In no particular order, here are some random thoughts on my mind this afternoon… 1.  Microsoft ($MSFT) is losing more on the brutal Bing/MSN twosome than they are taking in on revenues for the online business.  Is the board living in phsyical fear of Ballmer?  He has literally gotten nothing right in what seems like…

Some links for all to enjoy.

So, how’d it go?

Really?

The people behind the mortgage merry-go-round are identified.

Stuff I’m Reading this Morning… Barack comes to Wall Street today, paddle in hand, to excoriate the lobbyists fighting financial regulation.  (NYT) Bess Levin interviews The Greatest Trade Ever author about the recent CDO fraud charges.  (Observer) The Epicurean Dealmaker returns to weigh in on all things Squid.  (Epicurean) Happy 2nd Blogiversary to Market Folly! …

Huh?

Every single  living, breathing analyst on Wall Street (and some that are deceased) has come out with a bull call on Apple ($AAPL) this morning on the heels of the company’s blockbuster first quarter earnings announcement.  In over a decade trading this market, I have never seen anything like this analyst lovefest.  Never. Don’t believe…

Compared to virtually all commodities of late, natural gas has been an absolute dog.  Holders of a certain nat gas ETF  have been forced to ask themselves whether or not a stock can trade in negative integers. The reason for nat gas’s lackluster price action?  The conventional wisdom goes that because of our ability to horizontally…

One does not envy Democratic New York Senator Chuck Schumer these days.  Against the backdrop of national outrage over the banking industry and a major party push to get a reform bill done, Schumer must now choose between the lifeblood of his state and the populist zeitgeist of his party. Schumer has been a friend…