Heartbreak Hotel Delinquencies Up Fivefold

They put up more boutique/ trendy hotels in NYC over the last 4 years than I could possibly name here.  I never could figure out who the hell they expected to occupy all of these rooms.  The Europeans certainly took advantage of the exchange rate in ’07 and ’08 but once the credit crisis hit,…

Another Sell-Side Joke: Earnings Estimates for 2020

Here’s yet another exhibit for the jury to consider in the case of Sanity v. Sell-Side Research: Ladies and Gentlemen, I present Barclays Bank on Amylin Pharmaceuticals: Firm is introducing long term estimates for AMLN from 2011-2020 which assume exenatide LAR approval and launch in the US by 3Q10 and by 3Q11 in Europe. In…

Mutual Fund B Shares Face Extinction

The demonization of “B Shares” continues as even more mutual fund families drop this share class from the roster. From the Wall Street Journal: Lately, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Allianz SE’s Pacific Investment Management Co. and American Century announced they would exit B shares. This accelerates a trend that has been gathering force since mid-decade….

Saturday Night Video: Muppets, Aceyalone & Lego Matrix

In case you haven’t seen the majesty that is The Muppets covering Queen, here is Bohemian Rhapsody. Jim Henson would be pleased… [vodpod id=Groupvideo.4046432&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26] The next video is my favorite jam of the moment, it’s called Can’t Hold Back by Aceyalone featuring Treasure Davis. [vodpod id=Groupvideo.4046448&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26] and finally, Lego Matrix.  Somebody’s got a bit too…

John Mauldin on Being an Optimist and the Coming Millennium Wave

I am not sure where the new jobs will come from, but they will. Just as they did in 1975. -John Mauldin, November 2009 For those of you who are not yet subscribers to John Mauldin‘s weekly newsletter Thoughts From The Frontline, this week’s edition should finally push you over the fence. Mauldin writes beautifully…

Technics 1200 Turntable: Saddest Casualty of the Digital Age Yet

Only real Hip Hop fans will truly understand the significance of what I’m about to discuss… Yes I love my iPod and no, I’m certainly not against technological progress.  That said, this story is sad on many levels: The news is out that Panasonic will be discontinuing the Technics 1200 turntable, one of the most…

Hot Links: Fit to be Trampled

Hot Links for Weekend Reading… The good news in Dubai is that the Underwater Hotel is weeks away from completion.  (GraspingReality) Here’s that piece everyone’s talking about where Spitzer calls Geithner a disgrace.  (Slate) Trader Mark guests on Zero Hedge: “Letting homeowners be deadbeats is the new stimulus plan.”  (ZeroHedge) John Hempton‘s fascinating take on…

A Rational Objection to the Trader Tax from Eric Jackson

Traders around the country are erupting in furor over Jim Cramer’s unfortunate comments in support of the proposed Trader Tax.  Speaking on CNBC in his regular shoot-from-the-hip slot, Cramer basically said what amounted to “why not?” when asked about the Democrats’ backward idea to extract a percentage of every transaction on the markets. I read…

Dubai World & Bear Stearns: Coal Mine Canaries?

Click Image to Embiggen! The meme going around now is that the Dubai debt thing is only the start of a wave of sovereign defaults, including Latvia and Greece, coming soon. While this could be the case, I actually see a lot more similarities between what the Bear Stearns blow up ultimately meant to the…

Dubai Default: Let's Get Ready to Crumble

UPDATE HERE: DUBAI AS COMMERCIAL RE CANARY IN THE COAL MINE Dubai’s sovereign debt is the disaster du jour, Europe already took a 3% hit yesterday while we were ODing on tryptophan and cranberry relish.  We’re looking at a down 200+ open on the Dow as of this post (8am). I’m still getting acquainted with…