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Breaking: US Dollar to Reverse Split

Breaking News: Washington D.C., Jul. 24, 2009 — The Federal Reserve announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a reverse stock split, at a 1 for 2 ratio for the US Dollar, effective August 1, 2009. As a result of the reverse split, every $2 of outstanding US currency will be changed into one Dollar. All fractional monies…

New York Times Suffering From Body Dysmorphia?

Body Dysmorphia is a psychological disorder in which the affected person is excessively concerned and preoccupied by a perceived defect in his or her physical features. – Wikipedia Dear New York Times, I thought it was adorable the way you reported on your own earnings report in your Media & Advertising section.  But I have…

China Goes Berserk for IPO's…Sound Familiar?

Ahhh, the year 1999…Y2k was on everyone’s mind, all the boys had their hair pushed forward and up, and our eardrums were pounded mercilessly by that Rob Thomas/ Carlos Santana abomination that attacked from every radio speaker coast-to-coast. More memorable to me than any of that was the dot com frenzy that turned the entire…

Kidz Korner: What Does Stimulus Mean?

Kidz Korner is a relatively new feature here on The Reformed Broker where I explain complex financial issues to kids from the neighborhood in a simple, straightforward way. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Little Timmy Johnson: Hey Mister TRB, can I ask you a question? The Reformed Broker:  You just did… Timmy:  Oh.  Sorry, can I ask you another…

Happy Hour, Live From Yankee Stadium

Don’t miss Fox Business’s Happy Hour, broadcasting live from the Hard Rock Cafe at the new Yankee Stadium tonight at 5 Eastern.  TRB is headed up to the Bronx for the taping, and I promise to ask Eric Bolling about that failed breakdown/ short squeeze in Natural Gas everyone’s talking about if possible. G’night and…

Lucas Van Praag's "To Do" List

Lucas Van Praag probably has one of the toughest (albeit well-compensated) jobs on the planet these days. As the Global Head of Corporate Communications for Goldman Sachs, he is literally the man with his finger in the dike, just barely containing the deluge of criticism and disgust that is on the verge of becoming a…

The Million Dollar Cheeseburger

In a highly unscientific survey/ calculation, the gang at New York Mag’s Grub Street came up with what they believe are the highest grossing dishes in New York City’s restaurants.  I was happy to see a plate I’ve consumed (way too) often make number 1 on the list, with an estimated annual gross of over…

Stubborn Little Winners

Today we’re going to salute some little guys who wouldn’t give up.  Small (er) cap stocks that refused to quit and have made their true-believer shareholders money this year, in one of the worst environments imaginable. What these names have in common is that they all are consumer-oriented companies, 4 of them are engaged in the…

Johnny Upside: I'll Buy Your Gold, Dog!

Johnny Upside is back…and he’s paying Cash for Gold! For those of you who haven’t met Johnny Upside yet, the last time we checked in with him, he was launching a distressed assets fund.  Prior to that, he was starting up a fund of fund of funds.  Johnny Upside has a knack for showing up…

Denninger's Trojan Horse

The silly war between the financial blogger community and CNBC’s Dennis Kneale was just decided tonight, with very little bombast I might add.  Kneale, the former magazine* editor-turned-pundit lost, and he probably doesn’t know it yet. (* Kids reading this in college, I’ll explain what a magazine is/ was later) Karl Denninger, who is good…