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Every one of them bounced nicely
Posted by: STRONGUS Date: Monday, December 01, 2008 9:21:34 PM
In reply to: None Post # of 83900 [Send a link via email]
Bounce watch for tomorrow : PLD UYG URE FAS ERX DIG
I am looking at some UNG call options as well.
Market always overreacts on either direction. Oil is likely to start moving up in anticipation of a big production cut in december OPEC meeting. I believe the weakness in dollar & capex cuts will start driving the commodities up..
Contra Play : USO Calls : Bought USOLH (DEC 20, 2008 $ 40.000 CALL)
& USOAO (JAN 17, 2009 $ 42.000 CALL) today. I am expecting Oil to get that inevitable oversold bounce.
Contra Play : USO Calls : Bought USOLH (DEC 20, 2008 $ 40.000 CALL)
& USOAO (JAN 17, 2009 $ 42.000 CALL) today. I am expecting Oil to get that inevitable oversold bounce.
thx Looking to see some winners on the plate today!
Long or short, this market is punishing any one who is overstaying There is a lot of bad news already prized into this market. Hard to believe this will go down in a straight line..
Good idea. I am looking at buying USO calls tomorrow. 2x - 3x ETFs are like options without expiry..LOL
Bounce watch for tomorrow : PLD UYG URE FAS ERX DIG
Bounce watch for tomorrow : PLD UYG URE FAS ERX DIG
The best way to rule : Stay in the middle
Happy Thanksgiving to every one! God Bless America.
LFG is bidding at 17 cents! Confusing BK PR this morning. Looks like the company has a lot to explain. May even grab some for a bounce
Flash : SEC Chairman Cox to Convene Meeting of International Regulators
Agenda Includes Short Selling, Derivatives Regulation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-278
Washington, D.C., Nov. 20, 2008 — Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox today announced that he will convene a meeting of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Technical Committee on Monday, November 24 by teleconference to discuss urgent regulatory issues in the ongoing credit crisis.
"In addressing turbulent market conditions, it is essential not only that regulators act against securities law violations, including abusive short selling, but also that there be close coordination among international markets to avoid regulatory gaps and unintended consequences," said Chairman Cox. "This high-level coordination among international regulators will allow us to review the steps we have taken thus far and ensure that our ongoing and future actions are effective and mutually reinforcing."
The Technical Committee meeting will consider:
* Short Selling — Consider the effectiveness of recent regulatory responses in reducing manipulative short selling without stifling legitimate short selling activity, and explore possible coordination on rules relating to naked short sales, in particular with regard to position reporting and delivery and pre-borrowing requirements
* Under-Regulated or Unregulated Products — Develop disclosure principles to promote transparency in OTC markets for derivatives and other financial instruments which will contribute to enhanced investor protection and mitigating systemic risk.
The meeting also will focus on:
* Credit Rating Agencies — Assess members' progress in adopting rules based on IOSCO's revised Code of Conduct, and accelerate work on developing a common examination module.
* International Accounting Standards — Ensure that the process of developing international accounting standards continues to take account of the interests of investors.
# # #
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-278.htm
Important alert :SEC Chairman Cox to Convene Meeting of International Regulators
Agenda Includes Short Selling, Derivatives Regulation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-278
Washington, D.C., Nov. 20, 2008 — Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox today announced that he will convene a meeting of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Technical Committee on Monday, November 24 by teleconference to discuss urgent regulatory issues in the ongoing credit crisis.
"In addressing turbulent market conditions, it is essential not only that regulators act against securities law violations, including abusive short selling, but also that there be close coordination among international markets to avoid regulatory gaps and unintended consequences," said Chairman Cox. "This high-level coordination among international regulators will allow us to review the steps we have taken thus far and ensure that our ongoing and future actions are effective and mutually reinforcing."
The Technical Committee meeting will consider:
* Short Selling — Consider the effectiveness of recent regulatory responses in reducing manipulative short selling without stifling legitimate short selling activity, and explore possible coordination on rules relating to naked short sales, in particular with regard to position reporting and delivery and pre-borrowing requirements
* Under-Regulated or Unregulated Products — Develop disclosure principles to promote transparency in OTC markets for derivatives and other financial instruments which will contribute to enhanced investor protection and mitigating systemic risk.
The meeting also will focus on:
* Credit Rating Agencies — Assess members' progress in adopting rules based on IOSCO's revised Code of Conduct, and accelerate work on developing a common examination module.
* International Accounting Standards — Ensure that the process of developing international accounting standards continues to take account of the interests of investors.
# # #
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-278.htm
UYG at $4.63 & UYM at $11.33 (closing prices) are screaming buys for any one with a time frame of more than 6 months.
Long term, there is a lot of money to be made in solar stocks. We need to pick the right ones though. LDK is also on my solar watch list.
Posted by: STRONGUS Date: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 11:33:40 PM
In reply to: None Post # of 80114 [Send a link via email]
Bounce picks - JEC C SOLF SPWRA XLF IAR GE HIG LVS UYM UYG
I have them all in the watch list and starting to average in.
Good luck!
Bounce picks - JEC C SOLF SPWRA XLF IAR GE HIG LVS UYM UYG
I have them all in the watch list and starting to average in.
Good luck!
Bounce picks - JEC C SOLF SPWRA XLF IAR GE HIG LVS UYM UYG
I have them all in the watch list and starting to average in.
Good luck!
First Bush-Obama Meeting: Hard Feelings and Hand Sanitizer
As President Bush and President-elect Barack Obama prepare for their post-election meeting at the White House on Monday, memories of their first encounter linger.
FOXNews.com
Sunday, November 09, 2008
President Bush and President-elect Barack Obama are probably hoping their meeting Monday goes better than their first get-together, which left a bad taste in the mouths of both men.
Four years ago, Obama and other newly elected members of the Senate were invited to the White House for a breakfast meeting with Bush, who pulled the young Chicagoan aside.
"Obama!" Bush exclaimed, according to Obama's account of the meeting in his second memoir, "The Audacity of Hope." "Come here and meet Laura. Laura, you remember Obama. We saw him on TV during election night. Beautiful family. And that wife of yours -- that's one impressive lady."
The two men shook hands and then, according to Obama, Bush turned to an aide, "who squirted a big dollop of hand sanitizer in the president's hand."
Bush then offered some to Obama, who recalled: "Not wanting to seem unhygienic, I took a squirt."
The president then led Obama off to one side of the room, where Bush said: "I hope you don't mind me giving you a piece of advice."
"Not at all, Mr. President," Obama told the commander-in-chief.
"You've got a bright future," Bush said presciently. "Very bright. But I've been in this town awhile and, let me tell you, it can be tough. When you get a lot of attention like you've been getting, people start gunnin' for ya. And it won't necessarily just be coming from my side, you understand. From yours, too. Everybody'll be waiting for you to slip, know what I mean? So watch yourself."
Bush then noted that he and Obama had something in common.
"We both had to debate Alan Keyes," the president said. "That guy's a piece of work, isn't he?"
Obama laughed and even "put my arm around his shoulder as we talked," he recalled, although he added the gesture "might have made many of my friends, not to mention the Secret Service agents in the room, more than a little uneasy."
Despite this display of bonhomie, Obama said the president's demeanor turned downright frightening when he laid out his agenda to the freshly minted lawmakers.
"Suddenly it felt as if somebody in a back room had flipped a switch," Obama wrote. "The president's eyes became fixed; his voice took on the agitated, rapid tone of someone neither accustomed to nor welcoming interruption; his easy affability was replaced by an almost messianic certainty. As I watched my mostly Republican Senate colleagues hang on his every word, I was reminded of the dangerous isolation that power can bring, and appreciated the Founders' wisdom in designating a system to keep power in check."
When I quoted from this passage to Bush during an Oval Office interview, the president seemed irritated to learn he had been taken to task by the senator he once counseled.
I thought I was actually showing some kindness," Bush said indignantly. "And out of that he came with this belief?"
The president added with a bit of a scowl: "He doesn't know me very well."
Bill Sammon is Washington Deputy Managing Editor for FOX News.
Ok Grandpa Let us see what the next week brings..I am just a trader. This volatility suits my style. I got burnt only when I tried 'investing'..LOL
I belong to Generation X
When I see the ocean of negativity from the retail crowd, I feel the bottom is either in or very close The downside here is limited because the market adopts a forward discounting mechanism. We are prized for a long recession so far as the stock market goes.
>> Banks want to lend money to people that do not need it.
Truer words are never spoken I am counting on the new group to put a ceiling on the interest rates these credit card companies charge on their customers. The banks are hesitant to even loan the free money they got from the government. The mortgage rates are climbing on the face of all the recent rate cuts.
Turned out it was a bad bet but I wasn't the only one who paid the price. The market got killed from that point onwards and cost Mccain t(his) election. If 'they' saved Lehman, history wouldn't have been made I forgot to tell you that I had puts to somewhat protect me on the downside..LOL
World reaction to Obama victory: Elation
Around the globe, people express joy over his victory and admiration for U.S. democracy.
By Henry Chu
4:02 PM PST, November 5, 2008
Reporting from London — If history records a sudden surge in carbon emissions on Wednesday, it may be due to the collective exhalation of relief and joy by the hundreds of millions -- perhaps billions -- of people around the globe who watched, waited and prayed for Barack Obama to be elected president of the United States.
In country after country, elation over Obama's victory was palpable, the hunger for a change of American leadership as strong outside the U.S. as in it. And there was wonderment that, in the world's most powerful democracy, a man with African roots and the middle name Hussein, an upstart fighter who took on political heavyweights, could capture the highest office in the land.
Suddenly, Americans used to being criticized for speaking hyperbolically about their country found plenty of others doing it for them.
"The New World," the Times of London declared on its front page, beneath a huge smiling portrait of Obama.
"One Giant Leap for Mankind," echoed the Sun.
From the beginning, this campaign has mesmerized observers far beyond U.S. shores. Two wars and two terms under President Bush have left many around the world angry and spent.
Yet though many have denounced U.S. power and unilateralism, they also seemed intent on putting the country back on a pedestal, and they fixed on Obama as their hope. Polls consistently showed that, if the rest of the world could vote, the Illinois Democrat would win not by a landslide, but an avalanche.
So as results came tumbling in on their radios, TV screens and cellphones, many outside the U.S. saw it as their moment as much as America's, and Obama's victory as their own.
"A lot of people told me they had tears in their eyes last night. I was one of them," Randa Habib, a Jordanian writer and political analyst, said Wednesday. "I saw his speech. I was very moved. This is a lesson to us all, that blacks and whites in America can have such a shameful past between them, yet they come together and learn how to live together."
The Middle East, she said, has always wanted to look to the U.S. as a beacon, despite differences over the Arab- Israeli conflict, the Iraq war and other issues.
"There's a feeling of hope that things will be right in America," Habib said. "Obama can make you once again respect the U.S. for its values and democracy and all those things we had forgotten about over the last eight years."
No one yet knows what Obama's foreign policy will look like, and the celebratory mood over his triumph in many places was tempered by questions about his plans for U.S. troops in Iraq, his role in Middle East peace talks and his commitment to free trade, among other issues.
But such doubts aside, legions of jubilant supporters set off firecrackers in El Salvador, danced in Liberia and drank shots in Japan. Good wishes went streaming Obama-ward from housewives in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, where Obama spent some of his early childhood, and from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who also beat long odds to lead his country.
"Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place," said one letter addressed simply to "Senator Barack Obama, Chicago."
Its author: Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa, writing to the first black president-to-be of the United States. Africa has embraced Obama as something of a native son, though it was his father who was born in Kenya, not Obama himself.
Those inspired by Obama's origins and accomplishments include French political activist Patrick Lozes, the son of an immigrant from the African nation of Benin.
"This election is going to improve the image the U.S.A. has in our neighborhoods," Lozes said of France's heavily Muslim working-class enclaves. "The American dream comes back to life."
Tens of thousands of Europeans turned out to catch a glimpse of Obama during his tour of the continent over the summer. Many are counting on him to restore a more harmonious relationship between the U.S. and Europe, after recent years of tension over the war in Iraq and matters such as climate change.
A similar hope lives in Mexico, where former Foreign Secretary Jorge Castañeda wrote in Wednesday's Reforma newspaper: "Obama won, the map of the United States was transformed and for Mexico an extraordinary opportunity has opened . . . because it will be infinitely simpler to be a neighbor, partner and friend of the United States with Obama."
Supporters of the Republican presidential runner-up, John McCain, were not impossible to find Wednesday. Just very much harder.
In Italy, a right-wing senator, Maurizio Gasparri, provoked a nasty domestic spat when he suggested that Obama would be soft on terrorism and that "with Obama in the White House, perhaps Al Qaeda is happier." The Italian left immediately called on Gasparri to apologize to Americans for his comments.
Russia's leaders -- who in the wake of Obama's election lashed out at U.S. backing of Georgia in its armed conflict with Russia in August -- probably also preferred McCain, said Alexander Konovalov of the Institute for Strategic Assessment in Moscow.
"Traditionally Republicans were better than Democrats for Russia, or for the Soviet Union in the past," Konovalov said. "We always backed the Democrats, but agreements we could strike only with the Republicans."
But in China, where real democracy is unknown, an unofficial poll conducted by the official New China News Agency found that 83% of respondents favored Obama over McCain.
In other countries ruled by unelected or autocratic regimes, people marveled at the resilience of American democracy, its capacity for change and its stamina through an endless election season.
"Let me tell you that now I believe in American democracy," said Mostafa Eqbali, a merchant in the Iranian capital, Tehran. "Honestly, I did not think that Obama would be president. I thought that the invisible hands of the big trusts and cartels would not allow a black man to be president of the United States."
Iran's nuclear ambitions will be one of the first foreign policy challenges to face Obama after his inauguration, as well as what to do in neighboring Iraq. Some among Iraq's ruling Shiite Muslim elite worry that Obama will push for a speedier withdrawal of U.S. troops than they would like, or challenge their decisions in ways the Bush administration did not.
The continued fighting in Afghanistan, the worldwide financial meltdown and global warming will press for Obama's attention as well.
"These, though, are issues for another day. Today is for celebration, for happiness and for reflected human glory," said Britain's Guardian newspaper. "Savor those words: President Barack Obama, America's hope and, in no small way, ours too."
Chu is a Times staff writer. henry.chu@latimes.com
Contributing to this report were staff writers Chris Kraul in Bogota, Colombia; Patrick J. McDonnell in Buenos Aires; Ashraf Khalil and Batsheva Sobelman in Jerusalem; Laura King in Istanbul, Turkey; Tracy Wilkinson in Mexico City; Sebastian Rotella in Madrid; Achrene Sicakyuz in Paris; Maria De Cristofaro in Rome; Janet Stobart in London; Sergei L. Loiko in Moscow; Borzou Daragahi in Beirut; Tina Susman and Ned Parker in Baghdad; Robyn Dixon in Johannesburg, South Africa; Jeffrey Fleishman in Cairo; Mark Magnier in Beijing; and special correspondents Rahim Mostaghim in Tehran; Dinda Jouhana in Jakarta, Indonesia; and Alex Renderos in San Salvador.
Green Energy Likely Winner, Big Oil Loser In US Senate Races
By Ian Talley
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--A strengthened Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate will likely boost the outlook for renewable-energy companies while large oil companies could be socked with a multi-billion dollar windfall profits tax next year.
Many polls predict Democrats will win a half-dozen or so U.S. Senate seats from Republicans in the Nov. 4 general election. This could give Senate Democrats a voting edge needed to approve a Renewable Portfolio Standard, or RPS, a requirement for greater alternative energy production from wind, solar and biomass.
Many Democrats promise a "new direction" in energy policy, supporting a move away from fossil fuels.
If elected, these candidates could allow Democrats to pass a windfall profits tax for Big Oil companies such as ExxonMobil (XOM), Chevron Corp. (CVX) and ConocoPhillips (COP), according to a Dow Jones Newswires review of campaign promises and polls.
There would also be more political mass to set stricter energy market regulations and to pave the way for congressional intervention of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Given the polling numbers, "the RPS is almost a certainty," said Dave Hamilton, Sierra Club director of its Global Warming and Energy Program.
The Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, supports a 25% renewable portfolio standard by 2025. Obama, who leads in most major polls, also backs a windfall profits tax for the petroleum industry and tapping the nation's emergency stocks when oil prices are high.
Sen. Obama - as well as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. - believe spurring the renewable industry would help the country recover from its current economic crisis. Republican candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona doesn't support a national renewable energy standard.
Southern utility companies, including Duke Energy Corp. (DUK) and Southern Co. (SO), have lobbied against a federal renewable portfolio standard. Wind turbine manufacturers such as GE Energy, a unit of the General Electric Co. (GE), India's Suzlon Energy (532667.BY) and Denmark's Vestas Wind Systems (VWS.OS), as well as solar firms such as Norway's Renewable Energy Corp. ASA (REC.OS), and U.S.-headquartered First Solar Inc. (FSLR) and Evergreen Solar Inc. (ESLR) would benefit under a renewable portfolio standard.
Based on previous votes, Capitol Hill watchers estimate the number of senators who are highly likely to remain in their seats and who would vote for a renewable standard is between 53 to 59. As the House has already passed such a standardseveral times, the Democratic leadership needs 60 votes in the Senate to overcome a Republican filibuster. Although support isn't strictly along party lines, the GOP has largely been opposed to a federally mandated renewable standard.
"We believe we will succeed in electing a pro-environment majority in the Senate, and there are several environmental champions poised to win," said Josh McNeil, spokesman for the League of Conservation Voters.
Some Republican senators who opposed the renewable portfolio standard are likely to be replaced by Democrats who support one.
Virginia is one example. Republican Sen. John Warner is retiring, and he's expected to be replaced by former Democratic Gov. Mark Warner (no relation). In New Hampshire, Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen is several points ahead of Republican incumbent Sen. John Sununu. In North Carolina, Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole is down in most polls in a tight race against Democratic State Sen. Kay Hagan. Former Saturday Night Live writer Al Franken has moved into the lead against his opposition, incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn.
"We are one senator away from passing the kind of renewable energy legislation our country needs," said Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., who has about a five-point lead on his Republican opponent, former U.S. Rep. Bob Schaffer.
Mark Udall's cousin, Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., is ahead by nearly 20 points in most polls against GOP Rep. Steve Pearce, who has championed the oil industry's cause in his tenure. Both Udalls are members of the House Peak Oil Caucus, which believes that oil production has reached its zenith and a rapid move to alternative energies is vital for the U.S. economy's survival.
New Mexico and Colorado are examples where candidates have made energy a top campaign issue, with Democrats painting their competitors as tied to the oil industry at a time of record-high energy prices that have gouged household budgets.
Environmental lobbyists say that if support for a renewable energy mandateis above the 60-vote threshold, any law would likely be more stringent than has already come to the floor. To win additional support, the leadership may also include energy-efficiency measures that would count toward the standard.
Adding political momentum to those races where Democrats are ahead in the polls are several other contests that, while either neck-and-neck or Republican-leaning, could push the Democratic vote counts for a renewable mandate and a windfall profits tax even higher - including Mississippi, Alaska and Georgia.
Almost all of the challengers also support cutting Big Oil's tax breaks, and several, including Shaheen, Hagan and Franken, support Obama's plan to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve should oil prices return to previous record highs.
The last vote in the Senate for a windfall-profits tax failed to gain the 60-vote margin necessary, at 51 for and 43 against. Analysts say Obama's proposal could mean revenue of $15 billion a year, based on estimated profit for the oil majors this year.But, add three votes for Democratic senators who were out on the campaign trail but who support the measure and the expected new votes, it could become law.
"We are certainly aware that some of the candidates are talking about a windfall profits tax...and we're going to try to convince policy makers that's not the right answer," Mark Kibbe, a senior tax consultant at the American Petroleum Institute.
The oil industry fears that higher taxes, combined with a global constriction in access to new resources as producer countries accelerate their nationalization policies, would squeeze profits and reduce domestic exploration and production growth.
Many Democrats have proposed swapping the more expensive grade of crude for the market's lower-grade barrels, and funneling the generated revenue toward topping off the emergency stocks in the future. But some economists say that while such a move might temporarily relieve price spikes, it would send a false signal to the market that could ultimately cause prolonged high prices.
-By Ian Talley, Dow Jones Newswires, 202-862-9285; ian.talley@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=7M4aS1rE8qLXeI8Zfy29Mw%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
> Dow Jones Newswires
10-24-08 1512ET
Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Obama beats McCain in Virginia presidential vote-Fox
Tue Nov 4, 2008 10:44pm EST
WASHINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama won the Virginia presidential vote on Tuesday, defeating rival John McCain to break the state's 40-year history of backing Republicans in the race for the White House, Fox News projected.
Obama, an Illinois senator who would be the first black U.S. president, was narrowly leading McCain in opinion polls before the election and the state was widely considered a tossup. He is the first Democrat to carry Virginia since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
The victory gives Obama Virginia's 13 electoral votes, and the capture of a traditionally Republican state pushes him closer to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency in the United States' indirect system of choosing a leader.
Obama Outmaneuvers McCain on Taxes
October 28, 2008 9:26 PM
ABC News' Teddy Davis, Rigel Anderson, and Arnab Datta Report: With one week to go until Election Day, the McCain campaign finds itself in an uncomfortable position on taxes.
According to the latest polling by ABC News, Obama currently maintains a ten-point lead over McCain on an issue which Republicans typically own.
The last Democratic candidate for president to have that kind of lead was Bill Clinton in 1992.
As George Stephanopoulos noted on the Tuesday edition of “World News with Charles Gibson,” “When Democrats win on taxes, they tend to win elections.”
So how did Obama get the upper hand?
For starters, he went beyond the targeted tax cut approach of Democrats Al Gore and John Kerry and hammered home the message that his plan would cut taxes for “95 percent of Americans.”
The key to this promise is his sweeping proposal to offer a rebate for payroll taxes of $500 for individuals and $1,000 for couples which starts to phase out for couples at $150,000 or for non-joint filers at $75,000 per year.
Second, he promised individuals making less than $200,000 and couples making less than $250,000 that they will not see their taxes go up.
Third, when McCain and RNC began pounding Obama for backing a budget blueprint which envisioned higher taxes on Americans making as little as $42,000 per year, the Obama campaign circulated reports by FactCheck.org saying: “No taxes were increased, and the vote that the McCain campaign refers to could not by itself have resulted increase on anybody.”
And finally, Obama had the good fortune of running against a GOP opponent who could be portrayed as favoring a new broad-based tax on the middle class.
Non-partisan experts say that the refundable heath-care tax credit proposed by McCain would (at least initially) result in a lower tax bill for most Americans.
Obama understood, however, that voters are more attuned to what they stand to lose than what they stand to gain. With that in mind, Obama ran a series of ads which eviscerated McCain for wanting to end the income tax deduction for employer-provided health care.
All four of these points have helped Obama gain the upper hand in the debate over taxes.
He even looks good relative to McCain on the issue of the deficit: according to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, over a ten-year period, McCain’s tax policies would lead to $1.6 trillion more in debt than Obama.
(Obama’s tax policies would add $3.5 trillion to the debt; McCain’s tax policies would add $5.1 trillion to the debt over ten years).
While Obama appears to have outmaneuvered McCain on taxes, some of the Illinois Democrat's own backers are wondering if he will face a situation similar to Bill Clinton in 1992. The newly elected Democratic president found it difficult to keep his promise to cut middle class taxes, boost public investment, and cut the deficit at the same time.
Harvard Prof. John White, an Obama supporter who wrote Perot’s ’92 balanced budget plan and later endorsed Clinton, thinks the Democratic nominee is going to have trouble cutting taxes and increasing public investment once the government is done bailing out the banking and auto industries.
“He is going to be told that the deficit is too high,” White told ABC News. “I think he is in a real box.”
Even my MER long & XLF put option cannot offset LEH loss but at least it is not going be horrible. I am saddened about the fate of my good friends and others who work there. God bless.
I don't want Paulson (Fed) to help Lehman because that would wipe out the common. I want them to sell the 'good parts' for a nice chunk and roll-up the 'bad parts' to another unit..In other words, all I am looking for is some positive news and a nice spike..I would gladly take profits on Monday (God willing)
I have taken the biggest gamble of my life on Friday I loaded up on LEH. Let us see what Monday brings. Saying my prayers for sure..lol
I bought LEH shares after hours today. Very risky bet but I am used to pinkies LOL
eik, I know you were skeptical about that one. I am sorry for the shareholders. I know leebret was big on LUMC. Hope he got out in time. I traded that one a few times but never considered that as an investment. It was too risky for my taste. Good bearish call from you
Posted by: STRONGUS Date: Sunday, May 18, 2008 6:28:45 PM
In reply to: None Post # of 916
Read this article in full. LUMC is mentioned at the bottom. Looks like we didn't have actual net income as many thought Still doesn't take anything away from this being a good reversal play. I booked some profits at 30 cents..It was nice making 50% gain in a few weeks time. GL!
New rules can turn a loss into a gain
By Harold Brubaker
Inquirer Staff Writer
New accounting rules are causing bizarre gyrations on financial statements and giving some companies a bottom-line boost when their credit goes bad.
Radian Group Inc. took a $1.33 billion hit in its first-quarter earnings from the decline in the value of insurancelike products it sold and was liable for. That part is not new.
What's new is, the Philadelphia insurer of mortgages and bonds last week had to take the market's perception of its own creditworthiness into account when valuing the obligations.
Because there are significant doubts Radian will be able to make good on them, it had to report an offsetting $2.06 billion gain.
In a miracle of accounting alchemy, as the likelihood of a debt or other obligation being repaid drops, firms that use this method must book a corresponding gain in income. That forced Radian to report first-quarter net income of $195.64 million, up from $113.47 million a year earlier. Radian took pains to point out it had an operating loss of $215.2 million.
C. Robert Quint, Radian's chief financial officer, said the theory behind so-called fair-value accounting was fine, but the reality was not: "No one really understands what's real, what's not real."
The standard-setting Financial Accounting Standards Board for years has been moving toward requiring reporting of financial assets at their fair market value. But the rule suddenly is "drawing more attention because of the volatility" in the credit markets, said Brian Bushee, an associate professor of accounting at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
For fiscal years starting after last Nov. 15, the rule standardized definitions, set up a three-tier framework for valuing financial assets, and required major disclosures. It also required companies to take their own credit into account when valuing what they owe.
Radian did not go as far as it could have with the new accounting rules. Another new rule lets companies choose whether to report certain assets and liabilities, including debt, at fair value. "We have debt that we're carrying at the amount that we owe as opposed to a fair value that would be lower," Quint said.
By contrast, Luminent Mortgage Capital Inc., a Philadelphia investor in residential-mortgage-related securities that was on the verge of going out of business last year, valued its debt at fair value. Its debt has fallen in value because of doubts that Luminent will repay, so it booked a gain.
But wait: If Luminent's prospects improve under new chief executive officer Zachary H. Pashel, some of that gain would be reversed.
Contact staff writer Harold Brubaker at 215-854-4651 or hbrubaker@phillynews.com
Posted by: STRONGUS Date: Wednesday, June 04, 2008 9:03:54 AM
In reply to: leebret who wrote msg# 701 Post # of 916
I keep playing them Stock gave me a neat double recently. Always spread thin and never put all eggs in one basket.
UNG : If you have missed out the massive bounce all the airlines & some financial stocks had, here is another opportunity..Check out UNG. This one tracks the NG (natural gas) price movements. Limited downside here imo. I bought some call options today after seeing the steep drop. Market tends to overdo in both ways so I won't surprised if it drops a dollar or 2 more but the bottoming process is underway. Here are some call options to look at..Be careful though. They move really fast on either direction
UNGJN UNGIP UNGIN (all down big in the recent days)
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/op?s=UNG
PS : The airline stocks that I highlighted in this forum some time ago gained several hundred % since. Same goes for some financials. GL!
All posts are only my opinion and are not buy or sell recommendations.
Buying September calls of UNG. Way beaten down..63 to 37 dollars in a little over month!!
UNGIP is down more than 30% today!
All posts are only my opinion and are not buy or sell recommendations.
All posts are only my opinion and are not buy or sell recommendations.
I like the flavor There are many positives in today's action. Tomorrow is the confirmation day (to make sure it is no fluke). We need this pattern to continue for a few days though..It won't be hard to beat the last highs..
Posted by: STRONGUS Date: Monday, July 21, 2008 1:14:13 PM
In reply to: None Post # of 38495
HMGP : Buying at this 4+ cents range I am looking for
a nice bounce in the days to come. Risk/Reward
looks really good for this trader.
All posts are only my opinion and are not buy or sell recommendations.
texas tom, Still holding core positions in a few pinky stocks but I have moved over to the big board stocks in general. I have realized that 'pinkie investing' is not worth my money and time. I will say this though. Any one denying the existence of shorting (naked esp) is in denial. There was a lot of shorting but we were wrong to be mad at the shorts. We should have been angry with the ceos of these pinkies. Shorts made good use of their greed. Good luck!
HMGP : Buying at this 4+ cents range I am looking for
a nice bounce in the days to come. Risk/Reward
looks really good for this trader.
PS : I have been travelling overseas.
Thanks for all your PMs/emails. I will
reply after my return in a few weeks.
I am still alive (just in case
If you haven't figured out yet