Articles

Contrary to what pundits are saying on CNBC, this is not the time to be investing in emerging markets.

AOL had no choice but to try to remake itself completely when changing internet access patterns forced it to give up its once lucrative subscriber revenue model. The company was a great early entry into the use and possibilities of the internet. It was filled with people (I knew them all in the early days) who were filled with the excitement of breaking ground and leading a seismic shift in communications and information. But things have changed rapidly, and AOL is yesterday.

A new term (to me) describing many of the sub-prime loans given over the last five years.

The market girations of recent are hard on even the most seasoned investor. Sleepless nights are common during these periods. I have shorted many times before, but only when I believed a particular equity for a particular reason was going to go south. This time, I tried a different kind of short program, and I am sleeplng (and doing other things) again.

I find agency bonds particularly attractive here.

Momma Bernake is giving the bottle to Wall Street Bankers and Traders to keep their businesses afloat. Do you think they'd throw any of us a lifeline? Doubtful.

The markets my be volatile but the Internet is alive and well!

On Friday, August 17, Countrywide increased its offering on 3-month, 6-month and 1-year CDs above those offered by its competitors. E-Loan now has the most compelling 2-year and 3-year CD rates. These increases have occurred in spite of a sharp decline in Treasuries the previous day.

So lets say you are insanely well connected, insanely rich or insanely lucky. You may be able to invest some of your money with a big hedge fund like ESL- Eddie Lampert's highly regarded fund.

The headlines are screaming today about the credit market catastrophe and its effects on the Street. Ah, sorry but I;m not seeing those effects, are you?

The collapse of Sowood Capital is a good example of the perils of leverage.

Angelo Mozilo strikes me as a pretty honest and very smart guy and I wouldn't dream of comparing him to Ken Lay or Bernie Ebbers, but Countrywide could easily go into an Enron-like death spiral if their access to credit dries up.

As VMWare is soaring, EMC has been trending down despite the fact that EMC owns 90% of the company

I didn't write this, but it came across my desk today and I think that it is great explanation for the current market crisis so I've posted it here.