Ackman Buys 150 Million Little Pieces of Pandit's Playhouse.

Posted by Sean Doyle, May 27, 2010

Photo by Sean Doyle

"Activist" investor Bill Ackman  apparently believes there is some value in Zombie Citigroup. According to the New York Times, Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management purchased 150 million shares in the embattled bank. Ackman didn't go into details as to his thinking in the purchase. However, Ackman joins fellow investing titan Bruce Berkowitz in taking a large, high profile stake in Pandit's Playhouse (C). (B.B. recently purchased $ 700 million in stock in the Zombie) 

Chart Courtesy of Fortune Magazine.

It's been a rough couple of years for Citi and (especially) their shareholders.  However, maybe their is light at the end of this dark, dark, dark, dark, tunnel.

The Corrections.

Posted by Sean Doyle, May 21, 2010

Image Courtesy of Farrar, Straus, & Giroux

From the April 26 intraday high of 11,258 the DJIA has sold down to an intraday low of about 9,900 on May 21 for a (one month) "correction" of about 10%. These types of downward moves are fairly common during a bull market and are considered entirely healthy. However, there is now much debate as to whether this is merely a correction or the start (or restart depending on one's viewpoint) of a bear market/and or global recession/depression.

Here is Captain Happy himself, Nouriel Roubini on CNBC this week calling for another 20% haircut in global equity indices. Just an aside....Doesn't it seem like whatever stage we are in within either a bull or bear market, Captain Happy always seems to call for another 20% drop?

Perhaps in an interesting contrast to Captain Happy's (perma) bearishness is the new found bullishness of John Paulson. Many remember Paulson as the housing uber-bear who made a quick billion dollars shorting the residential market with some (somewhat immoral) help from Goldman Sachs and the "Fabulous One."

Photo Courtesy of New York Magazine.

Paulson's bullishness has many in the investing community buzzing. "Long" John is calling for a V-shaped recovery and he laughs off the potential for a double-dip recession. According to Paulson, "House prices have stabilized and could climb 8% to 10% nationwide in 2011." Those are big numbers and could go a long way towards steadying the fragile Keynesian recovery we have constructed.

Graphic Provided by CNNMoney.com

With the DJIA down 8.37% for the past month and 11% (intraday) from it's YTD high, many long side investors are hoping (praying) for a Paulson-sized recovery. Especially now, with the mighty headwinds of a European collapse and a still stagnant U.S. job market pushing back on such lofty V-shaped dreams. The question remains...Is this merely a correction or the (very real) beginning of the end?

Photo Courtesy of EFE/Gustavo Cuevas

Or will The Bull get his revenge?

IT'S A TRILLION DOLLARS TO THE RESCUE!

Posted by Colin Doyle May 10, 2010

A Trillion Dollars descended on the Eurozone yesterday to save the day.  The only question is where is his trusty sidekick Captain Growth?

Could this be the end for Trillion Dollars, or will Captain Growth arrive just in time to save him from the "sinister" socialist economies of the European Union?

Tune in next quarter for an all new tale of a TRILLION DOLLARS!!!

"a B instead of an M"

Posted By Colin Doyle May 6, 2010

"a B instead of an M" That's a real quote from CNBC's Matt Nesto on the Closing Bell today. Speculation right after the close was that a trader from Citi (C) hit a sell order followed by a B (as in billion) by accident. This is being offered as the potential reason for the massive plunge (as low as 1000 points) in the market around 2:30 this afternoon. In order to prepare yourself for the rest of the bullshit that will no doubt color the ongoing discussion of today's events, I have listed several other meaningless terms that will be tossed around:

"Electronic Glitch" "Circuit Breakers" "Liquidations" "Fat Fingered Trade" "Quant Algorithm"

The bottom line is (despite what actually happened) this type of instability will scare retail money out of the market FOR GOOD. Even if there was a way to ensure that retail trades wouldn't execute through these other exchanges, why would "teddy e-trade" give a #$%^ about that, when he's in a state of shock from watching the indexes bounce up and down like volume bars on a radio. Who's to say what's legitimate or not without uniform standards across exchanges. It's a nightmare for anybody who isn't gaming it.

NYSE CEO Dumbcan Niederauer on The Closing Bell today:

This idiot couldn't be more off base with the practice of temporary trade halting. PG trading down to a penny a share in a few minutes has nothing to do with market efficiency and everything to do with DEFICIENCY. Why bother slowing everything down @ the NYSE if the outcome is simply going to be hedge funds on anonymous exchanges exploiting this practice to force fraudulent price swings. The NYSE needs to review this policy. While today represented an egregious example, I wonder just how often during the panic market of 07-08 we saw this type of trading halt @ the NYSE create inaccurate pricing through order rerouting. The bottom line is that the actual architecture of trade routing is clearly flawed in its present form and it's issues are only exacerbated by this maddening "slowdown or halt" policy @ the NYSE.

Take a look at the behavior of these stocks this afternoon for a good laugh (or cry).

PG, MMM, ACN

White Castle Unveils Burger Scented Candles!

Posted by Sean Doyle, May 6, 2010

In order to combat the rising popularity of taco flavored kisses, White Castle Inc. has introduced the burger scented candle. Nest Fragrances created the "steam grilled on a bed of onions" scent which was designed to gently arouse the discerning senses of beef cravers across the land. Laura Slatkin, founder of Nest Fragrances, announced, "When I think of truly superior aromas, I think of the aroma of a freshly grilled White Castle hamburger - life just doesn't get better than that." (Slats is starting to slip a little bit, me thinks...) Apparently the candle lists for $10 and is all but sold out at many White Castle locations. All the proceeds from the sale of the burger candle goes to Autism Speaks. So at least your living room will stink for a good cause.

Here's the full story from CNN Money: Burger Scented Candle

Ah, Austerity...

Posted by Sean Doyle, Cinco de Mayo

Photo Courtesy of Associated Press

Here's a little linkfest to celebrate Cinco de Mayo:

Business Week: Euro Falls to Lowest Level Since March 2009 on Greece Concern

Associated Press: 3 Dead In Fire at Greek Bank During Athens Riot

NY Times: Video and Tweets From Athens Protests

Wall Street Journal: Greek PM Condemns Violence, Calls Meeting Of Political Heads

GOT MAGIC?

Posted by Colin Doyle, May 3, 2010

Cause we're going to need it to get out of this mess.

Welcome to the new American century!

Trade: In your 401K for Guns.

Not So Witty, Whitacre. (The music is a nice touch though.)

Posted by Colin Doyle, May 3, 2010

I can't help but chuckle at the irony. The government takes control of GM and the company starts to be run like the government (i.e. using fuzzy math accounting). What's next? Car companies being run like actual companies?

Trade: In your GM, and buy a Ford.

(Also, put Alan Mulally on the short list for Mt. Rushmore.)

European Debt Web.

Posted by Sean Doyle, May 3, 2010

Chart Image Courtesy of Bill Marsh/The New York Times.

Oh! What a tangled web we weave when first we try to....well you get the point. Great graphic from the NYT website illustrating which of the P.I.I.G.S. owe to whom (Other Pigs and Non-Pigs alike) and how much. The numbers are staggering and complicated, but from this weave one sees how very important it is to prop up Greece, lest the house of cards (or tangled web) collapses and brings down the World's second most important economic union.

A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES?

Posted by Sean Doyle, May 3, 2010

Photo Courtesy of the Associated Press

Continental and United Airlines have agreed to a $ 3.15 billion merger that would create the world's largest airline. According to UAL CEO Glenn Tilton, "This combination brings together the best of both organizations and cultures to create a world-class airline with tremendous and enduring strengths. Together, we will have the financial strength necessary to make critical investments to continue to improve our products and services and to achieve and sustain profitability."

This remains to be seen as airlines are notorious for their lack of profitability.