softomic

Six Signs Economy Is Turning the Corner

I think you are right. Thanks for backing up my gut feeling with some data. The only thing left to do is to start rebuilding the economy with xx less billion dollars on the table.

T. Boone Pickens' Epic Wind Fail

Too bad. I drive by the wind farms in the Southern California desert all the time and think of how great of an achievement it was to build a renewable power plant. They are a sight to be seen www.youtube.com/watch?...
Too bad if their ROI isn't up to snuff.

Defending Financial Journalists - and Bloggers

CNBC is laughable as "financial journalism." I think it is just something for people to watch after Jerry Springer ends. Stick with Bloomberg, and Bloomberg Radio at that, they are the real pros. Tom Keene is about as good as it gets.

Geithner's Stress Test, Revealed

Good article Eric. You have convinced me. I'm becoming more disenchanted with the whole system on a daily basis. This is a time for the economists to shine. Someone has the opportunity to be the next Keynes, but to me, the economists are looking more like day traders trying to spin straw into gold, changing things as they go along. It seems the whole system if flawed. If it wasn't then the solution would be obvious, right?

Waiting for Inflation? It May Take Awhile

I may be in the minority, but I am looking forward to seeing rising inflation. It will mean to me that the money apportioned for the economy is actually being used and the recovery is, at least, in progress. As long as we muddle through these uncharted waters (uncharted is right), there is no clear direction of where the economy is headed. I haven't seen a chart in months that doesn't contradict common sense.

Sun CEO's Claim That JavaFX Is the Fastest Growing RIA Platform: Completely Untrue

I'm not a big fan of Java and it does seem like a bold statement, as well as one that I wouldn't believe, either, no matter what Schwartz's numbers say. Perhaps he got his facts mixed up and should have qualified his statement with "open source."

The only two other RIA platforms that come mind, as others have noted are Flash and Silverlight. Neither of these are "open source" as far as I can tell. I used to make stuff in Flash, but haven't upgraded since Flash 4 because of the outrageous cost of the CS products. I don't know much about Silverlight except Microsoft is pushing it hard, but it is pretty new.

Honestly, unless they have something groundbreaking in the works, it would take a miracle for them to overtake the Flash.

Does the Dow Matter?

The Dow matters. Even though it is price weighted, the company selection process and the general market acceptance of the index ensures that it is a good gauge of the economy. If the company selection was automated somehow, then I don't think it would be any good.

The VIX, however is a different story.
seekingalpha.com/artic...

Stimulus Must Focus on High-Unemployment Sectors

In your example, are assuming that working in the public sector would be more attractive than staying at a private sector job? I certainly hope that is not the plan for the stimulus spending. Instead of shifting around employed workers a thriving industry would attract experienced people who are out of a job or attract professionals willing to change careers.

Though you were simply using health care as an example, based on my sky high premiums (that never seem to grow double digit annually), if the health care industry is having trouble recruiting staff something is wrong and in dire need of reform. Has anyone here seen the movie, Sicko?

When Greed Is Good

Fred,

As usual, I absolutely agree. So how to you stop the juggernaut? Are the VC's going to start negotiating with banks to start buying up toxic assets?

Paul

Why Capping Pay Is Likely to Work

It's only temporary until they pay back the tax-payers. Look what Goldman did. They said. Oh. It looks like we don't need the bailout after all. Here's your money back. Exec's are happy and the gov't takes some deficit money off the table. This should have been part of the first package.

Now's the Time for Buy-and-Hold

Right. Now is the time for buy and hold. I heard the same thing 10 years ago...but this time it's for real, right?

Three Strikes Against Home Buyers

Love the article. Even point 4 is valid. I can't blame the banks for stockpiling money. Why wouldn't they, but where is congress now? They were up in arms as the bill passed through the senate and the house, but now they are surprisingly quiet while John Q. Public is struggling more than ever.

Twenty-Two Years of Job Creation Wiped Out in a Single Day

Nice article. Yes, times are tough and it is a dog eat dog world out there. I'm bootstrapping my own small biz and all of my clients are in the same boat. It would be nice if the gov't were thinking about helping small businesses or if VC's were less interested ROI. Will we ever return to getting an honest wage for an honest day's work?

Eli Lilly's CEO: 'Ludicrous' Stock Price

How much of LLY stock has Lechleiter recently purchased? I don't see any record of any activity with the SEC. He must not be that sure.

Has a Market Reversal Happened?

I can hardly find anything optimistic in a market that ignores critical bad news. I think I heard the same pitch from a telemarketer trying to get me to put my money in oil a few months ago.