Archive for June, 2007

  • Paul Krugman Four Years Ago Today
    , June 20th, 2007 at 1:24 pm

    The big rise in the stock market is definitely telling us something. Bulls think it says the economy is about to take off. But I think it’s a sign that America is still blowing bubbles — that a three-year bear market and the biggest corporate scandals in history haven’t cured investors of irrational exuberance yet.

    And.

    In short, the current surge in stocks looks like another bubble, one that will eventually burst.

    June 20, 2003

    From a reader:

    He lied! Krugman knew there was disagreement among investment consultants as to whether the market was a bubble or for real, and he intentionally massaged the indicators, and hyped the financial intelligence to make everyone believe there was a link between the current bull market and the bubble of 2000.
    How many people sold their stocks on Krugman’s intentionally misleading misrepresentation and failed to realize the gain that came with the continuing bull market?
    Krugman lied, profits died!

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  • This Just In
    , June 20th, 2007 at 9:57 am

    Bernanke: Banks still important

  • A Good Run Doesn’t Mean a Stock is Too Expensive
    , June 20th, 2007 at 9:53 am

    A quick note on FactSet (FDS). This is a good reminder that just because a stock is up doesn’t mean it’s too expensive. FactSet was on last year’s Buy List and it rose 37.2% making it our second-best performer. I decided to keep it on this year’s Buy List and it’s up 20.6% so far, again our second-best performer.
    Also, just because a stock is down doesn’t mean it’s cheap. I’ve often heard people say, “how much lower can it go?” The answer is, a lot. A whole lot. I remember my finance professor explaining how low zero is. A $100 stock can drop 90%, then another 90%, then another 90% and it’s still not at zero. In fact, it can drop 90% infinitely and still not be at zero. Zero is really, really, really, REALLY small, and that’s how low it can go.

  • Oh Dear Lord
    , June 19th, 2007 at 5:08 pm

  • The Vietnam War Is Officially Over
    , June 19th, 2007 at 4:04 pm

    We won.

    Mr. Carter added that he was looking forward to the day the first Vietnamese company lists on the NYSE.

    Suck on that, hippies.

  • Guess the Stock
    , June 19th, 2007 at 3:27 pm

    Here’s a 12-year chart:
    image481.png
    Give up? Answer is after the jump.

    (more…)

  • When Wall Street Couples Cash Out
    , June 19th, 2007 at 11:38 am

    From the LA Times:

    The flood of cash into so-called hedge fund communities in New York, Connecticut and California has proved fatal to many marriages — and a windfall for lawyers, psychiatrists and forensic accountants who specialize in the superrich.
    “There is no question that a huge infusion of wealth to relatively young people has a disastrous effect on the marriage’s stability,” says Bern Clare, a Manhattan divorce lawyer.
    Divorce hedge fund-style often means the judges involved must cope with pre- and post-nuptial agreements, years of fights over access to hedge fund accounts and monetary demands well into eight and nine figures.
    “When you are dealing with the uber-wealthy, you are dealing with the uber-lawyers,” says Kevin Tierney, the presiding judge of the family division in the Stamford-Norwalk district of Connecticut, where many hedge fund families live. “They have accountants and paralegals and dueling experts.”
    Further complicating matters is that the value of the assets involved, unlike real estate or jewelry, is highly variable, depending on the gyrations of the stock market and other investments.
    “You can have an asset change by $1 million while a witness is on the stand,” Tierney says.

  • FactSet Beats Estimates
    , June 19th, 2007 at 8:58 am

    FactSet Research Systems (FDS) just reported very good earnings. After charges, the company earned 52 cents a share, a penny higher than forecasts. Sales rose 23% to $121.1 million. FDS also said it expects sales this quarter of $126 million to $130 million while analysts were expecting sales $125 million.

  • Town Has Its Own Currency
    , June 19th, 2007 at 8:44 am

    Not only is the dollar losing support overseas, it’s not even doing well in Massachusetts.

    “I just love the feel of using a local currency,” said Trice Atchison, 43, a teacher who used BerkShares to buy a snack at a cafe in Great Barrington, a town of about 7,400 people. “It keeps the profit within the community.”
    There are about 844,000 BerkShares in circulation, worth $759,600 at the fixed exchange rate of 1 BerkShare to 90 U.S. cents, according to program organizers. The paper scrip is available in denominations of one, five, 10, 20 and 50.
    In their 10 months of circulation, they’ve become a regular feature of the local economy. Businesses that accept BerkShares treat them interchangeably with dollars: a $1 cup of coffee sells for 1 BerkShare, a 10 percent discount for people paying in BerkShares.

    Interesting idea. My only problem is the fixed exchange rate. No exchange rate is truly fixed, as the users of BerkShares will one day learn.

  • Breaking: Terry Semel Resigns
    , June 18th, 2007 at 4:42 pm

    Terry Semel is out at Yahoo (YHOO). The stock is up in the after-hours market. Susan Decker has been named president.
    Two months ago, I wrote:

    I say that Decker will replace Terry Semel before the summer is over.

    Even I was too optimistic since summer doesn’t start for a few more days.