Big K

Ashford Hospitality Will Benefit from Strong U.S. Tourist Industry

Mr. Market has taken a 90% bite out of this one already, so Mr. Market has spoken. From today's action, the bearish Mr. Market my be sharpening his teeth for yet another big bite out of AHT's backside. Despite prudent corporate governance in these trying times, the economy beyond the walls of AHT's boardroom continues its gradual shutdown. National hotel REITS are not the place to be when all the money disappears into the AIG and C holes. A return to hunter/gatherer 17th century style economy is in the offing. How many hotel REITS were in business when Jamestown was settled? So be it. It may be good for the American spirit to get back to nature again. Your best bet now is to buy some farmable land, stock up on supplies, food, guns, seed, etc. Learn how to raise chickens, dress hogs and grow crops. Take all your money out of the banks, mutuals, stocks, etc. Buy gold coins and keep all your cash and gold in a safe at home. Don't tell anyone you have it. When the bottom falls out this summer, and all the banks close up for good, all the money that's left in the world will be what is in your pocket. Use this to get your "livin' off the land" lifestyle kickstarted. Your mini economy will then continue only with industriousness. You can sell milk, eggs, chickens, and crops to have some income to pay the electric bill for your water well pump. A simpler and happier life will emerge.

Commercial Real Estate Implosion Is Imminent

This seems to be a common argument I've seen recently. Because there was massive defaulting in residential real estate, there will be massive defaulting on the commercial side. And by analogy, there will be massive defaulting on everything else. The only answer as to why it will happen, given in the article, is that it hasn't happened yet.

Another Day, Another $30 Billion AIG Bailout

Why do we have to keep bailing out this loser? I think the government will eventually let if fall, because there is apparently no end to their losses. This one company's gambling losses may exceed the assets of the government. Why should the taxpayer's pay off gambling losses? I didn't benefit from the gains of this company, when it was a profitable company. Why should I be on the hook for their silly gambling games when they lose? The market won't bottom out until the banks and stupid companies are allowed to fail. Where are the reports of how these losses came about? We won't see any, because if the American people knew these details, they would not approve of bailing out the idiots.

Some Bank Behemoths Now Sub-Single Digit Midgets

I don't know why the folks in government don't ask to see AIG's books to see what the liability is. Perhaps they are afraid. I keep hearing about the 500 trillion dollar shadow banking system. Could AIG be sitting on the top of this heap with hundreds of trillions of dollars in future losses for the taxpayer? What is the depth of their corruption?

Are We Headed Back to 1980?

The above analysis is correct in that we should see about a 0-200 on the S&P. The shorts would love to push into negative territory, but that would be crazy. Maybe the geniuses that run the banks will think of a derivative method to make this happen. Back to the point, most likely, 600 is way too optimistic. I can see 200 on the S&P, and this would still be consistent with the double top theory, since it is only approximate. The shorts and institutional sellers (heretofore inactive, i.e. pension and endowment funds) will drive it down. Don't despair, however, once we bottom out at 200, I believe there will be an hysterical bounce back to 250, which will be a solid 25% gain!

ECRI: Recession Will Intensify

The American people are beginning to realize that excessive spending is no longer an option. We are becoming responsible, and are beginning, finally, to pay down debt. The economy will contract as long as this force remains in effect. Many people are now realizing how deep in debt they really are, and making changes in their lives to correct this. Over time, the economic pressures that this change of heart creates will ease. In the next several years as mortgages get paid down, car loans finished, etc, the outlook will slowly improve. The next several years will, however, be somewhat uncomfortable. It is not the end of the world, but rather a reset in the order of things. The real threat is coming from unlimited spending from the government. They have not come down to Earth like most indebted Americans have done.

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

The republicans should get over losing the election. The American people have spoken, you are now in the minority, and it's time for change. Now the Dems have it. It is time to end the corruption of big companies, and the wealthy in this country. The previously under-represented and oppressed populations are now rising and will set things right with those exploiters. Obama is correctly increasing greatly taxes on the wealthy and all corporations that make money and exploit the working classes. These taxes are only the very beginning. Government needs to substantially increase its revenue from the currently undertaxed and tax dodging elite who were sheltered under the previous administration. The wealthy elite need to be uprooted from their cosy corners and put to work along with their brethren. ACORN under the new budget is massively funded, and will be used keep the rightful people in power. Time for the wealthy elite to get with the program, because the majority will take what is rightfully theirs. The country is under new management now, and those who don't like are invited to leave (but you can't take your money)!

Market Outlook: What Will the Fog of March Bring?

This just shows the fruitlessness of technical analysis. All this data, and it's 50/50 about which direction the market will go. Technical analysis seems to work best when you already know what the market did, and then you can interpret each twist and turn knowingly, sagely explaining exactly what happened. As a predictor, it is useless.

Reading the posts on this website, I'd say equities are dead. This reflects the general sentiment of the population. We are entering a brave new world of sub 1000 Dow and sub 100 SP500. Put your money in cash and gold. Forget about stocks, they are doomed.

Thoughts on Apocalyptic Prophesy

Gold will always have significant value. Even before the concept of currency was born, gold was useful as a trading vehicle since it was always deemed valuable. Therefore, don't believe people who say that believing in gold is no better than believing in paper with ink on it. Gold will be valuable even when we return the US to the Indians and we are all foraging in the woods for insects and weeds to eat. Hoard gold now, because it is already getting hard to find, and soon it will be unavailable. Gold is going to infinity in its value vs the dollar, which will have no value in a few years.

How Scared Are Americans of Job Losses?

Most folks should be buying only the basics now. On food, beans and rice should be the bulk of what you buy because they are cheap and nutritious. I'm storing up several years of canned foods, dry goods, etc. People should also store up a significant amount of cash in a safe place. I fear the credit cards will all be cancelled and then it will be too late to get cash out of the bank, most of which will close. The only money around will then be what is in your pocket. I think it is best to make your own bank. Hoard physical gold as well. The crash is coming, and we ain't seen nothing yet!

Another Tough Month

February will seem like a gentle month compared to what is in store for this overpriced market. The economy is shutting down. The new administration is using this as an excuse to seize communistic power and raise taxes on anything that is still profitable. Economy to shrink 15% this year, 15% next year and 15% the following year. Then the bottom is really going to fall out. The US government will be bankrupt, democracy will end, and we will be under a communistic dictatorship. Goodbye to the American experiment. Hello Amerika! The stock market has no bottom and no place in the future of this country. The population will be reduced to foraging in the woods and wilderness for edible mushrooms and insects. Convert all your money to gold. It must be physical gold in your possession. Paper gold stocks/assets will not be worth anything. The government will try to get your gold, so hide it and don't tell anyone you have it.

Why Hedge Funds Face a Rockier 2009

People should invest their own funds and not leave it to a hedge fund. Hedge funds simply lose their client's money, and if they make money, the fund manager skims it all off. Hedge funds are one of the reasons we are in this mess. They are a product of the bubble get-rich-quick mentality that has just imploded. They should go away and be totally forgotten.

Panic Is Back - Soros Says No Sign of a Bottom

The depression is upon us in the short term, with wealth evaporating before our eyes. The American people have started to save money, and this will temporarily kill the retailers. They have also stopped speculating on real estate, which will cut value by an additional 30%. Finally, we are getting real about our ability to spend. In the long term, this will help us survive, even thrive. Of course, in the short term, it is painful, because all assets will have to be revalued. There's no point in panicking, there is nothing anyone can do at this point. This is the natural course when the asset bubble pops. Capitalism is not going away, just the greedy idiots that enabled this speculation and irresponsibility bubble.

Stocks: Horrible Start to 2008, Worse in 2009

The difference between now and the 1970s is that we are now faced with financial system implosion. The fundamentals were still fairly solid back in the 1970s, but we had some slow going back then with high energy and inflation. Autos, manufacturing, retailing, real estate, banking, etc, were not all collapsing back then. This time it is truly different. Much more like 1930 than 1973 with huge destruction on many fronts, on a global scale.

Stocks: The Long View

The stock market has morhped into a gambling casino where traders rule the day. Who's doing this? My theory is that there is an active movement afoot to drive the market down and the economy down with it. A loss of more trillions in market value will create a deep negative wealth effect, and that will have a severely negative impact on the economy as people begin to question their financial survival. Thus, a spiral down in consumer confidence, employment, debt management, until all assets are nearly worthless. When the top people in a new administration are saying things like "This is worse than the Great Depression (Volcker)", and "There is no bottom to this market (Soros - liberal shill)", I realize the leadership of this country is attempting to push us over the cliff. This may be the biggest power grab since communism took over much of the world in the first half of the 20th century.