The Netherlands may be at increased risk of losing its AAA rating after budget-cut talks collapsed yesterday between the liberal party of PM Mark Rutte and its coalition partner, the Freedom Party. The breakdown of the talks, whose aim was to bring the deficit to below 3% of GDP, could lead to early elections and places in doubt whether the country will OK the fiscal compact. [View news story]
Germany is the next one to go because they have taken the liabilities of all these other country on their Balance sheet and also fund their TARGET2 deficits
The Netherlands may be at increased risk of losing its AAA rating after budget-cut talks collapsed yesterday between the liberal party of PM Mark Rutte and its coalition partner, the Freedom Party. The breakdown of the talks, whose aim was to bring the deficit to below 3% of GDP, could lead to early elections and places in doubt whether the country will OK the fiscal compact. [View news story]
Holland in danger of ratings downgrades, but Hollande is a danger to the rating of France.
The Reason Why Natural Gas Is So Cheap [View article]
$LNG is a good way to play ths. Thought of it, didn't act - feels like too late to get in now. She keeps getting cheaper though and cost of carry (super contango) makes it a bad trade trying to wait for recovery. I would try to bottom pick around here, given that cost of production is ~1.70
Nat gas companies like CHK = bad bet. Chemicals (use Nat gas as energy feedstock) good.
The Reason Why Natural Gas Is So Cheap [View article]
Civic GX is a CNG car. PG&E in California has filling stations, even though they charge twice the price you pay for Nat gas at home "Transportation charges" - still cheaper.
I'd rather wait till Electric technology becomes cheap enough. My commute is 10 miles each way to work. I could always have an extra car to go out of town or something (or rent one)
Investor demand is surging for junk bonds. In fact, last week marked a fresh record for offerings, with $19.7B coming to market through 27 new issues. That's nearly four times the average weekly issuance so far this year, and breaks a record that held since May 2011. Lower-quality issues are faring best, with triple-C paper, building and building products and transportation issues leading the way. [View news story]
I think people are looking for known returns. I have allocated my 401k favoring high yield too.
I added to my equity positions around S&P 1150 and got out around 1220 - now kicking myself for that. high yield on the other hand - a lot of companies like CHK, LYB, HCA are considered "high yield". They actually have to go in bankruptcy to lose real money and 9% Yield (at the time) was too promising to walk away from.
I agree though - unintended consequences are always something to watch. Btw. do you know the 5 year yield on US treasuries?
The euro has given up the bulk of a big early rise as any traders - stuck in the correlations of 2011 - reflexively buying euros alongside rising stocks are again disappointed. If (a big if) "risk is on" in Europe in 2012, it's because the ECB has loosened monetary policy considerably - the euro should remain weak. It's now +0.2% at $1.2725. [View news story]
Correlations of 2011 have changed in last 3 months please see http://bit.ly/z6LX7W - guess the author must have just gotten back from a long vacation.. the computers are now reprogrammed
CPI Corp's Dividend Yield Is Too Good To Be True [View article]
The company has a negative book value and a real chance at bankruptcy. I've owned this stock before (thankfully don't own it now).. the real question is did Video kill the radio star? Or in other words are photo studios not viable as a business model anymore with digital cameras being so cheap?
I don't know - I have had my son's photos taken at a studio, but do a lot more on my own. Birth rates being on the decline hurts too. That said, I am thinking of opening a small spec long position, in case they do not go bankrupt - there could be serious upside
Getting Paid To Wait Through Dividends And Lucrative Covered Calls Mortgage REITs [View article]
Are you serious? 0.80 cents for a July call? Premiums have come down a lot. Keep an eye on VIX.. better time to sell calls might be when IV (implied vol) is higher
Short VMware As Hedge For Euro Recession [View article]
That is an absurd hedge for Euro recession. It may be a valuation call on your part, but not a recession hedge.
Here' why - VMW allows Virtualization of Servers, bringing down hardware and power costs for companies. In a recesion, people want to reduce costs even more.
Generating Year-End Income (Part I): Covered Calls [View article]
Is AGNC having issues in the Repo market? I don't know if the Agency MBS repo market is the same as the interbank repo market, but a lot of liquidity issues in the latter
The Netherlands may be at increased risk of losing its AAA rating after budget-cut talks collapsed yesterday between the liberal party of PM Mark Rutte and its coalition partner, the Freedom Party. The breakdown of the talks, whose aim was to bring the deficit to below 3% of GDP, could lead to early elections and places in doubt whether the country will OK the fiscal compact. [View news story]
The Netherlands may be at increased risk of losing its AAA rating after budget-cut talks collapsed yesterday between the liberal party of PM Mark Rutte and its coalition partner, the Freedom Party. The breakdown of the talks, whose aim was to bring the deficit to below 3% of GDP, could lead to early elections and places in doubt whether the country will OK the fiscal compact. [View news story]
The Reason Why Natural Gas Is So Cheap [View article]
Nat gas companies like CHK = bad bet. Chemicals (use Nat gas as energy feedstock) good.
The Reason Why Natural Gas Is So Cheap [View article]
I'd rather wait till Electric technology becomes cheap enough. My commute is 10 miles each way to work. I could always have an extra car to go out of town or something (or rent one)
Investor demand is surging for junk bonds. In fact, last week marked a fresh record for offerings, with $19.7B coming to market through 27 new issues. That's nearly four times the average weekly issuance so far this year, and breaks a record that held since May 2011. Lower-quality issues are faring best, with triple-C paper, building and building products and transportation issues leading the way. [View news story]
I added to my equity positions around S&P 1150 and got out around 1220 - now kicking myself for that. high yield on the other hand - a lot of companies like CHK, LYB, HCA are considered "high yield". They actually have to go in bankruptcy to lose real money and 9% Yield (at the time) was too promising to walk away from.
I agree though - unintended consequences are always something to watch. Btw. do you know the 5 year yield on US treasuries?
Patriot Coal to Reduce Metallurgical Coal Production [View article]
The euro has given up the bulk of a big early rise as any traders - stuck in the correlations of 2011 - reflexively buying euros alongside rising stocks are again disappointed. If (a big if) "risk is on" in Europe in 2012, it's because the ECB has loosened monetary policy considerably - the euro should remain weak. It's now +0.2% at $1.2725. [View news story]
CPI Corp's Dividend Yield Is Too Good To Be True [View article]
CPI Corp's Dividend Yield Is Too Good To Be True [View article]
I don't know - I have had my son's photos taken at a studio, but do a lot more on my own. Birth rates being on the decline hurts too. That said, I am thinking of opening a small spec long position, in case they do not go bankrupt - there could be serious upside
Getting Paid To Wait Through Dividends And Lucrative Covered Calls Mortgage REITs [View article]
The Reason Why Natural Gas Is So Cheap [View article]
The Reason Why Natural Gas Is So Cheap [View article]
10 Shorted Stocks With Strong Corporate Governance [View article]
Short VMware As Hedge For Euro Recession [View article]
Here' why - VMW allows Virtualization of Servers, bringing down hardware and power costs for companies. In a recesion, people want to reduce costs even more.
Generating Year-End Income (Part I): Covered Calls [View article]