Politics & Policy

 

• Was the Budget Deficit Worth the Fight? http://t.co/jDn9r7DC Budget deficits are an assault on the quality of our money & savings $$ @carney Nov 24, 2012
• None Dare Call It Default http://t.co/4o0lnQoe A nicer term for what’s about to sock the middle class is ‘entitlement reform.’ $$ Nov 24, 2012
• Judge Pens New Bankruptcy Chapter http://t.co/6V5cUQjS US BK Court Judge Thomas Bennett takes on the Jefferson County, AL Ch 9 filing $$ Nov 24, 2012
• Banks reportedly lining up against Elizabeth Warren committee spot http://t.co/YRAId5TQ & http://t.co/LFXTCZEb I say give her a chance $$ Nov 21, 2012
• Globalism goes backward http://t.co/h6kt67Lz As global growth slows, so does its handmaiden, globalization. $$ Nov 21, 2012
• 2013 Looks a Lot Like 1937 in 4 Fearsome Ways http://t.co/iZjmM1ZA Pre-election spree, post-reduce deficit, class war, prior laws bite $$ Nov 20, 2012
• FHA running out of money http://t.co/L1M7lRIK ?We take the findings of the independent actuary very seriously…? loss reserves too low $$ Nov 20, 2012
• Pension cuts could boost state?s Social Security costs http://t.co/61jicHRM If benefits drop below certain level, have 2 pay SS/Med taxes $$ Nov 19, 2012
• Special Dividends Surge Fourfold as US Tax Increase Looms http://t.co/vPVaLNFU Last chance 2 reward shareholders w/low div tax rates $$ Nov 19, 2012
• http://t.co/LJnienxh San Bernardino: How California law, police/firemen, CALPERS, dysfunctional politics, & bad pension acctg rules killed Nov 19, 2012

 

Monetary Policy

 

• Soros Buying Gold as Record Prices Seen on Stimulus http://t.co/pJ5FTplo Gold prices react2cost of carry; neg in real terms now $$ #zoom Nov 24, 2012
• Paula Broadwell?s Radar Tracks Generals, Not Fed http://t.co/WglEhJFo Bernanke’s/Yellen’s ideas will crumble from stagflation $$ @cabaum Nov 24, 2012
• Abe threatens to turn BOJ into an unlimited piggy bank for the government http://t.co/LxWwmlyP Eventually the real economy will rebel $$ Nov 21, 2012
• It’s a Good Bet the Fed Doesn’t Know What It’s Doing http://t.co/zG6mepy0 Couldn’t pick a worse Fed 4 crisis: imagines it knows what 2 do $$ Nov 19, 2012

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Hewlett-Packard

 

• Hurdling H-P: Oracle Shows Way in M&A http://t.co/fiJvmT2N Point is $ORCL ‘s older deals have been productive, $HPQ ‘s not. $$ FD:+$ORCL Nov 23, 2012
• H-P?s Deal Process Bypassed CFO Pre-Whitman http://t.co/WfawtYfh Note that Cathie Lesjak opposed the Autonomy purchase. Smart lady $$ Nov 21, 2012
• Goodwill Hunting http://t.co/ghFrEDlY @epicureandealmaker takes down a generally cruddy Bloomberg article on $HPQ & Goodwill accounting $$ Nov 21, 2012
• Note to all writing about Hewlett Packard: the ticker is $HPQ, not $HP, which is Helmerich & Payne, which drills oil and gas wells $$ Nov 20, 2012
• Ironic in many ways. HP should have been happy with their engineer-driven pre-Fiorina culture. It did a lot… http://t.co/rqXEW5Bi Nov 20, 2012

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Loose Monetary Policy Harms Fringe Nations

 

• Debt Burden Adds to Won Gains in Crimping Korea Rebound http://t.co/y6uHfFEw Loose monetary policy creates debt bubble in S. Korea $$ Nov 24, 2012
• S&P: Australia is Spain in waiting http://t.co/usllSlBt Heavily indebted financial systems can be like the snowpack prior 2 an avalanche $$ Nov 21, 2012
• Prison of Debt Paralyzes West http://t.co/ofJXWyLu Government debt after a point does not stimulate, but perpetuates unproductive policy $$ Nov 20, 2012
• Purple Palace Abandoned Shows China Shadow-Banking Risk http://t.co/tmg6jPhy China is like Japan 23 years ago: fearsome & malinvested $$ Nov 20, 2012

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Rest of the World

 

• Egypt Presidential Decree Sparks Protests http://t.co/a5YUcvtN Anyone surprised that the Muslim Brotherhood came out on top? State Dept Nov 23, 2012
• Can Xi Jinping bring about the change China needs? http://t.co/i3XGKZBJ Long article on the new Chinese leader; very tough road to travel $$ Nov 21, 2012
• Pipeline Would Loosen Russian Stranglehold On European Natural Gas Supply http://t.co/3zPUInTZ Where there is a will there is a way $$ Nov 20, 2012
• Misconstruing Germany Will Prove to Be Death of the Euro http://t.co/nCJ7rLiZ Germany won’t want a banking union; their banks have issues Nov 20, 2012
• http://t.co/MSqwtq4u China unlikely to make shift to consumption, b/c it means granting freedom to the people & reducing party cronyism $$ Nov 20, 2012

 

Personal Finance

 

• After Sandy damage, insurance adjusters may bring more bad news http://t.co/GTAhE9x3 If odds of getting flooded > 1% get flood insurance $$ Nov 24, 2012
• Tax Moves to Make Now http://t.co/TmoaGOCC Balanced piece; worth a read. Assumes we don’t go over the fiscal cliff: a deal is struck $$ Nov 24, 2012
• Lenders Rev Their Engines http://t.co/5jz3pt3l Surge in Demand for Auto Loans Spurs Push Into Sector; Subprime Is a Big Draw $$ Nov 23, 2012
• For ‘Credit Invisibles,’ A Market Takes Shape http://t.co/4l849dmK A blast from the past; using payment histories 2 establish credit $$ Nov 20, 2012
• apparent mojo http://t.co/lDNmxD1s @researchpuzzler does homework, comes to correct conclusion on a tiny junk fund featured in the WSJ $$ Nov 20, 2012
• Draining Away! http://t.co/hQAqzE9M Universal life policies suffer from low interest rates. B sure 2 check the gteed minimum rate $$ Nov 19, 2012

 

Miscellaneous

 

• The Great Thanksgiving Hoax http://t.co/kwbE39ee Strangers were the lazy ones; like the Hutterites the Saints could have made socialism work Nov 21, 2012
• Archbishop Says Church Lost Credibility on Women Bishops http://t.co/n7XkjfDM The “laity” understands the Bible better than the priests $$ Nov 21, 2012
• Why One Poll Says 45% Would Rather Skip Christmas http://t.co/zwwqY00R Costs a lot; nativity means much to Christians, Christmas is made-up Nov 20, 2012
• Windows 8 killed my PC http://t.co/slcTSRVA No operating system should expect 2b equally good touch vs keyboard, tablet vs laptop, etc $$ Nov 20, 2012
• Kill the Password: Y a String of Characters Can?t Protect Us Anymore http://t.co/jPoLzKpK Long but worth it; multifactor ID is the future $$ Nov 20, 2012

 

Market Dynamics

 

• Kyle Bass gives it to us with both barrels http://t.co/yZLt36kW Very long. Worth it if you want to see what he is up to in investing. $$ Nov 21, 2012
• Mismeasurement of Pensions Before and After Retirement http://t.co/DwE869Js The full paper, & you don’t have to pay NBER a cent $$ Nov 19, 2012
• In a Slow Market, Wait for Compelling Values Says Johnson http://t.co/lf891lb5 Expects 5%-ish returns 2013; unusual 2 get small returns $$ Nov 19, 2012
• Tech Sets Correction Course http://t.co/ct7yaWcb Largest sector of the market is feeling soggy, which does not bode well 4 the rest $$ Nov 19, 2012
• Why Mutual Fund Guardians Are Failing http://t.co/UMvk4AAB Old/good article on the flaws of mutual fund governance; skewed incentives $$ Nov 19, 2012
• Investment Falls Off a Cliff http://t.co/GVqnEdLH US Companies Cut Spending Plans Amid Fiscal and Economic Uncertainty; unstable policy Nov 19, 2012
• Buy on the rumor, sell on the news $$ RT @BloombergNews: S&P 500 rises most in two months amid budget deal optimism | http://t.co/yyR2uiSi Nov 19, 2012

 

Other Companies

 

• I know the basics on a lot of companies but is the first time I have heard of Schiff Nutrition International $SHF http://t.co/jxHIdf1v $$ Nov 21, 2012
• Hostess Judge Sees Return to ?Liquidation Scenario? http://t.co/OeDI3sTX Twinkies will survive, but many who produce them will not $$ Nov 21, 2012
• Hostess Seen Attracting Bids for Assets From Flowers http://t.co/vAu1o7Wv The brands will get bought; the value is there, not in plants $$ Nov 19, 2012
• Drillers Begin Reusing ‘Frack Water’ http://t.co/nOiR3sy5 Energy Firms Explore Recycling Options 4 Industry That Uses Water Like Chicago Nov 19, 2012

 

Wrong

 

• Bad Headline: Wall St Kept Winning on Mortgages Upending Homeowners http://t.co/fuKDx4ss Most tricky mtges not originated by Wall St $$ Nov 19, 2012
• Wrong: S&P 500 in Cheapest Bull Market Since Ronald Reagan http://t.co/jNJ1x0SU When will they learn *not* 2 use P/E 4 mkt valiuation? $$ Nov 19, 2012

 

Replies

 

• @PlanMaestro Thanks — missed that. Nov 23, 2012
• @PlanMaestro I just can’t believe the 1.5 Billion figure for the Earth’s carrying capacity; even the Club of Rome is more optimistic, no? Nov 23, 2012
• “How many lines can be drawn in a 2D plane such that they are equidistant from 3 non-collinear points?” 3… http://t.co/QQkn7IcR Nov 23, 2012
• Grantham is outside of his skill set here, and should be ignored. Also, global population will top out at… http://t.co/ZACbqPQO Nov 23, 2012
• Nothing against Bill McBride. He deserves praise from all of us. There are three missing pieces though, and… http://t.co/Dfs50uGQ Nov 21, 2012
• . @Dvolatility H-P CDS Curve Flattens on Write-Down http://t.co/9vWEDzcZ Early buyers of $HPQ protection made decent money, late less $$ Nov 21, 2012
• @Dvolatility $HPQ CDS spreads did forecast the spread widening, but not the magnitude. It also forecast the stock price move also $$ Nov 21, 2012
• @japhychron @TFMkts @dvandeventer @Dvolatility Or, does the negative tangible book have an impact on modeling? $HPQ $$ Nov 21, 2012
• “You can count beans and trace them back to their sources, good. But can you adequately question the?” $$ David_Merkel http://t.co/JS3Jbtnb Nov 21, 2012
• @dvandeventer @Dvolatility Any read on the level 5Y CDS is trading at? Used to have a BBG terminal, but don’t now… Nov 21, 2012
• @Dvolatility Where does the $HPQ CDS trade now? Nov 21, 2012
• @qusmablog Much of the world has to go through a “failure cycle” before “normal growth” can reboot. Many entrenched interests don’t want it. Nov 21, 2012
• @Nonrelatedsense @researchpuzzler Also not good for the WSJ 2 write about a small fund w/short track record… bigger problem $$ Nov 20, 2012
• @Nonrelatedsense @researchpuzzler Apologies, Chou Income did beat the Barclays Agg since inception http://t.co/VwYvIVYj Carry does it $$ Nov 20, 2012
• @CEOofmyFUTURE longer term measures like the Q-ratio, CAPE10, Price to resources, & Hussman has a measure also Nov 19, 2012
• @BloombergNews Who’s in charge of this page: http://t.co/2sJ5NEDK They changed it last week and made it less useful $$ Nov 19, 2012

 

Retweets

 

• Notable & Honorable $$ RT @Nati2de: Larry Hagman was married to the same woman since 1954. Impressive, especially for a Hollywood actor. Nov 24, 2012
• Growth comes when capital, labor & resources have fair prices RT @BloombergView: Greece needs growth, not austerity | http://t.co/f620QBRU Nov 21, 2012
• RT @retheauditors: #1 cause of accounting fraud is revenue recognition issues and #1 industry for accounting fraud is technology/softwar … Nov 20, 2012
• Gracias, no se habla $$ RT @besanson: #FunAndFinance Interest Rate Swaps and LIBOR in 5 minutes // Thanks or RT http://t.co/zu2LP7Nx Nov 20, 2012
• Torture data until it confesses something $$ RT @Alea_: Does ?Statistical Significance? Imply ?Actually Significant?? http://t.co/BBTfUThF Nov 20, 2012
• RT @finemrespice: The Federal Housing Administration stands against all prior biological evidence that primates are capable of forming m … Nov 19, 2012
• Buy on the rumor, sell on the news $$ RT @BloombergNews: S&P 500 rises most in two months amid budget deal optimism | http://t.co/yyR2uiSi Nov 19, 2012

 

Blog News

 

• My week on twitter: 75 retweets received, 4 new listings, 50 new followers, 92 mentions. Via: http://t.co/SPrAWil0 Nov 22, 2012