Book 'em.
Published April 14, 2011 6945 Views
Pity poor Richard Fuld. Once head of Lehman Brothers, Mr. Fuld saw his net worth drop all the way from $1 billion to a mere $100 million. Please, dear reader, don't avert your eyes from this tragedy; it gets even worse. According to the NY Times, Mr. Fuld and his wife were "forced to sell some of th...
End of the World as We Know It?
Published April 12, 2011 6369 Views
You can't dip your toe in the media pool lately without hearing about $4-a-gallon gas. If the media buzz isn't enough to get your attention, seeing a $75 tab on the gas pump when you top off your tank will certainly do the trick. For investors in energy stocks the ride up to that $4 has been a smoot...
The Quarter
Published April 1, 2011 6386 Views
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed out the quarter yesterday with a gain of over 6%, its third straight quarter in a row of positive returns. The jobs picture keeps getting better, the recession is over. So why are so many investors worried that the stock markets is a dangerous place, with risk...
Scam Alert
Published March 29, 2011 6281 Views
My brother received an email yesterday purporting to be from the IRS. We had quite a chuckle looking over the awkward syntax and bad grammar. It was clearly a phishing attempt, trying to get personal information from the unwary. Here is the text of the email (with my comments in parentheses):
Thi...
Blink and You'd Miss It
Published March 25, 2011 6820 Views
Exactly three weeks ago, Friday March 11th, a magnitude 9 earthquake struck off the coast of Japan. News and photos of the devastation have been extensive. Since then the world has watched with concern as the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant has leaked steam and radiation. Reaction in the financial...
A Penny
Published March 23, 2011 7362 Views
The financial crisis revealed Citi to be one of America's worst performing big banks, requiring a $45 billion dollar taxpayer-funded bailout to keep it from collapse. Stockholders saw their shares fall from $56 in early 2007 to less than $1 in early 2009 while, the cash dividend evaporated. The shar...
Phone Wars
Published March 21, 2011 6814 Views
Over the weekend, the nation's second-largest mobile phone company, AT&T, agreed to buy the fourth-largest: T-Mobile. Currently owned by Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile had been rumored to be for sale for months. Most speculation centered on a sale of T-Mobile to Sprint (#3 in the industry). So what is t...
Really?
Published March 16, 2011 6787 Views
In mid-February the Dow Jones Industrial Average was just shy of 12,400. As I write this the Dow stands at 11,700, a 5% selloff. What merits the decline? Typical economic concerns, profit taking after a 10-week rise of 12%, and of course the situation in Japan are all weighing on stock prices.
Bu...
Aftershocks
Published March 14, 2011 7249 Views
The tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan have riveted world attention. To offer assistance consider a donation to the Red Cross or Save the Children. Both organizations are mobilizing to help the people of Japan.
Our job is to assess the impact of events on financial markets and advise accordin...
Business Ethics
Published March 9, 2011 6505 Views
No, it's not an oxymoron. We all know people who follow the rules and stand by their word. And of course we know of those who do not. Executives who wreck their companies and ignore their shareholders while cashing jumbo bonus checks. Politicians whose only belief seems to be in their own lies. Nonp...