges. These have fallen little. CA and others have risen the sales tax 1%, and that's a lot of money in the world's 8th largest economy.

Many states actually are cutting back services, so much of what the old saws say in this article is untrue.

Also, comparing expenses in 1955 versus nearly 2010 is really quite a mental stretch. This is not the same nation as 55 years ago, despite what perhaps many readers might wish.

It's always a little surprising to me that people claim to be so patriotic but deride all those who work for the nation. Do you really have so little regard for the value and services of our nation's military, teachers, forest fire fighters, meat inspectors, police, firemen, park rangers, state university professors, flight controllers?

Factually, the article also falls a bit short: "the investor gets only a slightly better return than in Treasuries." Uhm, on what planet have you been residing? My Vanguard muni funds have been yielding 4.3%, a double-tax-free equivalence of nearly 8%, not counting the huge appreciation I've enjoyed. The triple-A rating may be suspect, but I'll take my chances. In the CEF muni world I have funds paying out over 10% in tax equivalent yields, again, ignoring the far larger appreciation received since purchase in the spring.

In all, the muni market is in trouble, like most of the economy, but the writers protest too much. The states comprise America, and America is filled with potential, creativity, and vigor -- throughout, not just in a few Silicon Valley start-ups.]]> Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:33:25 -0500
Interest payments are usually very senior in the states' hierarchy, and revenue bonds continue to collect tolls, fuel taxes, and utility surcharges. These have fallen little. CA and others have risen the sales tax 1%, and that's a lot of money in the world's 8th largest economy.

Many states actually are cutting back services, so much of what the old saws say in this article is untrue.

Also, comparing expenses in 1955 versus nearly 2010 is really quite a mental stretch. This is not the same nation as 55 years ago, despite what perhaps many readers might wish.

It's always a little surprising to me that people claim to be so patriotic but deride all those who work for the nation. Do you really have so little regard for the value and services of our nation's military, teachers, forest fire fighters, meat inspectors, police, firemen, park rangers, state university professors, flight controllers?

Factually, the article also falls a bit short: "the investor gets only a slightly better return than in Treasuries." Uhm, on what planet have you been residing? My Vanguard muni funds have been yielding 4.3%, a double-tax-free equivalence of nearly 8%, not counting the huge appreciation I've enjoyed. The triple-A rating may be suspect, but I'll take my chances. In the CEF muni world I have funds paying out over 10% in tax equivalent yields, again, ignoring the far larger appreciation received since purchase in the spring.

In all, the muni market is in trouble, like most of the economy, but the writers protest too much. The states comprise America, and America is filled with potential, creativity, and vigor -- throughout, not just in a few Silicon Valley start-ups.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/170758-california-s-high-tax-high-benefit-model-a-constantly-renegotiated-bargain?source=feed#comment-742792 742792
But I'll take San Francisco over Dallas, and LA over Houston summer or winter. Sacramento versus Austin, you have an argument. I have a small business in the Golden State, and through careful and legal tax-minimization techniques, my taxes are quite manageable, lower than in other states I've worked and owned. The beauty and the weather and the people and the food and the nature facilities are fantastic.

CA has to clean its act up, but it's most because of its super-majority budgetary system. Too many highly paid municipal union workers, for sure, but I have to say in permits, courts, police, emergency workers, I am startled by how much competence and decency I encounter, so much greater than in the East or the middle South. People are also consistently friendly, pretty smart, helpful -- something I've found a rarity though much of the rest of the world, and even in large parts of the U.S.

That said, I've nothing in terms of bad experiences with Texas -- just a little distaste for their over-zealous executions (I know it's very popular in Texas, and it's for Texans to decide; just hate parts of our country to be in such tight concert with Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China on this expensive, mistake-prone retribution).]]> Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:41:05 -0500
But I'll take San Francisco over Dallas, and LA over Houston summer or winter. Sacramento versus Austin, you have an argument. I have a small business in the Golden State, and through careful and legal tax-minimization techniques, my taxes are quite manageable, lower than in other states I've worked and owned. The beauty and the weather and the people and the food and the nature facilities are fantastic.

CA has to clean its act up, but it's most because of its super-majority budgetary system. Too many highly paid municipal union workers, for sure, but I have to say in permits, courts, police, emergency workers, I am startled by how much competence and decency I encounter, so much greater than in the East or the middle South. People are also consistently friendly, pretty smart, helpful -- something I've found a rarity though much of the rest of the world, and even in large parts of the U.S.

That said, I've nothing in terms of bad experiences with Texas -- just a little distaste for their over-zealous executions (I know it's very popular in Texas, and it's for Texans to decide; just hate parts of our country to be in such tight concert with Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China on this expensive, mistake-prone retribution).]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/168911-here-s-why-asia-must-eventually-ditch-the-dollar?source=feed#comment-731238 731238 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:24:27 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/166639-ppm-claims-liquidation-is-in-the-best-interests-of-the-fund?source=feed#comment-716032 716032 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:51:48 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/164776-smarter-way-to-pick-high-yield-stocks?source=feed#comment-703285 703285 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:59:41 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/164754-cef-weekly-review-wall-of-worry?source=feed#comment-703271 703271 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:37:35 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/163109-obama-s-trade-battle-explained?source=feed#comment-689474 689474 Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:13:21 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/162793-aercap-acquisition-of-genesis-to-create-largest-aircraft-leasing-company?source=feed#comment-686605 686605 Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:07:02 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/161384-pimco-high-income-fund-a-swan-song?source=feed#comment-676093 676093 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:27:57 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/160930-tax-free-etfs-have-delivered-exceptional-results?source=feed#comment-672764 672764 Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:03:57 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/160930-tax-free-etfs-have-delivered-exceptional-results?source=feed#comment-672739 672739 Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:57:22 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/153205-cef-weekly-review-divergent-fund-types-discount-changes?source=feed#comment-660608 660608 Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:56:54 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/158991-master-limited-partnerships-for-your-portfolio-three-key-questions-and-answers?source=feed#comment-654022 654022 Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:21:54 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/158956-credit-suisse-income-fund-breach-of-moral-obligation?source=feed#comment-653261 653261 Sun, 30 Aug 2009 10:56:09 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/158308-attractive-and-secure-monthly-cef-distributions?source=feed#comment-647862 647862
Where did you hear about the div cut? Even their public desk was unaware. The delayed dividend announcement was a tip off. Quite a big drop: 12% cut.

Joe Eqcome,

Like your posts and analysis, but I think there is a limit to this type of screening analysis. A much more valid approach would be back-testing these hypotheses on random time intervals and seeing if the short-term return was greater than the S&P or appropriate bond index over that interval. I really have doubts about most of these picks. DHF and FAM both look like a bunch of crap that have underperformed compared to their indices. It's just their discounts have fallen. DHF with a 3.1% management fee is appalling compared to JNK's 50 b.p.s fee. And FAM is a disaster waiting to happen at 29% leverage and a completely unjustifiable 3.6% management fee.]]> Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:11:19 -0400
Where did you hear about the div cut? Even their public desk was unaware. The delayed dividend announcement was a tip off. Quite a big drop: 12% cut.

Joe Eqcome,

Like your posts and analysis, but I think there is a limit to this type of screening analysis. A much more valid approach would be back-testing these hypotheses on random time intervals and seeing if the short-term return was greater than the S&P or appropriate bond index over that interval. I really have doubts about most of these picks. DHF and FAM both look like a bunch of crap that have underperformed compared to their indices. It's just their discounts have fallen. DHF with a 3.1% management fee is appalling compared to JNK's 50 b.p.s fee. And FAM is a disaster waiting to happen at 29% leverage and a completely unjustifiable 3.6% management fee.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/157879-state-and-local-governments-increase-jobs-even-the-experts-are-shocked?source=feed#comment-643312 643312
I have worked in the private sector all my life (trained as an engineer; you know, that profession that actually does something but has little prestige in your utopian private sector), and there's no magic or purity in it. Just like government, everyone seeks his personal gain. I've seen entrepreneurs who routinely abuse the system; I've seen realtors of every stripe who were all pure odium; I've seen private power company workers whose only fear in the world was getting caught polluting or fudging the law; I've seen bankers who believe that capitalism means no regulation of anything they do and the only controls should be SROs (i.e., the foxes guarding the hen-house). As to the last, any of you ever try to make a complaint about being cheated on a trade? Try filing a complaint with FINRA, a non-governmental "regulator" run by the brokerage firms. Fees *start* at $50 to make a claim and go up with the size of your complaint.

Anyway, the underlying point of this article is weak because the author correctly points out that employment increased until August of last year. The government that you rail against so was supposed to divine a year before the private sector that the country had entered into recession (based, magically, on analyzing and re-analyzing past economic data !!) and to have proactively cut employment, an action that would have cratered consumer purchasing and probably would have worsened the recession. Actually, hearing that government employment peaked last August, a year ago I find encouraging and a good and balanced response to the downturn.

Lastly, you think that the government getting more into healthcare is terrible. Brother, you have not run a business. My health insurance costs for my employees have gone up often TEN TIMES the cost of inflation, and 30%+ of those costs in my state are private insurers' overhead. For all the abuse the government takes, some of it deserved to be sure, their overhead is around 1%-2%. I'll take the cost of Medicare over HealthNet or BlueCross any minute of any hour of any day. So would you if you had to actually sit down and write the checks from your own bank account as do I.]]> Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:57:43 -0400
I have worked in the private sector all my life (trained as an engineer; you know, that profession that actually does something but has little prestige in your utopian private sector), and there's no magic or purity in it. Just like government, everyone seeks his personal gain. I've seen entrepreneurs who routinely abuse the system; I've seen realtors of every stripe who were all pure odium; I've seen private power company workers whose only fear in the world was getting caught polluting or fudging the law; I've seen bankers who believe that capitalism means no regulation of anything they do and the only controls should be SROs (i.e., the foxes guarding the hen-house). As to the last, any of you ever try to make a complaint about being cheated on a trade? Try filing a complaint with FINRA, a non-governmental "regulator" run by the brokerage firms. Fees *start* at $50 to make a claim and go up with the size of your complaint.

Anyway, the underlying point of this article is weak because the author correctly points out that employment increased until August of last year. The government that you rail against so was supposed to divine a year before the private sector that the country had entered into recession (based, magically, on analyzing and re-analyzing past economic data !!) and to have proactively cut employment, an action that would have cratered consumer purchasing and probably would have worsened the recession. Actually, hearing that government employment peaked last August, a year ago I find encouraging and a good and balanced response to the downturn.

Lastly, you think that the government getting more into healthcare is terrible. Brother, you have not run a business. My health insurance costs for my employees have gone up often TEN TIMES the cost of inflation, and 30%+ of those costs in my state are private insurers' overhead. For all the abuse the government takes, some of it deserved to be sure, their overhead is around 1%-2%. I'll take the cost of Medicare over HealthNet or BlueCross any minute of any hour of any day. So would you if you had to actually sit down and write the checks from your own bank account as do I.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/157475-high-yield-investments-in-a-crummy-economic-environment?source=feed#comment-639273 639273 Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:20:51 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/155194-california-won-t-even-accept-its-own-ious?source=feed#comment-623908 623908 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:05:06 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/154883-why-i-m-lowering-my-bond-exposure?source=feed#comment-622362 622362
Of course, that does little for the grand majority of us who make fixed-income investments in order to receive income, more or less fixed.

Guessing treasury and mortgage rates is a more foolish enterprise. I, too, can tell you with absolute certainty that they will go up. That means nothing. The question is when, precisely. That is immensely complex, and beyond the expertise of any of us writing here.]]> Sun, 09 Aug 2009 17:23:18 -0400
Of course, that does little for the grand majority of us who make fixed-income investments in order to receive income, more or less fixed.

Guessing treasury and mortgage rates is a more foolish enterprise. I, too, can tell you with absolute certainty that they will go up. That means nothing. The question is when, precisely. That is immensely complex, and beyond the expertise of any of us writing here.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/153119-deutsche-bank-s-strange-curse?source=feed#comment-611483 611483 Sun, 02 Aug 2009 11:09:16 -0400