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AIG Bailout: Initial Cynicism Justified Now More than Ever

After all the incremental investments in AIG over the past months I thought we taxpayers owned 300% of AIG. Or is my math wrong?

I figure we own 100% of the assets and 200% of the liabilities. So that's how I get 300%.

Seriously, I am just numb over this mess.

Housing Crisis Is Key to Economic Recovery

Steven, first time reader. I am amazed you are putting this together from Malaysia or maybe Thailand. Is that right? Nice work and meaningful comments.

Bank of America Continues to Stand Strong

BF at 0100 PM -- Nice comment. Good luck with BAC. MER and CW are huge burdens at the present time.

I can say your investment on BAC was better than my small investment on Friday going long on Powerball. ......... LOL. At least you still have one share of BAC stock.

Rick Santelli: The Best Five Minutes in CNBC History

I think the best five minutes on CNBC was Cramer saying take money out of the market that you need within the next five years back in early October 2009. That was when the S&P 500 was down about 30%, it is now down almost 53% comparatively.

Santelli may be in second place for a short while and tapped into the same sentiment that Senator McCaskill (D-Mo) expressed about the wall street outrageous expenses.

Rating the Top 12 U.S. Banks - From Hidden Gems to Zombies

Well written. and thanks for keeping the politics out of it. This is an article that makes me return to Seeking Alpha.

Eight Reasons Bank of America Is Going to $20

Jason, I read your article from Feb 19th on American Negativity is Upside Down. Good job.

Eight Reasons Bank of America Is Going to $20

Jason, have you changed jobs since October 2009?. Many of us gave you alot of criticism over your bashing of Cramer in early October, when Cramer advised going to cash on money needed by an investor within the next 5 years.

You said, "At a time when a seasoned market veteran should be preaching the benefits of diversification and patience to overcome the tough times, this guy sounded more like a rookie -- telling everyone to sell out after the S&P 500 had already dropped 30% for the year."

Well the S&P is now down about 53% comparatively. (38.5% in 2008 and 14.75% in 2009). Who's the Rookie!

On BAC, who knows-- it's in the most dangerous part of the market and may survive. Your opinion is clouded by political stances. BTW, at least10 banks have been nationalized this year, so your Geithner comments need some context.

"I am making Bank of America my #1 holding for 2009." What does this mean Jason?-- Does this mean BAC 2011 calls are the largest holding in your personal account? That would be my interpretation. I wonder if you actually have done what you say. I would like to hear an answer.

Jim Rogers on the Economy - Bearish on Stocks and Government

Jim Rogers is both a Rhodes scholar and a Roads scholar (Investment Biker). He's from Alabama. He is a proven investor and loves America.

No Such Thing as a Free Lunch? Tell That to Citigroup

Prove that he didn't call ahead, give his credit card number and then say Citigroup. Why don't you ask Metro Cafe what happened instead of partial reporting?

As to the rest of your story, I couldn't agree more-- I think we have left the systemic risk, frozen problem and ventured into "increased" corporate welfare and that is wrong. The interbank lending rate is down significantly... almost at normal-- so why not everyone do business on their own. Let BAC or Citi fail/survive on their own merit and other bank(s) win.

10 Predictions for 2009

Tim, nice job on most of your predictions last year. Remarkably good, except for this one (but you got the headline exactly right and the downward direction which is very, very good):

3. It Will Be a Bad Year for U.S. Equities

The Dow and the S&P 500 Index will decline by 5 percent and the Nasdaq will gain 1 percent. Foreign stocks will continue to do better than U.S. stocks, but there will be fewer high-flyers than in 2007.

The Chinese stock market will gain more than 50 percent by summer and then lose most of the gains by year-end. The Japanese stock market will be one of the top performers in the world.
__________
You have made a valiant try again this year, good luck. I appreciate your efforts and your cite to last year.

The Shallowest Generation

Bummer!

5 Reasons to Ignore Buffett

I don't understand how you can say he lost 50% on treasuries unless this is some weird opportunity cost over X years. Can you explain that?

Obviously better buy the general market now than at anytime over the last two years. Maybe it will be better to buy in another month-- what does seasonal time strategy say-- we are beyond 16 Oct-- so wait for the MACD cross.

I like your bravado for a thought provoking article.

Trying to Make Sense of Cramer's Advice

thank you Babak for an opinion based on fact, which is refreshing compared to Jason S on his call for Cramer to be suspended.

I like Cramer but the guy is shot full of arrows from his recs in this market.

Largest Bond ETF Now Trading At a Massive Discount

Thanks for all the fish. and you deserve accolades for answering comments in such a timely, well-written manner.