Author Archive

  • The Pickens Plan
    , July 8th, 2008 at 8:21 am

    T. Boone Pickens is launching an ad blitz on how to fix the energy crisis.

    Today, Pickens will take the wraps off what he’s calling the Pickens Plan for cutting the USA’s demand for foreign oil by more than a third in less than a decade. To promote it, he is bankrolling what his aides say will be the biggest public policy ad campaign ever. The website, www.pickensplan.com, goes live today.
    Jay Rosser, Pickens’ ever-present public relations man, promises that Pickens’ face will be seen on Americans’ televisions this fall almost as frequently as John McCain’s and Barack Obama’s.
    “Neither presidential candidate is talking about solving the oil problem. So we’re going to make ’em talk about it,” Pickens says.
    “Nixon said in 1970 that we were importing 20% of our oil and that by 1980 it would be 0%. That didn’t happen,” Pickens says. “It went to 42% in 1991 with the Gulf War. It’s just under 70% now. Where do you think we’re going to be in 10 years when our economy is busted and we’re importing 80% of our oil?”
    Finding solutions to other major issues, including health care, are important, he concedes. But “If you don’t solve the energy problem, it’s going to break us before we even get to solving health care and some of these other important issues.” And it has to be done with the same sense of urgency that President Eisenhower had when he pushed the rapid development of the interstate highway system during the Cold War.
    Of course, Pickens also has a particular solution in mind.
    Wind. And natural gas.

  • Top 10 Stocks Since the Last Recession
    , July 8th, 2008 at 2:10 am

    The Motley Fool lists the 10 best-performing stocks since the last recession (3/1/2001-7/6/2008):
    Company……………………………..Return
    Ultra Petroleum……………………..4,378%
    Southwestern Energy…………….3,348%
    Potash…………………………………2,070%
    Walter Industries………………….1,860%
    Apple…………………………………..1,715%
    Canadian Natural Resources…..1,658%
    Intuitive Surgical……………………1,627%
    Research In Motion………………..1,548%
    Range Resources…………………..1,515%
    Terra Industries…………………….1,236%

  • Inflation in Apparel
    , July 7th, 2008 at 4:15 pm

    There’s certainly lots of inflation in commodities, but there’s hardly any in other parts of the economy. Here’s a look at the CPI Apparel Index (not seasonally adjusted as the wiggles suggest). Prices are basically where they were 20 years ago.
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  • Southwest Airlines on WallStip
    , July 7th, 2008 at 1:31 pm


    In 1974, you could have picked up shares of LUV for just a penny. That’s just adjusted for 14 stocks splits totaling 300-for-1 (two 2-for-1s, nine 3-for-2s, and three 5-for-4s).

  • Who Killed the Economy
    , July 7th, 2008 at 1:10 pm

    Fill out your brackets today. Since “Morons Who Borrowed Way Too Much For a Ridiculously Overpriced House that They Couldn’t Afford Anyway” isn’t participating, I’m going with Greenspan.

  • So Long SPX 1250
    , July 7th, 2008 at 1:06 pm

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  • Short Interest Is Up 55%
    , July 7th, 2008 at 12:16 pm

    Could this be some sort of bubble?

    Record bets against U.S. stocks may mean the market is on the verge of a rebound fueled by purchases of shares that were sold short, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
    So-called short interest on the New York Stock Exchange has risen 55 percent this year to a record 3.6 percent of listed shares, JPMorgan Chief Equity Strategist Thomas J. Lee wrote in a report today. In a short sale, an investor sells borrowed shares in anticipation of being able to buy them back later, or “cover,” at a lower price.
    Given the “extreme levels” of short interest, positive catalysts for the market “could trigger a substantial short- covering rally,” New York-based Lee wrote.

    The article notes that 36% of companies in the S&P 500 have at least 5% of their shares sold short.

  • Ryanair’s CEO Promises In-Flight Blow Jobs
    , July 3rd, 2008 at 1:50 pm

  • Looking at the Bear
    , July 3rd, 2008 at 7:56 am

    The S&P 500 closed today at 1,261.52 which is the lowest close since July 24, 2006. The index is now off 19.4% from its all-time high of October 9, 2007.
    Since October 9, there have been 184 trading days. This is how the days of the week have panned out:
    Monday………….-3.69% (35 data points)
    Tuesday………….5.26% (36)
    Wednesday…….-6.17% (39)
    Thursday………..-1.93% (37)
    Friday…………….-13.59% (37)
    So the bear market is heavily, but not exclusively, a Friday phenomenon. The other four days of the week have lost a combined -6.72%.
    The most surprising fact is that of the 184 days, 92 have been up, 91 were down and one was unchanged (January 3).

  • Best Little Whorehouse in Wellesley
    , July 2nd, 2008 at 3:47 pm

    Professor Greg Mankiw notes that in his hometown of Wellesley police recently shut down a (ahem) massage business. This is the second time in the last six months that the police of busted such an enterprise.
    But here’s the interesting fact. One of the people just arrested, William Eastwick, is the same guy who tipped off the police on the first arrest.

    Eastwick tipped Wellesley Police off to that operation, said [Wellesley Police Sgt. Marie] Cleary, although it is unclear why he did that.

    Clearly, Cleary is unclear, but to Dr. Mankiw, it’s perfectly clear.

    Like any businessman, Mr Eastwick prefers to have fewer competitors. Some businessmen lobby Congress for trade restrictions. Others alert the police to the brothel down the block. And when using the power of the state to thwart competition, they can both pretend to be acting in the public interest.

    Sometime you need a small example to see the big picture. I wouldn’t say the state and Mr. Eastwick are in bed together, they just provide similar services.