Archive for July, 2008

  • Dave & Buster’s to IPO
    , July 14th, 2008 at 12:08 pm

    Joe Weisenthal spots this surprising IPO:

    Dave & Buster’s Holdings Inc on Friday filed to raise up to $170 million in an initial public offering.
    The owner of entertainment and dining venues said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that JPMorgan and Jefferies & Co will underwrite the IPO.
    The company did not indicate how many shares they plan to sell or the expected price of the shares. It intends to list its stock on the Nasdaq under the symbol “DANB”.

    I would think this is a poor time to go public.

  • Vote for Julie
    , July 14th, 2008 at 10:59 am

    Forget Obama or McCain, vote for Julie! By that, I mean vote for WallStrip‘s Julie Alexandria as Hottest Female Blogger.

  • The SEC takes on the First Amendment
    , July 14th, 2008 at 9:51 am

    Philadelphia, 1787:

    Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

    The SEC Yesterday:

    The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that the SEC and other securities regulators will immediately conduct examinations aimed at the prevention of the intentional spread of false information intended to manipulate securities prices. The examinations will be conducted by the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, as well as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and New York Stock Exchange Regulation, Inc.

  • The Feds Step In
    , July 14th, 2008 at 9:47 am

    The government moves to help Fannie and Freddie:

    Alarmed by the sharply eroding confidence in the nation’s two largest mortgage finance companies, the Bush administration on Sunday asked Congress to approve a sweeping rescue package that would give officials the power to inject billions of federal dollars into the beleaguered companies through investments and loans.
    In a separate announcement, the Federal Reserve said it would make one of its short-term lending programs available to the two companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Fed said that it had made its decision “to promote the availability of home mortgage credit during a period of stress in financial markets.”
    An official said that the Fed’s decision to permit the companies to borrow from its so-called discount window was approved at the request of the Treasury but that it was temporary and would probably end once Congress approved Treasury’s plan. Some officials briefed on the plan said Congress could be asked to extend the total line of credit to the institutions to $300 billion.

  • After Hours: Mississippi John Hurt
    , July 11th, 2008 at 3:43 pm

    Don’t let the market gives you the blues. Have a listen to the great Mississippi John Hurt.

  • Not Since 1982
    , July 11th, 2008 at 1:23 pm

    For the first time since August 18, 1982, the S&P 500 might be lower than it was 10 years before.
    The S&P 500 has been as low as 1,225.82 today. Today could be our lowest close since June 13, 2006. And if we go below 1,223.69, it will be our lowest close since November 9, 2005.
    We’re already lower than where we were on the last day of trading in 1998. Here’s a look at how we’re doing this July (red line) compared with July 1998 (blue line):
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    Even if don’t break a 10-year trailing close this month, it will probably happen soon. The market is still over 19% below its March 2000 high. Are we going to be 24% higher 20 months from now?

  • Jeremy Siegel on the Bear Market
    , July 10th, 2008 at 9:39 am

  • World’s Smallest Violin
    , July 10th, 2008 at 8:48 am

    Louise Story sits down with a contrite John Devaney.

    One by one, John Devaney sold his treasures, hoping to forestall what was in the end inevitable. He sold his Renoir and his Gulfstream, his home and his helicopter. Even his cherished yacht — gone.
    But on Wednesday Mr. Devaney, who made and then lost a fortune trading mortgage investments, finally called it quits. He shut his hedge fund, and told his investors that all their money was gone too.
    “I’m devastated, I’m totally devastated,” Mr. Devaney said by telephone from Aspen, Colo feel horrible that I’ve lost my own money and that so many people who saw the skills I have and trusted in us have now been hurt.”

  • The Warren Buffett Rap
    , July 9th, 2008 at 12:14 pm

  • Correlation Doesn’t Mean Causation
    , July 9th, 2008 at 9:59 am

    I’m not blaming anyone. I’m simply relaying the facts. In other words, I report, you decide.
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