Articles

It is very hard to separate yourself from most Chinese Stocks these days. It is so easy to double your money fast. The etf, FXI, and PetroChina (PTR) just keep going up and up. Most investors know all this, and many have put a lot of money to work in FXI, PTR and many others. It is hard not to. And, the TV gurus tell us that the Chinese government will control things such that its market doesn’t come crashing down, at least until after the Olympics – August 2008. But, if you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn for you at a real cheap price.

I cannot see any reason for this rise in GM.

Where is Greenspan when you need him? What is going on now in the stock market is sheer giddiness. It is the hot and cold, up and down phenomena that has characterized the market over the last months. The new highs suggest only that everyone wants to forget that a week or ten days ago we were all forecasting rampant inflation and almost-certain recession. We are working ourselves into a froth and smack into a bubble – a bubble in the whole market.

Merck just released phase II data on a drug called a CETP. The stock has been moving up- at least partially on this news. This drug is very unlikely to ever reach the market. I don't understand what Merck and the market are thinking!!!

The UAW is trying to hold the line at Chrysler but it's a futile last stand. They tried at GM and for the most part capitulated. Now they'll face an even more formidable contender. Cerberus will slash and burn, it's what private equity companies do.

Several politicians have proposed giving each child born in the country a bond that matures after a certain period of time. The idea is to foster an idea of savings and start everyone off in the right direction.

Now that VMWare has reached $100, here is a word of caution to anyone thinking about buying. This however isn't a recommendation to short as stocks can remain irrationally high longer than shorts can remain solvent.

We mostly know AFLAC (AFL) from its TV ads. They have done a brilliant job branding the company. That it is rooted in red-dirt Georgia with Southern flavor and drag is less well known. But one has to forgive the Southern in them when one looks closely at the company. It is a great stock to own, a strong international play, and a decent dividend stock to boot.

The conventional wisdom says that inflation is very bad. It makes everything we buy more expensive and decreases the value of our currency. But there are times when inflation is good for you.

Today's payroll and unemployment numbers are being interpreted to mean that the economy is not going in to a recession and that the Fed will not need to cut interest rates further. The dollar is strengthening, interest rates are rising and, the stock market is going up. Yes, the stock market is going up. I'm very pleased to me making money and very pleased that our economy is strong, but something just isn't coming together here. Isn't this the same market that has rallied since the Fed's last move on the expectation that the Fed will need to reduce rates drastically to stimulate the economy and to ward off a recession? Wasn't the market moving higher on expectations for further move? Wasn't everyone saying don't fight the Fed? This is the kind of hypocritical herd behavior that makes no sense. While it works in a rising market, it will drive you mad in a falling environment.