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In simple terms, wealth is defined by what we have. Capitalism allows us to seek out our fortunes and few, if any, people or obstacles will prevent us from amassing them. And then there are the fortunate few who are born into money. Either way, a number of people on our planet enjoy a great…
As an investor, are you more afraid of the fallout from credit spreads or are you more afraid of missing the market bottom? The battle between fear and greed on global stock markets has led to many casualties this week, including FirstSolar (FSLR – Last trade $104.54).
The democratic Congress votes on the Green Jobs Act of 2007 – summary at the Huffington Post. Free Training for a "Green Collar" workforce? I'm guessing the new Green Collar workforce will mostly be wearing suits or overalls. Well, it may mean better trained workers for the solar, wind and waste management industries.
People are recommending shorting Coutnrywide. It has been my experience that the shorts, much like bubble buyers, tend to pile in at the bottom. This is where fundamental value based research can help – I've been keeping track of book values of several of the large banks that seem to me will survive the whole…
I'm always on the lookout for new value screens (a screen is a way of filtering stocks for certain characteristics that might mean they have positive profit potential). I found a list that works well for people who live off dividends: 23 Safe Dividend Stocks by Alan Brochstein at Seeking Alpha. He explains his methodology…
Photo:jcolman, Creative Commons, Flickr The Senate gets to its SCHIP plans this week, voting to beef up the health care program which covers low income kids and their families. The five year $35b pricetag would be paid for by a 61 cent tax on cigarettes. The House verges on hyperactivity this week possibly voting on…
Photo:Lutor44, Creative Commons, Flickr The management of SunTech (STP – Last trade $39.48) has demonstrated great ability to negotiate long term polysilicon supply agreements. It has now become obvious that one of the company’s primary goals is to secure long term supply contracts. During the company’s 1Q07 conference call, the CEO said that the company expected…
Photo:urbangarden, Creative Commons, Flickr It's been almost two months since Yingling Energy (YGE – Last trade $17.07) had its IPO, and the stock has rallied nicely from an opening price of $10.80 to a high of $20.40 on July 12. The company is a vertically integrated photovoltaic product manufacturer based in China. It produces silicon,…
In mid-June, Michael Bloomberg roiled the presidential race by hinting that he might enter. The civil war in Iraq ground on and global warming still had no evident solution. But interestingly, the most emailed article of all the startling news in the New York Times around then was this one: "Some Colleges to Drop Out…
It finally happened. Despite a stock price that is through the roof (but dropping as of this writing), Exxon (XOM) is reporting that second qaurter earnings are down. Indeed, Big Oil companies like Exxon and Chevron (CVX) are finding all sorts of competition to reduce their oil exploration territory. And one of the big players…
I just shorted 10-year and long bond futures.
I have been watching CNBC and searching around the web for sentiment indicators. CNBC's Trillion Dollar Opinion Polls had 0% claiming that this was the start of a bear market. The DealBreaker Poll came out at 50/50. Motley Fool investors are bullish. I found that, when people couldn't understand why the market was falling, it…
I'm building my list of financial stocks to buy. But I'm not buying yet. Why? This market is starting to remind me of 1998 during the Asian Credit Crisis or the 1994/95 Mexican Peso devaluation. For those of you not born yet, in both cases, once the disturbance was over, market participants breathed a sigh…
The most money I have ever lost was back in the days of "irrational exuberance" when every dot com stock seemed destined for the moon. I took a couple "hot tips," I am embarrassed to say, and promptly lost a couple thousand dollars.
The New Zealand Dollar has so many people piling onto it that the governemnt is getting worried. New Zealand Telecom has been very good to me and is now fairly valued. So, do I want to be where the crowd is outside the U.S. in beautiful country with environmentalists and peacenicks for governments? Well yes,…
One nice thing about being a blogger who was a successful trader and is still an active investor/trader means that when I ask a hedge fund manager some questions, he asks me some too. We also talk about our positions. Yesterday I was lucky enough to get a bit of Joe Capone's time while he…
"On July 17, 2007, Atlanta Falcons player Michael Vick was indicted in Virginia on charges involving animal fighting. According to the criminal indictment against Vick, dogs were beaten, hung, electrocuted, starved and forced to fight other abused dogs while their owners and others bet thousands of dollars on which dog would either die or give…
Photo:scottlowe, Creative Commons, Flickr By now you likely have heard of Silverjet, the world’s first completely carbon neutral airline.
Photo:Amareschal, Creative Commons, Flickr Bright Leaves, a documentary of North Carolina’s tobacco legacy, is a personal project of filmmaker Ross McElwee. As such, it is part documentary, part home video, part miscellaneous. One’s enjoyment of the film depends largely on the one’s tolerance of McElwee himself, who ranges from moderately funny to distractedly self-absorbed.
I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal about the luxury car market and its Green-ness. Yes, I made that word up. It’s a very clever thing these car companies do; they use the power of words to evoke a sense of environmental responsibility. Here are a few of my favorite phrases in…
Photo:Maulleigh, Creative Commons, Flickr What to do with all those profits from big oil stocks? I'm starting to put more money to work in the financial sector. Fears over sub-prime mean that no self respecting fund manager (managing someone else's money) wants to be caught owning financials if losses from sub prime CDO's end up…
Photo:Johnny Vulkan, Creative Commons, Flickr I recommend watching John Doerr's emotional talk on green technology and investing at the 2007 TED Conference. I hope he is inspirational to businesses looking to find the solutions to climate change. I also hope he is inspirational to government to get out of the way and dial back subsidies…
Photo:Juhanson, Creative Commons, Flickr In a joint report issued last week by Ecosystem Marketplace and New Carbon Finance, an approximate total of 23.7 million tons, or US$91 million, of CO2 traded in the voluntary, non-Kyoto supported carbon markets in 2006. While this pales in comparison to the 1.1 billion tons of CO2, or US$24.4 billion, traded on…
Photo:kalebdf, Creative Commons, Flickr Ethical investing is becoming a popular mode of building a portfolio. And if you are looking to invest in sustainable companies with ethical environmental practices, the 2007 Sustainable Business 20 list could give you some ideas. A press release on CSRwire.com explains the purpose of the SB20 list: Our goal is…
The Senate starts the week topping off college legislation with a bill that would keep an eye on tuition spikes and keep a leash on sweet deals between lenders and financial aid officers. Next up, senators will vote on their first '08 spending bill, a $38 billion Homeland Security measure, S 1644. If there's time…