I’m calling it here and now: 2009 will witness a record-setting explosion in reverse stock splits, on both the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ. According to Marketwatch.com, more than half of the Wilshire 5000 index is currently trading under $5 per share. That’s pretty sick when you think about it. The Wilshire 5000…
March 2009
February '09 Jobs Report Word Cloud
On March 6th, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the February Non-Farm Payrolls report and it was pages and pages of some of the most mind-numbingly depressing stuff you could imagine. So I thought I’d have some fun with it…here’s a word cloud built with actual text of the report itself: Props to Wordle
Goldman Sachs is a Charity Case, Too.
This is a very big story and will probably piss off taxpayers like nothing else has thus far. The Wall Street Journal has the list of all the companies that were essentially made whole by the AIG bailout. Basically, these are the firms that were counter-parties in transactions with AIG, the hedge fund that happens…
The End of Super Secret Swiss Banking?
Bloomberg is reporting that since the day in February that UBS coughed up 300 client names to the US government in a tax evasion investigation, the Swiss bankers and their clients are quaking in their boots. The decision marked the first time Switzerland lifted its banking secrecy laws, allowing UBS to pass on client data…
Hot Links: LOLFed, Bailout Nation & Bill Singer
Hot Links for Weekend Reading I confess, I am now officially a LOLFed junkie. This week, they gave us the NYSE’s new Dollar Menu, featuring items like Citigroup, Pier 1 and Vonage. Alyx, you rule. The week started with another bombshell (non) earnings report from AIG, the hedge fund that happens to be attached to…
TGIF: Dow 6500…Sing With Michael
R.E.M. live in Toronto, 2001
Will Visa Replace Citi in the Dow Jones?
I did a piece recently, New Candidates for the Dow Jones, and since then, things have gotten even worse for Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C) and a handful of other DJIA names. While the Index Editor who oversees the Dow, John Prestbo, has gone on record saying there won’t be any changes right now,…
Big Bad Jobs Report…Down 650k, Unemployment at 8.1%
The Non-Farm Payroll report hits at 8:30 this morning. The only question is “How Ugly?” The Labor Department is expected to report that employers cut 648,000 jobs in February, according to economists polled by Thomson Reuters/IFR. That would be more than the 598,000 shed in January. The unemployment rate is expected to jump to 7.9…
MGM Mirage: Degenerate Gambler
From Bloomberg: MGM Mirage and Dubai World failed to reach agreement with Deutsche Bank AG and talks on a $1.2 billion loan to complete the Las Vegas CityCenter project collapsed, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Come right in, MGM, take a seat…can I get you a cup of coffee? Sorry, yes,…
The Good News: Bad Economy = Great Music
In times of economic stress, great new styles and movements emerge in American popular music. Below is a chart I’ve put together to illustrate my point. Interestingly, frivolous pop excess gets swept away as well when we get serious about the artists we want to listen to in tough times. Below is The Reformed Broker’s…
