July 2009

Hot Links: The Pentatonic Scale

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.3090598&w=425&h=350&fv=] Hot Links for Weekend Reading… Jefferson County, Alabama: the brokest county in all the land.  (NYT) Barry Ritholtz does a killer guest post for Prieur‘s site discussing the analysts.  (Investment Postcards) China’s governments create a bottom in commercial real estate by intervention.  (FT) Speaking of China, Karabell looks at why their stimulus is…

How Sick Does District 9 Look?

Just thought I’d throw this out there…How sick does District 9 look? [vodpod id=Groupvideo.3089187&w=425&h=350&fv=] Have a nice weekend kids, and tune in tomorrow for Weekend Hot Links.

Trump Brand Reaches It's Logical Endpoint: Snake Oil Sales

When you think of the word Health, what celebrity immediately springs to mind?  Lance Armstrong?  Nope.  For me, it’s Donald Trump all the way.  If you find yourself nodding in agreement while reading this, boy do I have a story for you! I’m minding my own business last night and into my gmail account pops…

Breakfast Links: Venom on a Friday

Stuff I’m Reading this Morning… Wow!  A list of the most disgusting, pathetic people on earth!  That’s right…it’s Fashion Meets Finance time once again!  (Pocket Change) The article that helped ignite yesterday’s rally.  (Bloomberg) The mall retailers attempt Christmas in July.  (WSJ) Absurd lawsuit of the week:  “The Kindle Ate My Homework”.  (TechFlash) Remember dividends? …

Ratings Agencies, aka The Three Stooges, Get a Taste of Regulation

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.3080520&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26] The Department of the Treasury just released this Fact Sheet to demonstrate what the administration’s agenda will look like as it pertains to reforming the ratings agencies. Standard & Poors, Moody’s and Fitch, aka The Three Stooges, will have an interesting experience figuring out a profit margin after these are enacted!  Buffett agrees…

The Big Picture Challenges Jim Cramer on the Banks

The Big Picture’s Chris Whalen had this to say about James Cramer‘s table-pounding on US Bancorp (USB), Webster Bank (WBS) et al this morning: I notice that Jim Cramer is yowling on TheStreet.com today, pounding the table on US Bancorp (USB) and Webster Savings Bank (WBS).  Jim, how much you want to buy?  These institutions are going to…

Breakfast Links: Toilet Paper Tube Sculptures

Stuff I’m Reading this Morning… The Epicurean Dealmaker on Harvard the Hedge Fund.  (TED) Rushkoff on MicroHoo; Calls Yahoo “Microsoft’s Prison Yard Bitch“.  (Daily Beast) Weak Dollar overnight, so you know what that means:  Explosive global rally in stocks and commodities?  (MarketWatch) CB Richard Ellis in the eye of the commercial real estate storm.  (LA…

Paul Wilmott on High Frequency Trading

This is a very important perspective on what the rise of High Frequency Trading may mean to our markets and the companies that trade on them.  The piece is short on empirical evidence but long on common sense. The main questions raised in the op-ed are: Is the liquidity argument that HFT proponents spout so…

Breakfast Links: IPO's, Cramer & the B of A Tower

Stuff I’m Reading this Morning… First, I want to wish a happy 4th birthday to Long or Short Capital‘s site…these guys are great, start reading.  (LongOrShort) 4 IPO’s scheduled for August.  I forgot, what’s an IPO, again?  (DealBook) How many NYC restaurants have gone under this year?  Not that many, considering…  (Grub Street) Straight up…

Capitalism Lesson #1: Don't Kill Anyone, Just Sue.

  From the Wall Street Journal: BEIJING — More than a thousand steel workers in China’s northeast staged an at-times violent protest against the planned takeover of their state-run employer and a group of them killed a top executive at the private company that was to acquire it, Chinese state-run media reported. How nice. So,…