How Yahoo Can Get Its Mojo Back – Kevin Kelleher, Fortune
Gold Is A Commodity, Not A Currency – Barry Ritholtz, The Big Picture
A Surge In Construction Coming? – Ryan Avent, Free Exchange
Crude Oil And Stock Prices – Ed Yardeni, Dr. Ed’s Blog
Barack Obama, The Great Deceiver – Yves Smith, Naked Capitalism
Sex, Money, Welfare & Student Loans – Lance Roberts, DShort.com
Interesting Links For Tuesday, May 15
Will the Bubble Burst? China’s Economy “Unexpectedly” Slows
The eurozone crisis has captivated audiences around the world, but it is recent economic data from China that should be capturing the attention of policymakers. Despite confident predictions from Wen Jiabao that the economy was heading for more growth, April figures across a range of sectors make for grim reading: industrial production is down, fixed-asset investment and retail spending slowed, home sales plummeted, and export sales growth was only half what it was in March.
Why Insiders Buy Their Own Stock
Most analysts believe an insider buying shares of his own company is the best thing since no-load funds. The purchases become an incentive for others to buy.
Peter Lynch, the famed investor and former manager of the Magellan Fund even trumpeted the value of insider buying. Paraphrasing one of his insights; there are many reasons insiders sell, but just one reason they buy – they think the price is going up. Perhaps the theory was correct in the past, but no longer. Years serving insiders buying and selling their company’s stock has shown more than just one reason they buy. In fact, there are several reasons; just a few listed here.
Joes Jeans ( JOEZ ) Reports 23% Increase – Stock Up
Joe’s Jeans Inc. (NASDAQ: JOEZ) today announced financial results for the first quarter ended February 29, 2012. Highlights were:
- Consolidated first quarter net sales increased 23% to $26.0 million;
- Retail store net sales increased 40%;
- Retail same store sales increased 22%;
- Wholesale net sales increased 19%; and
- Operating income increased 244% to $1.8 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2012.
JOEZ made MarketWatch’s Mover & Shakers list of top gaining stocks for Friday, trading as high as $1.56 – 25% higher than the closing price on Thursday.
Correction Coming? Seasonal Shift May Make That Inevitable
(Futures Magazine) The markets are finally correcting. Measuring my words carefully, the market peaked around the seasonal change point but not perfectly on the exact date. In the world of market cycles close is good enough but when it misses perfect precision, the result is likely to be less than it might have been. That being said we don’t know exactly what ‘might have been’ would be.
Big Oil’s Excessive Profits? Baloney!
One of the most effective arguments used against the oil industry is that it earns “excessive” profits that must be taxed away. But as with the rest of the left’s failed energy agenda, it’s based on pure falsehoods.
With prices for crude above $100 a barrel, it’s no surprise the news media are fixated on oil companies’ “record profits.”
The Four Numbers That Spell Debt Disaster for the U.S.
Consider the following numbers: 2.2, 62.8, 454, 5.9. Drawing a blank? Not to worry. They don’t mean much on their own.
Now consider them in context:
1) 2.2 percent is the average interest rate on the U.S. Treasury’s marketable and non-marketable debt (February data).
2) 62.8 months is the average maturity of the Treasury’s marketable debt (fourth quarter 2011).
3) $454 billion is the interest expense on publicly held debt in fiscal 2011, which ended Sept. 30.
4) $5.9 trillion is the amount of debt coming due in the next five years.
For the moment, Nos. 1 and 2 are helping No. 3 and creating a big problem for No. 4. Unless Treasury does something about No. 2, Nos. 1 and 3 will become liabilities while No. 4 has the potential to provoke a crisis.
Mortgage Backed Bonds Make a Comeback
Some Wall Street investors made money as the mortgage market boomed, while others profited when it fell apart.
Having reaped big gains during both of those turns, Greg Lippmann, a former star trader at Deutsche Bank, is now catching the next upswing — buying the same securities built from mortgages that he bet against before the financial crisis erupted.
Top Articles To End The Week
Average Investors May Finally Be Lured Back Into Stocks
Why Regulations Do Little For The Small Investor
5 Myths of the Post-Financial Crisis World
Chinese capitalism is just another knockoff
Is Inflation Driving the U.S. Wealth/Income Gap?
President Obama’s Clueless, Contemptuous Energy Speech
Obama Plans Won’t Cut Oil Prices For Decades, If Ever
Our Top 5 Investing Articles for Thursday
A quick list of not 10, but the Top 5 Articles for the day…
1. Is the Correction Over?
Three days of selling erased 18 days worth of S&P gains. Since then stocks have recovered, but is the correction over?
2. Tomorrow’s a Big Day for the Bull Market.
Tomorrow will be a big day for the market with tomorrow’s job report. The number could help dictate whether the bull market continues its run, or if equities take a breather.
3. Stocks to Sell NOW!
Their businesses are deteriorating or their share prices are too high. If you own any of these stocks, sell before they cause you more grief.
4. Should You Convert Your Traditional 401(k) to a Roth 401(k)?
Nobody likes taxes, so why have some investors been converting their retirement dollars from traditional to Roth, paying taxes on their money now?
5. Greece’s Debt Swap Houdini and A Few Facts.
Greece and its bondholders agreed to a new deal that essentially forgives its debt. According to reports, creditors agreed to swap 85% of Greek government bonds for newly issued securities.
