Oh, and spare me the arguments about “liquidity”… I applaud Mary Shapiro and the SEC‘s decision to put an end to this practice. On a basic level, high frequency or flash trading was no different than the rounding error scheme from the film Office Space whereby fractions of pennies “that no one would miss” would be…
September 2009
Hot Links: Nerds, Dorks, Geeks & Dweebs
Stuff I’m Reading this Morning… Global stocks, metals run out of steam overnight. Copper’s the culprit. (Bloomberg) My fave post of the week: Kanye interrupts Bernanke. Classic! (LOLFed) Federal Reserve bonus watchdogs will be embedded at Wall Street firms and banks. (Clusterstock) NYC unemployment now over 10%. Party on, Wayne. (Economix) IPO market, coming off…
3 Reasons I'm Concerned About the Upcoming A-Team Movie
99% of what we discuss here on TRB is finance-related, but every so often, a social issue of tremendous importance finds its way onto the site so that it can be addressed before it’s too late. With that in mind, we’re going to talk about my worries and fears about the upcoming A-Team movie, the…
10 Uses For Foreclosed Houses
As has been widely reported last week, a VP at Wells Fargo was just fired for hanging out at a $12 million Malibu mansion the bank had foreclosed on. My reaction was something along the lines of “Hey, what the hell?” With around 3 million foreclosed homes in the US, we should all be brainstorming…
We Are NOT The Champions: 25 Worst S&P Stocks of 2009
Right about now is when they start picking through the trash. As the Taxpayer Rally marches on, there is a huge temptation for managers to go “dumpster diving” for stocks that have underperformed. I think we’re approaching that point right here with the S&P 500 sporting a year-to-date gain of 16.5% (and a much bigger one…
Hot Links: The Marshmallow Test
Stuff I’m Reading this Morning… A new blog takes a look at how profitable vs unprofitable IPOs fare in the stock market. (TechFlash) Green Shoots! The return of tech M&A…here’s a list of all the recent deals. (GigaOM) Signs in exports, tourism and even housing that California could be turning. (LAT) S&P says corporate stock…
The Taxpayer Rally…Nuff Respect
Let’s keep it real. This is The Taxpayer Rally. We can point to any durable goods or new home starts data we want, but it’s all nonsense. The American Taxpayer saved the day and stepped in, willingly or coerced, and put the bottom in. Fundamentals would have told you to run as far as you…
Senator Chuck Schumer Opposes the "Trader Tax"
Whether we like it or not, the stock market is important to the average American, maybe moreso than ever in our nation’s history. All Americans are de facto participants and beneficiaries of healthy markets whether directly or indirectly, as investors or corporate employees, and Senator Charles Schumer gets it. I applaud the Senator’s opposition to the…
Secret of the Recession Ghost Fleet: 500 Empty Cargo Ships in Hiding
This is an amazing story. There is a Ghost Fleet of empty cargo and container ships anchored off the coast of southern Malaysia. Barely any crew, nothing to carry, nowhere to go. “The world’s ship owners and government economists would prefer you not to see this symbol of the depths of the plague still crippling…
Coming Soon To Institutional Sales/Trading: Discount Brokerage
You knew it was coming sooner or later. I guess it’s coming sooner. From TheStreet.com: Goldman Sachs (GS) and other big securities dealers made bundles of money last quarter because they faced fewer competitors, but now BlackRock(BLK) is hoping to change that. BlackRock, soon to be the world’s largest money manager, is working on a…
