Topcat

Time for the American Government and People To Confront Reality

No worries...we are printing money now instead of going into debt! :)...save ourselves now, but hyperinflation down the road, but deal with it then..all started by the huge debt service built by Bush and his Iraq war spending (and the military oil spending and oil delivery uncertainty in the Middle East, which spiked oil and started oil as a commodity investment).

Origins of the Economic Crisis in One Chart

Nice, but it really leaves out the underlying cause of the whole mess which triggered the financial house of cards to collapse so quickly. The rising cost of oil, triggered by Bush's invasion of Iraq. That raised ME tensions, not to mention the huge demands for fuel by the military.

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Play Defense

Hello, set STOPs,.

FOMC Preview: How Far Will the Fed Go?

Could someone please explain WHY cutting rates now is going to help? The bank preferred stock with painful dividends to be paid to the government should get the banks lending again, so they can buy back the shares asap to avoid the dividend escalation. The banks, etc. have loan rates too high right now for mortgages, etc, with credit too tight and thus constricting business investment and home mortgages. We have to get them lending, so those people who DO want to buy houses now can do so. How does cutting rates help? It just moves down the dollar, right when it is rallying.

Approaching Zero

fatcat: I agree with you...the dumbing down DID work. Please everyone, vote for O and the Dems...the rich robber barons will just move to another country if McCain wins and the people revolt. Give O/Dems a chance. My portfolio needs another "Clinton" economy..of course it won't be as good with so many good jobs outsourced by the barons, but it might help.

Approaching Zero

What is to be gained by dropping rates? I thought the preferred stock the government is buying in the banks, with its escalating dividend payout, which will essentially force the banks to lend and invest so they can buy back the shares, was a great idea to get money flowing...if no one is lending right now and instead conserving capital (afraid asset values fall further), how does lowering interest rates help?

Largest Bond ETF Now Trading At a Massive Discount

manyathought: that is one of the reasons I got out...I thought maybe the "Lehman" name was scaring away the smaller investor who did not know better.

Largest Bond ETF Now Trading At a Massive Discount

I got out at $97...had moved $ into AGG for safety, only to see it steadily drop. Good thing I got out and went to cash.

Now is the Time for Inverse Sector ETFs

Before I consider trading SKF again, what happened to the holders of SKFs when trading was stopped? Were the shares just held (could not buy or sell), then the price just set when trading resumed (bid/ask)?


On Mar 06 03:18 PM Malkiel wrote:

> No, you need a day like today to be able to buy your short positions
> (which you would do if you are convinced that the overall market,
> or at least a chosen sector of it, is not trending up or is moving
> up and down). I like to keep it much simpler though, say by moving
> back and forth between a general market index ETF (like QLD ultralong
> for the Nasdaq) and its short equivalent (QID in this case). you
> buy the short as high as possible into the rally and sell it at the
> next convenient low, where you then simultaneously buy the long to
> ride back up. This is where volatility is your friend and flat or
> straightup trends are deadly. It's also where free trading in a
> tax-deferred account becomes a nice profit machine...

Beware Small ETFs

And what about AGG and TIP? huge $ in them, and they are falling an un-real amount..I finally got out a couple of weeks ago as I feared just the name "Lehman" was scaring people!

Goldman Disses Solar - Cramer's Stop Trading ! (10/7/08)

What are Goldman and Cramer thinking? Solar (after we get past the credit crisis) will soar. Great incentives were just included in the rescue bill that passed last week, although that has not been publicized. . And First Solar is in the technology that will really lower the cost/watt, thin film. Now (or whenever the free fall stops :) is the time to load up on FSLR and STP both, perhaps buying 2010 LEAPs or vertical debit spreads.

Don't Get Sanguine About This Bill

Rather than just vent people, comments on just what specifically in the bill you don't like? It has good provisions, and along with the increased FDIC limits, will help small businesses and people that have to have more than $100k in an account sometimes...

Don't Get Sanguine About This Bill

Whoops, error in the above. I meant to say that for AMT, the change will prevent the raising of taxes of tens of millions of Americans for 2008.

Don't Get Sanguine About This Bill

Not to panic...this is really just 4 bills together, all of which should have been passed separately earlier, it is true. But, there are some very very important things in there, not lowering the AMT, and solar, wind, geothermal credits to get alternative energy industries really going, so we can reduce our dependency on oil. And, the current oil subsidies are eliminated (or at least reduced, I'm not sure - to pay for the alternative energy credits).

Bond Expert: Monday Wrap

Don't blame Pelosi for the AMT situation. A very good bill, which also covered renewable (solar, wind) etc credits was shot down by some Dems who insist on paying for it and Repubs who don't want to pay for it by eliminating the tax subsidies for big oil.