Articles

With today's launch of the Fox Business Channel, I no longer need to let these folks into my living room.

If these companies don't hit the ball out of the park this earnings season, then they never will.

The parallels between the crash in 1987 and the one soon to happen in 2007 are too real for comfort. Just look at the derivatives of 87 and the sub-prime mess of 2007. Or, consumer confidence which is barely holding now, but will fall in a NY minute. Or, many other similarities. The point is that again, like 87, we have our heads in the sand.

With all the drugs out there and all the claims on TV and in other ads, wouldn’t it be nice if you could pay only if the drug delivered promised results? Pay for Lipitor, for example, only if it dropped your cholesterol level by 30% or pony up for a pain reducer only if it actually reduced your pain significantly. And, then there are these extremely expensive drugs for major debilitating diseases where no one is sure whether or not they work. The idea that you would pay only if a drug actually delivered as promised is a very sexy idea.

Cramer has spoken about this stock time and time again, and he is always wrong. Last night, he set a new precedent by mispronouncing the stock as "elvaron".

It is very hard to separate yourself from most Chinese Stocks these days. It is so easy to double your money fast. The etf, FXI, and PetroChina (PTR) just keep going up and up. Most investors know all this, and many have put a lot of money to work in FXI, PTR and many others. It is hard not to. And, the TV gurus tell us that the Chinese government will control things such that its market doesn’t come crashing down, at least until after the Olympics – August 2008. But, if you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn for you at a real cheap price.

I cannot see any reason for this rise in GM.

Where is Greenspan when you need him? What is going on now in the stock market is sheer giddiness. It is the hot and cold, up and down phenomena that has characterized the market over the last months. The new highs suggest only that everyone wants to forget that a week or ten days ago we were all forecasting rampant inflation and almost-certain recession. We are working ourselves into a froth and smack into a bubble – a bubble in the whole market.

Merck just released phase II data on a drug called a CETP. The stock has been moving up- at least partially on this news. This drug is very unlikely to ever reach the market. I don't understand what Merck and the market are thinking!!!

The UAW is trying to hold the line at Chrysler but it's a futile last stand. They tried at GM and for the most part capitulated. Now they'll face an even more formidable contender. Cerberus will slash and burn, it's what private equity companies do.

Several politicians have proposed giving each child born in the country a bond that matures after a certain period of time. The idea is to foster an idea of savings and start everyone off in the right direction.

Now that VMWare has reached $100, here is a word of caution to anyone thinking about buying. This however isn't a recommendation to short as stocks can remain irrationally high longer than shorts can remain solvent.

We mostly know AFLAC (AFL) from its TV ads. They have done a brilliant job branding the company. That it is rooted in red-dirt Georgia with Southern flavor and drag is less well known. But one has to forgive the Southern in them when one looks closely at the company. It is a great stock to own, a strong international play, and a decent dividend stock to boot.