Emerald

The Whitney Ratings

For all the noise out there, I don't see any of the major bank CEO's listing their accurate derivative exposure. For example, Jaime Dimon at Morgan Chase keeps repeating that there derivative book is totally "hedged". Perhaps this is true but the average investor cannot determine this as there is no full disclosure of CDS and interest rate swaps, ther is no tradable public exchange and we have no idea of the counterparty creditworthiness. Ying & Yang has stated the situation correctly. Geithner will try and take care of the senior bankers by stretching out the problem and hoping the economy grows sufficiently to wind down the bank exposure. Bear Stearns was quickly put to Dimon to eliminate the large JPM exposure to Bear. Meanwhile, the taxpayer will be the ultimate recipient of the Bank "put". Caveat emptor!

Should You Follow Warren Buffett’s Latest Moves?

The obvious point is Buffett is putting his money in high yield debt investments, not stocks.

What Did Buffett Buy: American Express or Wells Fargo?

Children it's nap time.

American Express Calls Investment Banks' Bluff

Arohan has it wrong. Credit is contracting and he says liquidity is returning to the market. The only "liquidity" is the banks exchanging level 3 assets for Treasuries. I don't see a lot of lending happenning. Credit card charge offs are increasing and banks are reserving. It may be a good time to dollar cost average into the money center banks, but its a three year wait for better stock prices.

As American Express Goes, So Goes the Economy

Comments on Amex as too small a barometer miss the point completely. We are in a credit contracting phase of the economy. When banks won't (or can't) lend, business contracts. Sales go down, employment decreases, etc. Earnings decrease and stock fundamentals decrease. We will borrow the Fannie bailout from China and head south. Capital preservation is paramount.

Financial-Dip Buyers Forget To Ask What's Next

Puts on financials are very risky these days. Consider shorting via the SKF. No time decay and you can keep a tight expense stop.

Dow 30 Price Targets - Too Much Optimism?

I guess it depends on your time line. "C" at a target of $23 over the next 12-15 months is out there, but not unbelievable. The largest gains are made by buying near the bottom. I agree that you should never listen to the sell-side analysts.

Dow: An Undervalued 5-Star Market

If you are playing for a bear market bounce, you missed it. Otherwise, the rebound in these stocks could be at least 12-18 months away. The consumer is either out of money, broke or weakening and this will do little for banks and insurance companies. Big Pharma is a crapshoot at this point and GE is basically a finance company.