guiron

Don't Let the Headlines Fool You

Stick to the non-political. You're actually repeating false information, which I am guessing you haven't bothered to research: swampland.blogs.time.c.../

"According to Pimco, unemployment is a LEADING indicator, not a lagging one as that buffoon Larry Summers has said as late as October 2nd. It is leading because the jobs are gone forever."

Pimco makes money when the bond market heats up, IOW they are always bearish, to their benefit.

Underperformance Angst and Panic to the Upside

<em>maybe someone is trying to get monthly indicators and weekly indicators to behave the way they want to ...</em>

Yeah, I've had that feeling a lot lately. Almost seems like there are too many bullish technical signs, and the market expects a seasonal increase in oil/gas until July 4, whether the demand is there or not. I think we could see this one move up slowly from here and drop right around the expected time, because gas prices can't get too much higher without having an effect on demand.

On Credit Card Legislation and Consumer Education

"if people don't read and/or understand the agreements they have with the card issuers they're going to run into problems"

Credit cards used to be much more difficult to get, requiring a good credit history, and rates were capped.in many states. Since around 1980, regulation has been loosened, and a lot of people who never should be given credit cards are allowed to amass huge balances with 20%+ interest, which is usury, truly. And it's insidious, because the business model is basically to totally screw people who have a shaky history of managing their money, like the check cashing places who do payday loans at worse rates than you can get through a loan shark.

I'm not sure why anyone thinks it's a good idea to let the financial industry basically rob people blind who don't know any better. It's not going to benefit people in the long run, if you have a giant machine sucking up far too much money from millions of people who can't afford it for no proportional benefit to their lives, and possibly ruination, after the bank nails their "customer" over and over with insane fees and interest rates which make their loans multiply exponentially, leaving many of them insolvent or essentially bankrupt. Of course, people should be responsible, but not everyone can see that sort of freight train coming, and it's amazing that there is no ethical boundary for these companies which says to stop bleeding a corpse (otherwise known as their customers), so there must be a legal one so that people's lives aren't destroyed over lack of financial savvy. When people use credit cards they don't often think about compounding and how it affects their balances, and using credit cards shouldn't carry the same risk of loss as junk bonds and penny stocks, and especially not on people who haven't demonstrated a history of using credit well. Education will not make the difference, because even educated people can be bad with managing money, or just suckers. If you allow business to screw people over, they will easily find enough takers, and it won't make them more responsible or improve the situation for anyone.

AIG Bonuses: The Tipping Point Toward Decisive Action?

"for now, we are doomed to repeat the socialist experiment and we all know how that turns out."

How's the free market working? Oh, another crash, another bloodbath, millions of people losing their jobs, and we're stuck paying for the risk that others took on, who are complaining that we're not just giving them the cash outright with no questions asked. Well, that's the free market for you.

AIG Bonuses Are Just the Tip of the Iceberg

So, to save GM and Ford the union workers who make the cars have to retroactively renegotiate their contracts (some of them have been retired for years), but we should honor the contracts of an insolvent financial institution so their derivatives traders don't go elsewhere to get paid obscenely for creating nothing? Who is hiring right now? As far as I'm concerned, we all are being made to sacrifice, particularly us wage slaves, so this whining by the overpaid is not bringing tears to my eyes.

Bernanke and Obama's Spending Schemes Could Ruin U.S. Economy

Nice biased rant. Shouldn't you be writing for the Chicago Trib editorial page?

Take a guess as to how much money disappeared when the stock market crashed in October. Here's a hint: it's a much larger number than the money the government is injecting into the economy. People harping on about spending as if it's going to create hyperinflation aren't seeing the big picture. We're in much more trouble from deflation, and that will continue for some time. The trick is timing the end of the stimulus.

High Yielding Stocks Going Ex-Dividend in January

"Of course, from there, the stock may go up or down. If it goes up quickly over .25, then it "looks like" someone just got a free dividend, but that's not what happened at all."

Fair enough, but that does bring to light another strategy entirely, and that's to buy at the ex-dividend date when the stock takes a hit, then enjoy the same gains without taking a tax hit. This only works when the market is bullish or the stock is. As you say, whether the stock goes up or not is anyone's guess, but in a rally the stock is more likely to reclaim its dividend hit.

TARP, the Sequel: Auto Bailout

"Is a line factory worker really comparable to a "financial guru" to use previous posters words?"

At least a factory worker does an honest day's work.

But neither are disposable to the economy as a whole. We could have let the banks fail. There are a lot of "financial gurus" who'd be put out of work, and I hear a lot of them are looking for other careers today, but it's the free market, eh?

Peak Oil's Bell Is Ringing

"Peak Oil = Global Warming = Hoax"

Yeah, right, the vast majority of the scientific community is in on a giant hoax, and they're all holding their secrets, because obviously betting against energy producers is really profitable for scientists. That sounds reasonable.

Here in the real world where science actually means something, we need to get prepared better.

Peak Oil's Bell Is Ringing

"unconventional reserves will last well over 100 years"

Unconventional reserves are only viable when oil is at least $60/bbl,, higher for some types. At that price other energy sources are a better (and cheaper) long-term bet. Oil is not a good long-term bet for an energy supply. The pricing will be volatile in the meantime and not necessarily beneficial to long term exploration.

Peak Oil's Bell Is Ringing

"Conservation is not the answer to anything."

So, supplies are infinite? Can I have some of your gold, then?

Peak Oil's Bell Is Ringing

"Allowing markets to work will be the best approach going forward in optimally allocating energy resources to those uses which are of greatest value to society at large. Beware politicians claiming to be able to do this more efficiently!"

That's funny. Is that how our highway system was built, thereby ensuring dependence on oil-based transportation? How about the GI Bill and homeowner incentives after WWII? How about all those manufacturing jobs pushed into existence by the war? How about our arrangements with oil supplying nations, and the wars we fight over it (and pay for)? There never was a truly free market involved in creating our economy. There is no such thing as a free market now. Trying to solve problems by deregulating one tiny part of the global economy ignores the reality that nothing exists in a vacuum.