• Guess This Stock
    Posted by on May 22nd, 2007 at 2:04 pm

    Here’s a blatant ripoff of a feature at the Kirk Report: Can you guess what stock this is?
    image472.png
    Here are some clues:
    It’s up nearly 100-fold in the last 19 years (plus another seven-fold with dividends).
    The stock currently pays a 4% dividend.
    It’s based in the U.S., but half the company is owned by a French company.
    Give up? The answer is…

    Read more…

  • The Science of Central Banking
    Posted by on May 22nd, 2007 at 12:12 pm

    Here’s a very odd story. The Bank of China recently raised interest rates by 18 basis points and its one-year deposit rate by 27 basis points. Strange that both numbers are divisible by nine. Strange, but no accident. You see, in China, all interest rates set to multiples of nine. Would you believe it has to do with the abacus?
    No, really.

  • Putin Wants Oil Revenue for Stock Market
    Posted by on May 22nd, 2007 at 10:45 am

    Here’s an unpleasant headline:

    Putin wants oil revenue to go into Russian stock market
    President Vladimir Putin urged the Russian government Monday to bolster the country’s flagging equity market by pumping surplus oil revenue into stocks.
    The government should consider buying Russian blue chips with excess oil revenue instead of foreign securities, Putin said at a cabinet meeting in Moscow that was broadcast on NTV television.
    Chris Weafer, chief strategist at Alfa Bank in Moscow, said, “You would expect to see that money going into companies like Rosneft, Gazprom and VTB Group rather than the broader market.” Weafer added, “The danger is trying to achieve a valuation target, which would only be a short-term fix.”

    It could be worse. The last time Russia had surging revenue from the high price of oil, the country put it to work. In Afghanistan.

  • Earnings Since 2000
    Posted by on May 22nd, 2007 at 9:37 am

    Here’s the S&P 500, along with its earnings, since 2000. The earnings line is in gold and it follows the right scale. The left and right scales are at 15-to-1, so when the lines cross, the market’s P/E ratio is 15. Since the market peaked seven years ago, earnings are up 70%.
    image471.png

  • It’s Official: CBS Snags Wallstrip
    Posted by on May 22nd, 2007 at 9:36 am

  • The Hottest Billionaire Heiresses
    Posted by on May 21st, 2007 at 4:17 pm

    Forbes looks at the Hottest Billionaire Heiresses.
    (Wait a sec. Doesn’t Steve Forbes have five daughters?)

  • Close, but No
    Posted by on May 21st, 2007 at 4:03 pm

    The S&P 500 closed today at 1525.10, just shy of the record close of 1527.46.
    (Hey, we’ve been waiting seven years. What’s a few more days?)

  • The Nasdaq Goes Fibonacci
    Posted by on May 21st, 2007 at 1:22 pm

    Brace yourself: The Nasdaq Composite is currently stuck at 2,584.
    Why is that important? Because it’s a Fibonacci number!
    (Shaking You Furiously)
    OK, so why’s that important? Er, I have no clue. But other people seem to think it’s important so I’m running with it.
    Here’s a look at the Nasdaq with Fibonacci Numbers in blue.
    image470.png
    If the you divide a Fibonacci Number by the one directly below it, you get the Golden Ratio.
    (Seriously, did that just blow your fucking mind??)

  • Shanghai Update
    Posted by on May 21st, 2007 at 1:16 pm

    Speaking of the Chinese market. Remember how everyone panicked where the Shangai market plunged? Measuring from the 9% correction on February 27, the Shangai Composite is up 45%.
    I think we all know how this story ends.

  • The Stock and Bond Market Part Ways
    Posted by on May 21st, 2007 at 1:09 pm

    As the stock market keeps chugging higher, the bond market is starting to leave it behind. As a very general rule, the bond market leads the stock market by a few months. In the chart below, I’m using the BTTRX mutual fund as my bond proxy. Note how the bond market (the gold line) started fall behind the stock market before the Shanghai Surprise in February.
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