User 68127

Why Visa Got Spanked

There are good arguments to be made fundamentally for both sides of the Visa trade. Regardless of fundamentals, Visa is a momentum stock.

EVERY stock has a bull case and a bear case. People have been buying this one (and trumpeting the bull case) mainly because it has been going up. That is what momentum investors do. The valuation has become rich. Some of the bear case is starting to become noticed.

You cannot ignore a huge run-up (which sets aside the rich valuation and risks), as if it is "normal" and then decry a sell-off as if it is "unfair."

When you run with the fast money crowd, sometimes you make fast money, and sometimes you get burned. The selloff is no more irrational than the run up.

How Much Credit Is Too Much? Where AmEx Went Wrong

I have carried a Discover card for more than 20 years. Two or three times a year, a merchant will refuse to accept it, and then I just pull out my "prestigious" Mastercard instead. There is no fee and I get cash back. Of course, I probably do not dine at the same caliber of restaurant as some of the sophisticates, LOL!

Maybe I'm missing something, but I have never noticed any stigma attached to using Discover, not that I would care anyway. I do not live in a trailer, I have all my teeth, my wife does not have big hair, I DO take the kids to McDonald's occasionally...the fact that self-important snobs need a "higher class" card to validate their self-worth only makes me feel better about the card I choose to carry...

Credit Card Spending Surges, While Retailers Slump

On the other hand, maybe consumers are charging more on their credit cards because they aren't earning enough to pay for gas and food out of their paychecks, and because no one else will lend to them any more! Should this be extrapolated into greater long term growth by MA? Maybe it is just the last gasp of the dying consumer which would result in large charge-offs by credit card companies and lower transaction growth for MA and V?