Can you say lets-all-stay-on-message-and-see-how-that-works strategy?
Like two working parents comparing notes how to confront their rambunctious child who has just been sent home from school for the 4th time this week for vandalizing property and general rambunctiousness, it’s time for the government to gang tackle this bitch.
You hear that market?  You are now confident?  Ok?  Why? [...]

There are now two venerable groups going about stressing various banks’ balance sheets. Not to feel left out, S&P is jumping on the bandwagon - they like to do reports on stuff we already know.

The WSJ Blog recently graced us with “12 Reasons to be (Economically) Optimistic,” written by Economist, former Deutsche Bank Chief Investment Strategist, early-2000-era Nasdaq bull, Y2K Chicken Little, and all-round economy cheerleader Ed Yardeni. Let’s see why Ed “Y2K will cause a very deep recession” Yardeni is wrong on all counts.

DVD regions are nothing more than a mediocre tool to price discriminate against consumers - another vain attempt on behalf of the moviemaking industry to curtail the free flow of content at the expense of the utility of their consumers.

“Right now we are in an economic crisis, so it’s important to spread out over different asset classes.”
Apparently, spreading out means going long a brand new sector that no one has any exposure to: housing.
Investors can use Shiller’s new fund (based on his home price index) to diversify their portfolios.  Since when is going long [...]

Phoenix, AZ…you are the next contestant on the Price is Right!  Do normal bidding rules apply?  Closest without going over?  In that case, Bob, I’m gonna go with ONE DOLLAR!
Poor Las Vegas: the gambling capital got out-done by a theoretically more risk-adverse city.  Vegas is really going to have to step it up to reclaim [...]

“Familiar sources” have spilled the beans to the WSJ on the worst-kept secret in Washington: a couple of banks may need to raise capital.  Specifically, BoA and Citi.  Seems that someone at the Fed doesn’t buy into the whole “less is better” information tactic preferred by 9 out of 10 Treasury Secretaries named Timothy Geithner.
Kenneth [...]

With the Treasury Department teasing us with the definitive stress test results (basically an overhyped pivot table), the market is now left playing the guessing game as to who was included, who needs capital, who does not etc etc.
While I am not familiar with every piece of SEC regulation, there is something disconcerting about consciously [...]

Back in America’s early history, Americans used to move to the best job markets. But somewhere between being the world’s most dyanmic economy and America’s slow degeneration into a Western European advanced-industrialized-state of stagnation, Americans decided to stop moving around.

No, we’re not talking about Eliot Spitzer-Swallows (by the way, the recent Newsweek piece was readable for about a page and then got so boring that even Dick Grasso found himself missing the good ol’ days).
Rather, between Congressmen and Ivy League MBAs, there are way too many highly paid salesmen running around the halls of [...]