Marty From North Dakota

Charlie Gasparino: Another Crash 'Has to Happen Again'

Gasparino, "How anyone considering themselves to be a capitalist can support this arrangement is beyond me."

The reason it's beyond him is because executives and business owners who use government to their advantage are not capitalists. They are governmentalists.

Capitalists employ capital from savings, borrowings or the earnings of their successful businesses. Capitalists don't have lobbyists pounding doors in the halls of Congress, they're too busy running their companies.

Buffett's Burlington Buy Is Really a Bet on China

Consumers in America will continue to need the staples that Walgreen's, Target and WalMart sell everyday. These staples are now made in Asia and will continue to be made there because the yuan rides down with U.S. green toilet paper, so there'll no longer be a currency advantage with declining dollars. Buffet's biggest challenge in the deal: changing the union culture deeply ingrained in the rail system. That culture is steeped in gaming a system built to protect rather than serve.

Macro Mavens and the Case that Inventories Are Still Declining

endthefed.us

Rising Global Food Prices: Trading Guns for Butter

Here in the U.S. ranchers are selling their herds because of the high price of corn feed. At some point, they'll be sold down and will have to resume feeding to fatten. It is at this point that prices for a steak dinner will go ballistic.

Most people in emerging countries eat rice with a little vegetable for flavor. Some are moving up to the middle class and these want a bit of meat on their rice.

It's between these two contrasts we are heading. I'm investing in the notion that Americans will be cutting back radically on meat while China, India, et. al. buy up our grains with hard currency and eventually gold.

Short pet stores, weight loss, diabetes, restaurants; go long on grocery stores: WM is grocery now and look at the price going up.
Also short scooter makers who haul layers of blubber with small heads on top. "Our way of life" as Bush calls it, is about to change. Some knew Bush would run the government the same way he ran his failed businesses but voters couldn't see past Karl Rove.

Big Oil's Big Problem: Time is Running Out

Our way of life: fat over laying the arms of your scooter as you cruise to the next trinket purchase. The question is: what's your goal, 400 lbs.......500 lbs.? Please, take our liberties and protect us from the "global war on terror". We can't run. We can't stand. We can only go as far as our scooters will run on the battery. "Home of the Brave" is sooooo yesterday.

Which of the 6 Agriculture ETFs is Best?

Anyone know how to confirm that both China and Russia have reverse tariffs on their wheat?
Which of the ETFs or ETNs have the most cotton exposure?
Which fund comes closest to the Roger's Raw Materials Fund?
An ethanol plant under construction near Casselton, N.D. will require about 400 square miles of corn to keep it running efficiently.

JPMorgan Group to Buy Southern Water from Royal Bank of Scotland

VEEEERRRRY interesting. My ol' United Utilities shares must be getting a buzz from this right now. Actually, I hope I won't be taken out by acquisition, I want those "recession-resistant" companies to stay in my portfolio for the same reason named above.

Chinese Pollution Plays Revisited

I've done well with Kurita (Japan) and SinoMem (Singapore). BioTreat (Singapore) has done poorly but has been rising lately.

Crude Now Significantly Outperforming U.S. Energy Stocks

The problem is low dividend payouts from the oil companies. Why hold potentially worthless paper when you can hold the real thing?

David Fry's Market Outlook for Wednesday

Hi Dave.....For the past while it seems all assets have been rising. This is a rare thing. Assuming the market becomes more selective in the next runup, which sectors do you think will outperform? I like your humor and your graphs are wonderful......Marty

Are Gold Stocks Hanging in the Balance?

While the base metal miners are paying higher dividends in the face of higher prices for their products, the gold miners are stuck at no dividends or miniscule dividends. I've decided to hold gold and silver on the ETFs instead of holding potentially worthless gold-miner paper.

David Fry's Market Outlook for Thursday

How about a graph on the Zimbabwe market? I'm reading that their outrageous inflation is causing their stock market to soar, but it's not soaring fast enough to keep up with the decline in their currency.

Hold On to Blockbuster, Despite Disappointing Earnings

What effect will VOD have now that companies like Swarmcast are enabling delivery of huge data streams over phone wire?

Japan: Chasing Yield in a Low Interest Rate World

Hey Darrel, I'm glad you've chosen to write about Japan. I see it as a contrarian play given the currency at very low levels and the stock market has only moved a little. I need dividends and I want to own Japanese real estate. I am accessing the TSE, but I am having trouble finding the info I want. Could you do a special article on Japanese REITs and their various strengths, etc.? thanks, Marty

Everyone Needs a Lottery Ticket: Mine is Called Excellon Resources

If this stock put out a dividend like PCU, it might be a dynamite try. But, given that PCU pays so much, why not buy that instead? Nice write-up, thorough and reasonable. Thank you for sharing.