Archive for March, 2009

  • New 12-1/2 Year Low
    , March 5th, 2009 at 4:04 pm

    The S&P 500 reached 677.93 today which is the lowest intra-day level since September 13, 1996. For some perspective, that was the day that Tupac Shakur died.

  • Who Will Replace Citi in the Dow?
    , March 5th, 2009 at 3:36 pm

    I’m assuming Citigroup (C) won’t be in the Dow much longer. Here are 19 possible replacements:
    Abbott Laboratories (ABT)
    Altria (MO)
    Amgen (AMGN)
    Apple (AAPL)
    Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY)
    Cisco Systems (CSCO)
    Comcast (CMCSA)
    CVS Caremark (CVS)
    Genentech (DNA)
    Gilead Sciences (GILD)
    Goldman Sachs (GS)
    Google (GOOG)
    Monsanto (MON)
    Oracle (ORCL)
    PepsiCo (PEP)
    Qualcomm (QCOM)
    United Parcel Service (UPS)
    Wells Fargo (WFC)
    Wyeth (WYE)
    If they decide to go with another financial, I would think that Goldman would be the favorite.

  • Jon Stewart Vs. CNBC
    , March 5th, 2009 at 12:22 pm

    Everybody seems to be posting this video today. I’m sorry but this clip just doesn’t work for me. Jon Stewart is certainly funny, but I’m not a fan of taking soundbites out of context just to make your guests look foolish. Santelli is one of the best guys on CNBC and he’s been one of the most consistent people in cutting through the noise.
    Stewart, on the other hand, is the King of SWPL America. He takes quotes and events out of context, flips them around and presents them in such a way as to flatter his fans’ very large sense of self-superiority. In other words, Frank Rich loves him. But honestly, that gag is getting old. It’s also easy to do when you have a large crowd on your side. Let’s see Stewart go to pits in Chicago and try to embarrass them.
    I’ve seen lots of comments saying that Stewart destroyed or humiliated CNBC, or that this was the funniest, most brilliant thing they’ve ever seen. Hmm…that’s not what I see. Stewart has become exactly what he accused Crossfire of when he had his hissy fit there a few years ago.

  • Citigroup Is About to Break the Buck
    , March 5th, 2009 at 10:27 am

    The stock got down to as low as $1.02 today. Not too long ago, the company used to earn about that amount each quarter.

  • Cowboys Cut Terrell Owens
    , March 5th, 2009 at 7:57 am

    terrell_owens_pink_tuxedo.jpg
    The Dallas Cowboys have cut wide receiver Terrell Owens. I mention this because I believe I’m the first person to document TO-related events to the stock market:

    December 7, 1973: Owens born in Alabama. Dow rises 3% to 838.05.
    October 14, 2002: Sharpie Incident. Dow rises 27 points to 7,877.40.
    November 15, 2004: Desperate Housewives Incident. Dow rises 11 to 10,550.24.
    September 27, 2006: Owens denies suicide attempt. Dow rises 20 points to 34 points shy of an all-time high.

    I’m guessing being cut is a bullish event but I’m honestly not sure.

  • The True Measure of Inflation
    , March 4th, 2009 at 11:37 pm

    Mark J. Perry, a professor at Michigan, has a fascinating chart I’ve added below. It shows the truest measure of inflation—how much time it takes to buy certain items. By this measurement, most consumer goods are dramatically cheaper than they were 60 years ago.
    time030409.jpg
    I would add that this as dramatic as this chart is, it probably understates the case of deflation because it doesn’t adjust for the dramatic rise in quality.

  • Jimmy Cayne on Geithner
    , March 4th, 2009 at 11:16 pm

    The former CEO of Bear Stearns opines on Tim Geithner:

    The audacity of that p—k in front of the American people announcing he was deciding whether or not a firm of this stature and this whatever was good enough to get a loan,” he said. “Like he was the determining factor, and it’s like a flea on his back, floating down underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, getting a h–d-on, saying, ‘Raise the bridge.’ This guy thinks he’s got a big d–k. He’s got nothing, except maybe a boyfriend. I’m not a good enemy. I’m a very bad enemy. But certain things really—that bothered me plenty. It’s just that for some clerk to make a decision based on what, your own personal feeling about whether or not they’re a good credit? Who the f–k asked you? You’re not an elected officer. You’re a clerk. Believe me, you’re a clerk. I want to open up on this f—-r, that’s all I can tell you.

    This vaguely reminds me something but I can’t quite place it.

    Willard: They told me that you had gone totally insane, and that your methods were unsound.
    Kurtz: Are my methods unsound?
    Willard: I don’t see any method at all, sir.
    Kurtz: I expected someone like you. What did you expect? Are you an assassin?
    Willard: I’m a soldier.
    Kurtz: You’re neither. You’re an errand boy, sent by grocery clerks, to collect a bill.

  • Dennis Kneale as Dexter?
    , March 4th, 2009 at 7:34 pm

    The Reformed Broker gives us CNBC Separated at Birth?
    BTW, Ron Insana is the best.

  • Obama Says Buy!
    , March 3rd, 2009 at 7:47 pm

    Sorta:

    “What you’re now seeing is profit and earning ratios are starting to get to the point where buying stocks is a potentially good deal if you’ve got a long-term perspective on it.”

    The president later failed to mention what business school he didn’t attend.

  • Investor Quiz: Guess What’s Down for 11 of the Past 12 Sessions?
    , March 3rd, 2009 at 7:00 pm

    I’ll give you a hint: It begins with S&P and ends with 500.
    Give up?
    The last time this happened was May 8 to 24, 1984.
    The mega-bear market that ended in 1982 finished with 14 down days in 15 sessions.