ray b

Picking Goldman's Brain for Long / Short Strategies

My guess is they start sellilng the day their disclosure reports are released. Cant beat 'em.

Why Did Housing Go into a Bubble?

Easy loans

The Dollar: A Strong Buy

A constant stream of comments that the dollar is worthless.

What is the alternative? Overpriced high beta gold? The increasingly weak countries backing the Euro? Japans Yen? Yuan? Oh, and dont forget Jim Rogers and the Singapore dollar.

So the exchange rate goes down 10-15%, thats not going to hurt the average American much. Seems to me to be a lot of whining and populist sneering. Whine about Obama, whine about Bush, whine whine whine.

People in America are begging for dollars and begging for jobs that pay dollars. Give me a break. I think we are a great country that is still the envy of the world. NYC Chicago Houston LA San Francisco Atlanta. Lots of great cities with lots of great businesses and great people.

The only unfortunate thing is about one third of our population seems to be paranoid, but I suspect this is a global condition.

Why Interest Rates Will Almost Certainly Rise in 2010

You are much braver than I to predict interest rates.

Why E*Trade Is a Must Buy

Love that trading platform

Bear Trap Has Been Set; Now It's Time for Short Sellers to Enter

the trend is still down

AT&T's iPhone Troubles Continue

Doesn't seem to be affecting the stock, but the problem may be an ATT problem, as outlined in this UPI article.

www.upi.com/Business_N.../

Mortgage Fraud - The Root of America's Economic Malaise

Agree
Maybe CPAs should be the only ones that can sell mortgages
HAHA

Success in 2010 Requires Investing in Other Countries

Thanks for the excellent article.

How many hours do we all spend studying financial statements for revenues, EPS, management comments on the future and general knowledge on sectors, industries, countries? How much time does it take until one has a good grasp on where to invest? I spend time on the MSN site for company profiles, EPS, news, SEC link to financials. I like the Yahoo site for analyst info and industry sectors lists. I also look at Google finance, seeking alpha, tickerspy, and broad google searches on specific companies and countries.

I like China. I currently own CALI, CHIO, CMFO, NEP, CTDC, CHTL, LTUS, TSTC, TBV, CAAS, CIIC, KONG, VIT. I sold HPJ, HGSI, and OCLR as they went so high i got scared and took my profits. Some I bought yesterday at their hopeful lows, and some I have had a while. I have a hard time holding on when a stock triples in a short time.

But how do I balance the predictions of Rogers and Faber against the evidence provided by the financial statements of a Chinese company with a forward PE of 10 or less and a 50% growth rate?

I figure I hold my nose and put 2 to 5 percent of my portfolio in the company and keep an eye on it. Then I don't fight the tape - if the stock keeps dropping - I get out. Makes for a lot of work and constant shifting based on evidence which changes each day.

Gloom and doom are always looking over my shoulder. When Chanos says he is shorting China by shorting materials companies and shorting H shares, I sometimes get panicky and cut my exposure by half. Then I look at the same china stocks being up 500 % in a year as more evidence that Chanos is right. His knowledge of the situation has to be better than mine. But I am still there invested in China ADR's.

I have to fight my own greed when I find a stock that goes up 10% a week. My tendency is to keep buying. But when I do that, I end up losing my profits as the stock at some point corrects. So I try to be diverse in my greed, and buy more of 10 stocks that are doing well, and staying away from my one superstar.

Yes I still stay somewhat balanced with one Japan stock, one UK, and one Germany (NJ, TTPA, 927200) and US (AMZN, AAPL, GOOG, ORCL).

If it weren't for the fact that I enjoy the analysis, I would give up and buy Vanguard ETF's instead. But what is the fun in that!

Friday Outlook: Commodities, Global Markets

I vote for a peaceful easy feeling.

The Destruction of the Dollar: It's Nearly Inevitable

SUPPLY AND DEMAND You print more money. If the demand is there for it, the value stays strong. If there is no demand for the dollar, it declines in value. Its not just supply that determines value, its also demand. If you think of the dollar as gold, the government can print all they want as long as people still want gold. Even at $10,000 per ounce. I know I will take all I can get. Dont pay me in Euros or Renminbi...I want the greenbacks!

The SkyScraper Index Indicator

In Houston 1984 it was the cranes that stood out as a sign of prosperity and eventual bust.

GSI Takes a Nose Dive - Time to Buy?

The company press release states that this issue was triggered by a combination of the decision to raise capital and warrants outstanding from Dec 2007.

www.gshi-steel.com/gsh...

Shayne Heffernan: Looking at Thailand for 2010 and Beyond

Would one of the resident Thai experts give us some ticker symbols?

Outlook 2010: Moving Towards a Multi-Polar World Order

BI POLAR WORLD ORDER
It would have been a better headline!
( US-CHINA)