Articles

I just got my new Dell laptop: the Inspiron 1520. I have only own Dell's for a while, but haven't been this impressed with one in more than 10 years.

Imagine paying over $46,000 a year for a college education at Duke University (and many other private universities for that matter)and paying for pathetic professors who shouldn't be in kindergarten much less universities. All universities in America are badly managed and poor investments. The people who teach are almost always way to the left and they are "adults" who have never left school -- not terrific role models. But every once in a while, how bad they really are hits you in the face.

There were two big movers on wall street today in the biotech world. AGIX- up 33% and PDLI down 20%. Here is my take on both.

In the midst of all the turmoil in the mortgage sector -- and all the layoffs -- IndyMac is turning up-stream. While the company laid off some 400 people (about 4% of its workforce) last month, it has turned around entirely at the most surprising time and has hired some 600 people laid off by other mortgage lenders. This is a bold move and suggests that at least one company in the sector is taking a bet on growth and a lessening of the credit crunch. It suggest, moreover, that they are expecting the Fed to drop rates soon, perhaps even sooner than the next meeting.

For years Qualcomm has been a fantastic company, owning the W-CDMA technology and building the chips that go into the handsets for this technology. We are moving into a new era and it is time to sell the stock.

It will not be long before China’s bubble bursts. The Shanghai index hit over 5000 yesterday, five times where it was mid-2005. Last November, it hit 2000; in March 3000; and in May 4000. One doesn’t need to be a genius to see a big bubble and to see one at the very verge of blowing up. When it does, it will have a huge impact on other markets – most of which are heavily into China’s. It will be viewed, additionally, as very embarrassing by the Chinese. China’s way of dealing with any international embarrassment is to act decisively and forcefully. Executions are common strategies, and you can be sure that heads will role (literally!).

Contrary to what pundits are saying on CNBC, this is not the time to be investing in emerging markets.

AOL had no choice but to try to remake itself completely when changing internet access patterns forced it to give up its once lucrative subscriber revenue model. The company was a great early entry into the use and possibilities of the internet. It was filled with people (I knew them all in the early days) who were filled with the excitement of breaking ground and leading a seismic shift in communications and information. But things have changed rapidly, and AOL is yesterday.

The market girations of recent are hard on even the most seasoned investor. Sleepless nights are common during these periods. I have shorted many times before, but only when I believed a particular equity for a particular reason was going to go south. This time, I tried a different kind of short program, and I am sleeplng (and doing other things) again.

On Friday, August 17, Countrywide increased its offering on 3-month, 6-month and 1-year CDs above those offered by its competitors. E-Loan now has the most compelling 2-year and 3-year CD rates. These increases have occurred in spite of a sharp decline in Treasuries the previous day.

So lets say you are insanely well connected, insanely rich or insanely lucky. You may be able to invest some of your money with a big hedge fund like ESL- Eddie Lampert's highly regarded fund.

As VMWare is soaring, EMC has been trending down despite the fact that EMC owns 90% of the company

I didn't write this, but it came across my desk today and I think that it is great explanation for the current market crisis so I've posted it here.

The Uptick rule was a 73 year old SEC rule that made it more difficult to short stock. The SEC eliminated the Uptick Rule on July 6 and the Wall Street Journal reported today that it may be on contributor to the market's recent volatility.

Enhanced Money Markets can get you rates above a traditional money market fund but they can also get you into trouble, as Europe is finding out.