Turmoil in the housing market has led to fears that home prices will drop precipitously….. But the projected losses have been wildly exaggerated. Most Americans have not experienced any significant declines in the value of their homes – nor are…
Daily life in these developments seems a bit post-cataclysmic. Children play on elaborate but empty playgrounds. They walk their dogs past rows of shiny houses that have never been lived in. Voices echo up and down the block. Unfinished houses…
I am indeed sticking my neck out right here, right now, declaring emphatically that I believe the market will not revisit the panicked lows it hit on July 15….. Bye, bye bear market. Say hello to the bull and don’t…
GPS maker Garmin (GRMN) is getting torched again today after reporting disappointing 2nd quarter earnings before the open (GRMN 2nd Quarter Earnings Release). They reported earnings of 94 cents a share, excluding a 25 cent per share gain on the…
The big story today is Merrill Lynch’s (MER) announcement that it will sell $30.6 billion in face value mortgage backed securities to Lone Star Funds for a purchase price of $6.7 billion -22 cents on the dollar. Merrill had already…
I’ve come across some really good pieces the last couple of days that I want to share: “Generalists can have some advantages, including being able to ‘focus on the true, single hinge issue’ of a company’, says Lisa Shalett [former…
Despite the action in the financials today, the surge in financials and selloff in energy of late is something to watch. Check out BeSpoke’s post, with the beautiful charts, today: “Trading Places: Energy And Financials”. A couple weeks ago I…
A torrid 1 week, 35%, rally in the financials appears to have come to an abrupt end today. After that explosive move, the financials are selling off to the tune of 6.5% today (XLF 3 Month Chart). You have to…
I’ve been interested in Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) for quite a while now. They have a location on Douglass and Sierra College Boulevard a couple miles from my house and I’ve been eating there for years. I remember when they…
Today after the close Washington Mutual (WM) announced a $3.3 billion 2nd quarter loss driven by a $6 billion provision for loan losses (WM Earnings Release). WaMu has a quarter trillion dollar ($250 billion) loan portfolio, almost entirely in real…