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Gone A.W.O.L. – lite blogging

admin — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 17:43:32 +0000

I will find myself in England, Switzerland and Slovenia over the next week, catching up on a few existing relationships and exploring a number of new ones. Blog posting will be slow (and totally absent on some days) while I am on the road. The normal blogging service will be resumed on my return to Cape Town by March 7.

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Gone A.W.O.L. – lite blogging

Vale (NYSE:VALE) Says Earnings Best Ever in Mining Industry

admin — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 06:11:00 +0000

Vale (NYSE:VALE) reported what they called the ‘best ever’ annual result in the mining industry: $17.3bn in 2010. Vale CEO Roger Agnelli says – that given the company’s project pipeline and the demand for its metals and minerals production-”even better days are ahead for us.” Vale Thursday reported its “best ever annual result, characterized by all-time high figures for operating revenues,

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Vale (NYSE:VALE) Says Earnings Best Ever in Mining Industry

Bank of America (BAC) Wins Dismissal in Auction-Rate Case

admin — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 02:28:00 +0000

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) won dismissal of claims by investors that it misled them about the liquidity of its auction-rate securities and manipulated the market for the investments, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White said in an order today that investors could renew market-manipulation claims if they added more information to their complaints.

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Bank of America (BAC) Wins Dismissal in Auction-Rate Case

The Return of $100 Oil

admin — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 00:45:18 +0000

If you’re waiting for this alleged Saudi revolution to send oil to $150, don’t hold your breath. The last time Saudis tried to arrange protests in Riyadh and Jeddah, no one really showed up. But that won’t keep them from trying again… ~~SIGNUP_WD~~ According to the latest Facebook ramblings out of Saudi Arabia, hundreds of people want the following�— or are threatening action by March 11th: government officials to be elected by the people an independent judiciary the right to assemble freedom of expression release of political prisoners a minimum wage law more employment opportunities formation of an entity that would eliminate unfair taxes and corrupt practices by government rebuilding the armed forces reforming the conservative Sunni Muslim clerics abolition of restrictions on women And while I agree the people have a right to some of these things, they have a snowball’s chance in hell of seeing these demands met. Because regardless of people warning for $150 to $200 oil on a Saudi revolt, the Saudi oil spigot supplies 20% of the world’s oil. It’s not going to be turned off. The more likely scenario Libya could send oil prices even higher. They recently took close to 800,000 barrels off-line, meaning 1% of world output has just been removed. And there’s a very real fear that Gaddafi could pull a “Saddam Hussein” and torch Libya’s oil fields if he’s pushed out. In fact according to reports, Gaddafi has already ordered security forces to sabotage oil facilities throughout the country. That would easily take 1.6 million barrels off-line… and send oil prices well above $105. Plus, there’s a fear of oil stoppage out of Algeria, which has one Tokyo-based bank calling for $220 oil. But these aren’t the only things that’ll drive prices higher… Tack on this alleged U.S. recovery, higher consumption in spring and summer months, rising demand from China, a destroyed dollar, and simple speculation of Saudi, Iran, Kuwait, and UAE problems, and consumers will get pinched by $4 pump prices, just as they were in 2008 and 2009. Anything above $4 will have consumers hunkering down, reducing overhead and discretionary expenses. How to profit as consumers cut back With all eyes on the changes in the Middle East and their impact on oil prices, an uneasy feeling is brewing that it’ll negatively impact consumer spending habits and the greater economy. Just look at what happened to discretionary spending when oil hit $147 a barrel in 2008: � And the best way to profit from that is by buying put options on anything luxury, indulgence, or want-related. A luxury retailer like Tiffany’s (TIF) could easily fall apart. In fact it’s already starting to do so: Even Coach (COH) is showing signs of weakness… Just as Christian DeHaemer and Adam Sharp suggested going long the Market Vectors Egypt Index ETF (NYSE) post-chaos drop, only to watch it recover… The same is likely with the SPDR S&P Emerging Middle East & Africa ETF (GAF) …

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The Return of $100 Oil

Fleckenstein Pins High Prices on the Fed

admin — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 23:01:29 +0000

� Here’s a great video in which Bill Fleckenstein explains the root cause of soaring prices in practically everything to Dylan Ratigan . Not surprisingly, all roads lead right back to the FED… Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News , World News , and News about the Economy By the way, anybody that thinks printing money is without consequences needs to have their head examined. Which is exactly, I think, what John Adams was getting at when he wrote the following long before the Federal Reserve ever existed: “All the perplexities, confusion and distresses in America arise not from defects in the constitution or confederation, nor from want of honor or virtue, as much from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit, and circulation.” -John Adams � Related Articles: Quantitative Easing For Dummies Fleckenstein vs. Biggs on QE2 Ron Paul: What if? � Ron Paul: End The Fed Ron Paul’s “National Nightmare” To learn more about Wealth Daily click here Advertisement 21st Century Medicine … Is exactly what you thought it would be. An AIDS vaccine has been tested. New organs are being grown. Limbs are being created from scratch. But humanity isn’t the sole motivator… Serious cash stands to be made by curing diseases. One small biotech firm — featured on 60 Minutes — is on the path to even wilder medical breakthroughs. To see what I mean and learn about this company, watch this brief presentation . Fleckenstein Pins High Prices on the Fed originally appeared in Wealth Daily . Wealth Daily is a free daily newsletter featuring contrarian investment insights and commentary.

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Fleckenstein Pins High Prices on the Fed

Alcoa (AA), Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan, Delta Air Lines (DAL), United Continental (UAL), AMR (AMR), Southwest Airlines (LUV) All Drop on Down…

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 04:59:00 +0000

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than than 180 points, led by Alcoa (AA), Bank of America (BAC), and JPMorgan (JPM). The plunge follows three weeks of gains for the Dow, which reached its highest level since June 5, 2008. Kraft (KFT) and Chevron (CVX) were among the only gainers on the blue-chip index. The S&P 500 fell more than 2.2 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq sank nearly 3

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Alcoa (AA), Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan, Delta Air Lines (DAL), United Continental (UAL), AMR (AMR), Southwest Airlines (LUV) All Drop on Down…

BHP (BHP) Acquires Chesapeake Energy’s (CHK) Shale Gas Interests for $4.75 Billion

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 02:07:00 +0000

Global mining giant BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) has agreed to buy shale gas interests from Chesapeake Energy Corp (NYSE:CHK) for $4.75 billion in its first move into shale gas as it looks to beef up its oil and gas business. In BHP’s first big acquisition since a string of failed deals, the global miner said it was buying Chesapeake’s holdings in Arkansas’ Fayetteville shale natural gas field. “BHP

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BHP (BHP) Acquires Chesapeake Energy’s (CHK) Shale Gas Interests for $4.75 Billion

Case-Shiller: The Double-Dip Has Arrived

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 02:02:40 +0000

According to the latest data from the Case-Shiller Home Price Index, the housing double dip has arrived. Home values in 20 cities fell 2.4 percent, the biggest year-over-year decrease since December 2009, the group said today in New York. “We ended 2010 with a weak report,” David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P, said in a statement. “Despite improvements in the overall economy, housing continues to drift lower and weaker.” Nationally, home prices decreased 4.1% in the fourth quarter from the same time in 2009 and were down 3.9% from the previous three months. It was the biggest quarter-to-quarter drop in almost two years. Now with a reading of 130.38, the index is just shy of the low of 129.2 reached in the first quarter of 2009. Those post bubble-lows put home prices generally on par with 2003 values. Of course, the problem is home prices could easily fall another 10% from here pushing home values all the way back to levels last seen in January 2000. Meanwhile, in the shocker of a still young century, we learned that the National Association of Realtors (NAR) hasn’t been exactly truthful when it comes to thier relied upon sales data. As it turns out, the NAR has been lying to the tune of 15-20%,� overestimating home sales going back to 2007. So things are worse than they told us. Imagine that… From the Mortgage Rates & Trends Blog by Michael King entitled: Realtor Group Accused Of Over-Counting Homes Sales The National Association of Realtors might be over-estimating home sales…

Iceland president rejects Icesave bill

admin — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:15:05 +0000

The President of Iceland, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, has decided that the latest Icesave bill will be sent to a public referendum.

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Iceland president rejects Icesave bill

Gold, Silver Prices Today Rise to 30-Year High on Unrest in Middle East

admin — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 01:53:00 +0000

Ongoing unrest in the middle east is causing investors to push up the price of gold and silver today, with silver reaching a 30-year high, and palladium also rising to its highest levels in 10 years.Physical demand for gold in the middle east has been skyrocketing, increasing 39 percent in the fourth quarter, according to World Gold Council, as locals in the region see the potential for

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Gold, Silver Prices Today Rise to 30-Year High on Unrest in Middle East

Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM): Tech Turnaround

admin — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 01:00:00 +0000

Filed under: China , Newsletters , Stocks to Buy “Taiwan’s economy and its stock market should post solid growth in 2011; we also see warming relations between the island of Taiwan and mainland China,” suggests global specialist Yiannis Mostrous . The editor of The Silk Road Investor explains, “Technology should be a major beneficiary of these near-term themes and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( TSM ) is our favorite stock for exposure to the technology turnaround. “Demand for notebook computers remains solid and mobile phones are expected to sell strongly during the Chinese New Year holiday this week, which will lead to inventory restocking. Continue reading Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM): Tech Turnaround Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM): Tech Turnaround originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink �|� Email this �|� Comments

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Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM): Tech Turnaround

Fidelity Select Healthcare (FSPHX): The Right Prescription

admin — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 01:00:00 +0000

Filed under: Newsletters , Mutual Funds “We own a healthy dose of Fidelity Select Healthcare ( FSPHX ) in each of our model portfolios,” says fund expert Jim Lowell . The editor of Fidelity Investor explains, “Manager Eddie Yoon and I caught up this month. His command of the sector and his growth-oriented discipline continue to serve us well on both our risk-adjusted and real return fronts/ “Of course, healthcare (representing nearly 16% of our total GDP) is unlike any other sector in the S&P. It is so diversified and global, so interrelated to technology, manufacturing, and R&D, so dependent upon delivering real goods and services for consumer consumption, that it is almost an economy unto itself. Continue reading Fidelity Select Healthcare (FSPHX): The Right Prescription Fidelity Select Healthcare (FSPHX): The Right Prescription originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink �|� Email this �|� Comments

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Fidelity Select Healthcare (FSPHX): The Right Prescription