Friday, October 05, 2007
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Some Sobering Thoughts on Citigroup
This is some interesting findings about Citigroup coming clean about the effects of the credit mess on their bottom line earlier in the week. This is in regards to them boosting their credit card loss reserves just in case the consumer credit market goes to hell. If credit card delinquencies start to get really bad we may see some serious pain out there form the retailers on down.
While I will readily accept that Citigroup and others in the industry
have come clean on the earnings impacts of August’s credit market
“thunderstorm”, I firmly believe that the deterioration in consumer credit is
just beginning. And when you combine that with the heightened leverage and “hot
money” funding that most of the major financial institutions have come to rely
on, I find it difficult, based on Citigroup’s own words, to believe that the
whole storm has passed.
RIMM has great quarter
People are snapping up those Blackberrys one after another.
Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM added about 1.45 million BlackBerryIt seems that after-hours traders were looking for even better numbers or maybe a higher guidance or something.
subscriber accounts in the quarter and shipped more than 3 million devices. The
total BlackBerry subscriber account base at the end of the second quarter was
10.5 million.
In after-hours trading, RIM shares fell $1.94 to $98.60. Earlier, theyIt looks like most of the options action was to the Call side so it will be interesting to see what the stock does tomorrow.
rose $4.26, or 4.4 percent, to end regular trading at $100.54.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Hillary's Laugh and Giuliani's Cell Phone
I guess these are the kinds of stories you get when you start the Presidential campaigns a year early.
It has become so frequent that Frank Rich, a liberal columnist for TheYes, the MSM is now debating whether Hillary's laugh is genuine or not. Now that is a sad commentary about how Hillary is portrayed. She is even getting derided for faking her laughter. I guess talking about her Health Care plan or her Iraq strategy is just too boring for words when people are rehashing her laughs.
New York Times, said the laugh seemed to be the Clinton campaign's method of
heeding complaints that she is "too calculating and controlled" and compared it
to Democrat Al Gore's long kiss with his wife Tipper during the Democratic
National Convention in 2000.
"Now Mrs. Clinton is erupting in a laugh with all the spontaneity
of an alarm clock buzzer," Rich wrote.
Israel Admits that it Bombed Syria
Now this is a pretty odd development for the Israelis. If you think about it Syria could claim this as a Casus Belli and attack Israel if they felt froggy enough. And the reason that they gave for it is pretty weird as well.
Israel lifted its ban on reporting that the attack took place afterSo the Israelis flew deep into Syrian airspace and attacked an "unused military building" and Syria doesn't seem a bit peeved at all. You would think that they would be rattling the saber and calling for the UN to step in etc. etc. Syria could very well roll tanks if they wanted to because they were secretly attacked. But they do nothing. Very strange stuff going down in the Middle East.
Syrian President Bashar Assad told the British Broadcasting Corp. that Israeli
jets had hit an "unused military building." But Israeli officials refused to say
anything about the attack, and almost no one who'd be expected to know— from
government officials to former intelligence officers— is talking.
Dems Propose a Reasonable Bill and an Idiodic One
It seems the Dems can actually put up some meaningful Iraq legislation once in a while.
Then immediately the Dems look like they are playing politics with the war with another very shortsighted bill.
The bill would require the administration to report to Congress on theThis seems like a reasonable request that the Congress gets a briefing on what redeployment plans are in the works every 60 days. That way the generals can show that due to the reduction in violence we will be able to withdraw a certain amount of troops. Or if the violence gets worse they can show that they need to keep in a certain amount troops. I trust General Petraeus assessment of how many troops he needs to fight the war far more then Harry Reids.
status of redeployment plans in 60 days. Follow up reports would be required
every 90 days thereafter.
The latest bill doesn't set any timetable for a withdrawal and
Republican leaders have said they will not oppose it.
Then immediately the Dems look like they are playing politics with the war with another very shortsighted bill.
The plan, unveiled by Reps. David Obey, D-Wis., John Murtha, D-Pa., andYup that is the Dems plans for everything, raise taxes and soak the rich instead of trying to give us concrete plans for success in Iraq. They know that this surcharge will bring in billions or perhaps trillions more then they would need for Iraq but they still want to press this stuff forward. Sometimes the Dems show that they just simply hate to see American citizens holding onto their money instead of the government.
Jim McGovern, D-Mass., would require low- and middle-income taxpayers to add 2 percent to their tax bill. Wealthier people would add a 12 to 15 percent
surcharge, Obey said.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Interesting Article about the NRG Energy's New Reactor
It seems that a company is finally going forward with a plan to build 2 nuclear reactors that will be pumping out 2700 megawatts of power in Texas. It is interesting who is doing to work for the thing:
Toshiba, which enhanced its nuclear technology by buying Westinghouse,So the Japanese are on the cutting edge for nuclear power? It is odd that we invented the technology and now other more enlightened countries are the innovators in it. I still say that an America that got 70% of its power from nuclear reactors (like France) would make the Oil Sheiks wet their pants. You could also say goodbye to that global warming and put Al Gore out of a job.
will build NRG's new reactors. The vessel heads will be manufactured by Japan
Steel Works, the only forge in the world now capable of casting these huge
structures.
Even the Dems are Saying We Are in Iraq until 2013
I guess the hard truths that General Petraeus tried to pound into their heads finally started to hit home.
Maybe someone on the Dem side finally thought about the slaughter that would commence if we pulled out of Iraq too soon. Maybe they are cleaving to the actual "progressive" agenda that promotes freedom for the oppressed and tries to *prevent* mass genocide between Sunnis and Shiites.
Maybe the Dems finally understand that a failure in Iraq would be an actual defeat for America and leave the blood of thousands of additional Iraqis firmly on their hands. The Dems can no longer blame Bush once Iraq becomes their war to fight. So maybe the Dems can stop politicizing Iraq and start coming up with concrete solutions to the problem. Be it partitioning the country or a solid plan for leaving something stable behind us when we leave. The Dem plan needs to be less 'cut and run and hope' and more 'here's what we need to do so our troops come home.'
The leading Democratic White House hopefuls conceded Wednesday night
they cannot guarantee to pull all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of the
next presidential term in 2013.
"I think it's hard to project four years from now," said Sen.
Barack Obama of Illinois in the opening moments of a campaign debate in the
nation's first primary state.
"It is very difficult to know what we're going to be inheriting,"
added Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.
"I cannot make that commitment," said former Sen. John Edwards of
North Carolina.
Maybe someone on the Dem side finally thought about the slaughter that would commence if we pulled out of Iraq too soon. Maybe they are cleaving to the actual "progressive" agenda that promotes freedom for the oppressed and tries to *prevent* mass genocide between Sunnis and Shiites.
Maybe the Dems finally understand that a failure in Iraq would be an actual defeat for America and leave the blood of thousands of additional Iraqis firmly on their hands. The Dems can no longer blame Bush once Iraq becomes their war to fight. So maybe the Dems can stop politicizing Iraq and start coming up with concrete solutions to the problem. Be it partitioning the country or a solid plan for leaving something stable behind us when we leave. The Dem plan needs to be less 'cut and run and hope' and more 'here's what we need to do so our troops come home.'
Drybulk Shipbuilders Going Nuts
I have been following this industry lately and these stocks keep going up and up. With Dryships going up 7.5% just today.
The company I have my eye on is Diana Shipping Inc (DSX) which is slightly cheaper then some of their peers with a 19 P/E and they pay a 2.04 a year dividend. I like that built in 7.10% yield cushion when you are going in. They are also getting a new Capesize bulk carrier online in Nov 2007 right when shipping prices are at all-time highs. They are also building 2 new Capesizes but they won't be delivered until 2010. The only problem is that it is pretty hard to expand capacity because each of these ships cost like $81 million or more. So if day rates drop due to a recession or Chinese problems then these stocks will drop like a rock with them.
Analyst Douglas J. Mavrinac said he continues to see drybulk charterOne thing interesting about this industry is there is something called the Baltic Dry Index that measures 40 shipping lanes on a time charter and voyage basis. This thing is at an all time high at 9370 and keeps going up and up. I guess all that trade between China and the rest of the world is really firing this industry.
rates hitting all-time highs through the end of the year. Mavrinac reiterated
his "Buy" rating on Diana Shipping Inc., citing the Greek carrier's increased
"financial flexibility" following a 10 million share public offering on Friday,
with proceeds estimated at about $250 million.
The company I have my eye on is Diana Shipping Inc (DSX) which is slightly cheaper then some of their peers with a 19 P/E and they pay a 2.04 a year dividend. I like that built in 7.10% yield cushion when you are going in. They are also getting a new Capesize bulk carrier online in Nov 2007 right when shipping prices are at all-time highs. They are also building 2 new Capesizes but they won't be delivered until 2010. The only problem is that it is pretty hard to expand capacity because each of these ships cost like $81 million or more. So if day rates drop due to a recession or Chinese problems then these stocks will drop like a rock with them.
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