Straw Horse? How About, Straw Herd?? “Long before Sanford Weill suggested last week that big banks should split up, Bank of America executives and directors considered the idea and then decided against it, said people close to the nation’s second-biggest bank by assets.” –“Bank Breakups: Not So Fast“; The Wall Street Journal (July 29, 2012)...Read More
You Read it Here — and Here, and Here — First “Stunned Home Buyers Find the Bidding Wars Are Back” —Wall Street Journal (April 27, 2012) So, more than 2/3 of the way into the Spring housing market, The Wall Street Journal is running a story, today, about the reappearance of multiple offers. Contrast that...Read More
Ahhh, So THAT’s What They Are If you’re joining the story “already in progress,” as it were, here’s what you missed: Goldman Sachs exec Greg Smith — heretofore officially referred to by Goldman defenders as “‘junior’ Goldman Sachs executive Greg Smith,” “peon” Greg Smith, or the like — resigned in a blaze of glory on the Op-Ed...Read More
Victims Turning Away From — Not Towards — Politics One of the puzzles — at least to me — is why millions of people who’ve been the most harmed by the housing bust haven’t created more of a groundswell for political reform. Or just plain accountability. Yes, I’m aware of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street...Read More
Blue Chip Stocks as Alternative Stores of Value When the world is going to hell on a Harley, investors find few places to hide: Treasury bills, gold, Swiss francs”or the stock of McDonald’s Corp. –Holman Jenkins, “What Pepsi Can Learn From McDonald’s“; The Wall Street Journal (1/27/2012) To Jenkins’ list, I’d add Coke, Phillip Morris,...Read More
Mohamed El-Erian Sizes Up 2012 Mohamed El-Erian, the CEO of bond giant Pimco, has written many fine, insightful articles on today’s vexing capital markets. His piece in today’s Wall Street Journal isn’t one of them. See if you can figure out what the following means: Navigating [today’s unpredictable markets] requires investors to rely less on historical short cuts...Read More
