This article discusses the way that even established European companies are having to come to U.S. banks to meet their lending needs, due to the deleveraging process in Europe.  This is very important as U.S. banks profits have been hamstrung by a variety of things with one of them being lack of credit demand.  Smart...Read More

One development that really should have come out of the financial crisis is a stronger change in the credit rating business.  These companies should only be paid by investors and should not be mandatory at all.  These agencies provide a false cushion to investors whom have shown a willingness to buy securities they don’t understand...Read More

I think this is a rather naive Barron’s article on Managed Futures.  The Barclay’s CTA index has much higher turnover than the S&P 500 so funds that have the worst performance are usually eliminated from it which greatly distorts the return numbers.  This article also doesn’t even mention fees which I’d bet are quite high...Read More

In a world of constant over reactions Fortune contributor Sheila Bair takes the cake in her assessment of JP Morgan.  Because of their $2 billion and counting trading loss she believes the bank would be better off broken up.  Keep in mind that no bank in the United States, and few in the world has...Read More

The data pertaining to the housing market continues to be strong.  Morningstar offers some nice commentary in regards to this.  Inventories are declining rapidly particularly for new homes.  This should bode very well for the financials and the mortgage market in general. http://www.morningstar.com/Cover/videoCenter.aspx?id=555138 INVESTING IN THE FINANCIAL MARKETS INVOLVES RISKS. OPTIONS ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR...Read More

Momentum seems to be really building in regards to Euro-bonds.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again that this crisis will not be resolved without Euro-bonds, and/or money printing from the ECB.  Euro-bonds are the best option out there and deep down are in everybody’s interests, contingent upon there being a central governing...Read More

Hewlett-Packard reported decent earnings this week but the most disappointing aspect of the results was the dismal performance of their recently acquired software company Autonomy.  Sales were down and they are removing the companies CEO already.  This was one of the worst and most value destructive acquisitions that I’ve ever seen because of the ridiculous...Read More

This article wrongfully states that investors are buying credit default swaps on Wall Street Banks to protect themselves.  Realistically most credit default swaps are used as a speculation tool similar to shorting.  The difference is that CDS markets have a lot less reliable liquidity and can easily be distorted by larger traders such as JP...Read More

In an extremely positive development Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said a majority of EU leaders support euro-bonds.  This is what absolutely has to happen to recapitalize the banks, fund sovereign debt, and get past this crisis period.  Germany and the other AAA’s will see a much larger long term benefit by keeping the EU...Read More

You might enjoy this quick little article on value investing.  It’s amazing how over a longer period of time the outperformance is generally remarkably better than growth funds.  There will be difficult periods such as during the tech bubble but patience is the key.  Short term mark to market losses mean nothing as over time...Read More