David Lentz

10 Stock Picks For a Kid Investor

I'd like to add a couple of choices, in the theme of "buy what you know" -- Nintendo (NTDOY) and GameStop (GME). Both of these would fall into the "momentum plays" bucket, but more importantly, both have solid growth, excellent future prospects, and balance sheets that are second to none. I'm making the assumption that the requester is a young man, but a young woman is also in a good position to evaluate whether these companies are "losing their mojo" or not, as time moves on. Also, I would pick and chose from the list, as 8 grand is too little to spread across all the proffered choices. Pick four to six stocks, and stick with them for a while, don't try and trade them -- just ride them upward with their profits.

Anatomy of a Chinese Bubble: A Checklist For Spotting Bubble Tops

Hmmm... the mention of the outlandish margin situations preceding the Crash of 1929 sparked a recognition of a very similar thing happening today with the yen carry trade.

I wonder how many hedge funds and trading departments are leveraged to the hilt using yen borrowed at next-to-nothing interest rates? And what will happen to them if something should happen to turn that leverage against them?