birder's Comments

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 09:36:33 -0500

Auh gee. AIG execs want to leave. Darn. They ran the company into the ground and now they want to leave. Get rid of them.

Top Dividend Stocks to Accumulate Now

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:20:10 -0500

I have to 2nd 381441. MLPs should be considered also.

3 Stocks that Could Pay Out Larger Dividends

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:01:43 -0500

Could and would are two different things entirely. MSFT has always favored wasting investors' money buying back their overpriced stock. I am from Missouri. Show me.

6 Dividend Stocks for Current Income

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:15:07 -0400

Although I do agree with the comment that an EFT does hold a large selection of stocks thus mitigating specific risk, I have to comment that EFTs also are not so well healed as many might think. The comment was made that PFM holds 282 companies. Yes, but they do not hold them in equal proportions. Their largest holding is GE at 4.7% of assets. I will not comment on whether or not GE is a good company to hold, but I would not wish to hold it. Ten companies account for about 44% of their assets. The top 25 account for 67% of their holdings. The bottom 100 holdings account for less than 2% of their assets. This is not particularly my idea of having a sound dividend investment strategy. If I am going to hold 44% of my assets in 10 companies, I would rather be the one choosing those 10 companies rather than some computer somewhere based on some screw ball algorithm dreamed up by some screw ball on Wall Street.

How Washington's Policymakers Are Damaging the U.S. Economy

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:06:30 -0400

Excellent article.

Should You Invest in Banking Stocks?

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:45:20 -0400

Why anyone would buy either of those worthless piles of crap is beyond me.

Bank of America's Gain Is Taxpayers' Loss

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:37:52 -0400

Just another case of a gullible inept government. Geez, what's the big deal. They have always been so and will continue to always be so. BAC probably promised someone some fat campaign contributions in return.

AIG Needs Dissolving

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:23:38 -0400

I doubt the taxpayers will ever see much of largess returned. Heck, the company had not made that much money for the past 15 years.

Yahoo: Can We Please Have Jerry Back?

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:10:30 -0400

I still like Yahoo. But then I am middle America. Darn shame.

How Low Can the Dollar Go?

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 09:19:50 -0400

A rather poor article.

Gold Is Still the Opportunity of a Lifetime

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:02:44 -0400

We perhaps loose track of why gold is in fact doing so well. It seems to me it is because people are loosing confidence in the government. People who have a few dollars and there are not all that many these days are exchanging them for gold while they still are able to. Too bad world governments are so inept.

I have to go buy a few more ounces of gold now.

Sure It’s Legal … But Is It Right?

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:47:22 -0400

We have always had the best government money can buy and Wall Street has a lot of money to buy with.

Colonial Bank Failure Highlights the Problem

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:16:39 -0400

It's a fantasy world we live in. Better stock up on gold

Some Graham and Dodd Type Thoughts on Stocks vs. Bonds

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 08:32:55 -0400

There is a difference that you neglected to mention. That is the tax treatment of stocks vs bonds. With the preferred tax treatment of capital gains and currently dividends too, the in your pocket returns of stocks are greater than bonds.

Unwise to Tax the Rich to Pay for Health Care

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:25:36 -0400

Well heck, if you are going to raise taxes it seems logical that the place to raise them is on those that have the money to pay them. I remember back when the economy was really growing back in the 50s. Back then the marginal tax rate on the rich was about 90%. I wonder if there is some correlation there somewhere.

The Fed Does See Those Green Shoots

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:20:02 -0400

I just love hearing the term green shoots. Jeez, a day does not go by that I do not run across it a half dozen times. How nice.

The Dollar Is Doomed

Thu, 07 May 2009 11:04:29 -0400

It sort of makes one wonder why so few seem to see this scenario.

90% AIG Tax Rate: Back to the 1950s

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 08:44:27 -0400

It might be interesting to note that when the marginal rate was above 90%, the growth rate of the economy was at it highest level.

Was the Global Equities Crash Related to Obama's Election?

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 08:04:59 -0500

Now there is a novel thought. All this time I was under the impression that is it was because of the Wall Street bankers taking monumental risks. How enlightening.

Eight Reasons Bank of America Is Going to $20

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:10:47 -0500

I will give you one reason BAC is worth nothing. Ken Lewis.

'Bad Bank' - Bad Idea

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:32:52 -0500

Excellent statement of the problem. It absolutely amazes me that the government's idea of how to solve the problem is to lend more money, when in fact it was the lending of money that got us into this problem to begin with. I suppose intelligent government policy is an oxymoron.

Are Recessions Really That Bad?

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 15:41:28 -0500

This article is just slightly slanted in its approach. From 1968 to 1982 the annual growth rate of stock investments as given by the S&P 500 was about 2.4%--not all that spectacular. That was a 14 year period of next to nothing. We are probably in for another such period, if in fact it proves that good.

Crisis Strategy: Coping With Trillion Dollar Deficits

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:20:25 -0500

If there is any upside to report, it is extremely difficult to find. BAC just stole another 20 billion from taxpayers. Chrysler wants more money.

On Jan 16 07:52 AM John D wrote:

> This is the same kind of 2nd guessing article that goes out of the
> way to create doom & gloom on the chance that if they are right
> they can say "I told you so" & if it doesn't pan out that way
> - no-one will ever refer back to it. If I was reporting anything
> right now it would looking at the upside of something as the news
> groups and newspapers are on the block today due to the drying up
> of advertising funds from the same companies that have been bashed
> - speculated - and reported on without ALL of the facts dries up.
> Perhaps its time to stop the speculating and start HELPING with some
> upside reporting instead of trying to make a bad situation even worse.
> Talk about BITING the HAND that FEEDS YOU !!

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:07:04 -0500

What this country really needs is a public hanging of big bank presidents.

Is the U.S. Solvent?

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 09:12:34 -0500

What is amazing to me is that people keep buying U S debt and at give away interest rates. Sort of makes one wonder.

General Electric: Not Quite a Value Trap, More Like a Value Pit

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:53:49 -0500

It may not las 20 or 30 years.

On Dec 29 07:25 AM coffeeman wrote:

> But wont Ge return to his goldern status in the future?
>
> the stock price is low, the dividends are still high,
> why is this a bad stock to buy now, and keep for 20 ~ 30 years?
>
>

Four Dying Silicon Valley Companies

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:05:15 -0500

Well said.

On Dec 21 01:31 PM Teutonic Knight wrote:

> I disagree with the author on his assessment about Yahoo. Yahoo has
> no debt and if you log onto their site you would still see a steaming
> crowd of blogs, answers to posted questions, advertisers alike.

>
> In other words, the old rule of thumb is the traffic -- the party
> is still on. Check onto Aol. Over there advertisements are scanty,
> the financial site is till "Beta" and had been "Beta" for months,
> if not years. AOL's barn door been open and the best brains been
> gone for years.
>
> And what is this Crap that Microsoft is the White Knight of sorts?
> In my view, and come back in a couple of years to prove that I am
> wrong, Microsoft is already a "Yesterday's Company". Recall AOL was
> a $250B company a few years ago? Look at Microsoft's equity market
> value today, $200B+, right? It has the same look and feel as a Christmas
> turkey ready to be carved down.
>
> Sorry for being heuristic. I am not scholar and academician. I left
> the articulation and polishing to them.
>

Hedge Fund Redemptions May Crash Q1 Markets

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 08:48:09 -0500

There is quite a lot of negative criticism of this post here, but I am not too sure that all of it is justified. I do believe he did mention 1st quarter withdrawals. That does allow sufficient time for a 45 day notice. Certainly, there have already been plenty of hedge fund withdrawals, but the point here is that as bad as everything is, the Madoff affair might very well make a few people wonder whether their money is safe anywhere other than under their matress. It makes me wonder that. I believe I read that Madoff is going to bankrupt the SIPC fund. Sort of makes one wonder whether one should remove ones funds from every brokerage account out there.

Federal Commitments Now Total $5 Trillion

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 09:10:45 -0500

If there is something positive about this bailout or whatever you wish to call it it is well hidden.

U.S. Dollar: The Trade of the Decade

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:28:32 -0500

What BS.