Billionaires are now Slumdog Millionaires because: A. The credit markets remain frozen B. The US economy is falling off the cliff C. Corporate earnings are headed substantially lower (<$50 S&P 500 operating earnings) D. The socialist programs of the Obama administration threaten capitalism as...
Today's earnings report from Hewlett-Packard raises the question posed in this blog postings' title. To help shed some light on the subject, consider the corporate results produced thus far re 3Q08. Compiled each week from data published in the Wall Street Journal (and produced for subscribers...
If you are looking for a reason why stocks are plunging, here's one major reason. Today, at 10:30 AM and then again at 2 PM (both eastern time) announcements re settlement of the massive Lehman Bros. credit default swaps will occur. According to one trading desk source of mine, the equity markets...
Rules Matter. If the NFL changes its rules of play, does that not have an effect on the game? So, why would a rule change by the FASB or the SEC or a law by Congress not have the same game changing effect? When the FASB said that illiquid and opaque assets should be valued at their last sale (or whatever...
commentary from this week’s “Sectors and Styles Strategy Report”*: Sunday evening’s US Treasury and Fed actions may seem bold to some. I beg to differ. Here are a few thoughts for your consideration: A recent report from respected consultancy Bridgewater Associates upped the ante...
“She’s real fine my 409” 409 Beach Boys When the price of gas in the US hit $4.09 a gallon, the song that many consumers began singing was decidedly out of tune from the one the Beach Boys sang many decades ago. Back in the day, 409 had a different, simpler meaning. Summertime, hot...
Does Oil Price Speculation = Manipulation? The US stock market could not have sent a clearer signal these past two days as to what it is obsessing on – the price of oil. For as important as the Fed’s actions are (with the same opinion being applied to the Financials and their prospective...