@DavidSchawel Shrink the balance sheets then for true profit; sell AFS assets, & use proceeds to buy back debt. Makes BalSht cleaner also $$ Jan 13, 2012
Could protectionism, tariffs, & a VAT lead 2 inflation? RT @historysquared: $$ : Latest in the Ongoing Global Trade War http://t.co/QuwgmmxO Jan 13, 2012
The value of free enterprise has nothing to do with money or wealth http://t.co/mPHesBRu right 2 ?life, liberty, &the pursuit of happiness.? Jan 13, 2012
The lure to leave the euro may prove irresistible http://t.co/upM8V9Hd Better to be Argentina than Latvia. Still better to be the US! $$ Jan 13, 2012
Amid downturn, more older Americans employed than ever before http://t.co/BBCCUy0A Retirement will be considered abnormal in the future $$ Jan 13, 2012
Americans Clueless, Pay Wall Street $20 Billion for Bad Swaps http://t.co/hCIZwSeY Swaps weren’t problem, Auction rate preferreds were $$ Jan 13, 2012
Accounting Quirk Lurks as Wild Card in Banks’ Earnings http://t.co/yfiwHRVs Acctg is best when mkt-based or amortizd cost, not hybrid $$ Jan 13, 2012
Little Alarm Shown at Fed At Dawn of Housing Bust http://t.co/HU4b513h FOMC transcripts always highlight how clueless the FOMC is. $$ Jan 13, 2012
Fed?s Steps Toward Transparency May Hinder Effort http://t.co/14hSqGs6 With increased data mkts unpredictably wind tighter to Fed policy $$ Jan 13, 2012
Here’s something to consider: http://t.co/63fsJc2y The last time ICI updated the FAQ on fund flow? http://t.co/G5XJr24E Jan 13, 2012
Here’s A Credit Card That Looks To Trap ID Thieves By Making Them Think They’re Clever http://t.co/BjtE1Pcy Thieves that goof get fingered Jan 12, 2012
$MSFT Said to Plan Marketing Reorganization That Includes Job Cuts http://t.co/tnmiw372 Cuts s/b a last resort option 4 morale reasons $$ Jan 12, 2012
@The_Analyst But, no, I don’t think it will happen. Federal regulators are in bed with those that they regulate. All will claim confidential Jan 12, 2012
@The_Analyst They should at least be as good as the appointed life actuaries who have to hand the risk model over in full to the regulators. Jan 12, 2012
Big ETFs likely to get bigger http://t.co/sMV3gXRB Makes sense; broad aggregate asset class exposures should have large ETFs to implement $$ Jan 12, 2012
Vikram Pandit Is on the Right Track http://t.co/W1nKvtrV Banks should make their risk models & data bases public; indep ests validate them Jan 12, 2012
Greek Crisis Dries Up Drug Supply http://t.co/6adxylUd This is one of the sadder things about the Eurozone crisis $$ Even aspirin gone Jan 12, 2012
This Winter’s Weirdly Warm Weather Explained http://t.co/QwmcdVCT The Arctic & North Atlantic Oscillations explain the drastic difference $$ Jan 11, 2012
Red Kite Evangelicals Reap 47% on Copper Bet http://t.co/ZEKFYRtF Doing well? Doing good? Why choose? Jan 11, 2012
The great hedge fund humbling of 2011 http://t.co/CAJPuxZD Average fund dropping 4.8% & some stock-focused funds down 19% on average $$ Jan 11, 2012
@MarcHochstein True. Almost every bubble leaves something good behind; think of all the dark fiber laid in the early 2000s now being used $$ Jan 11, 2012
Awaiting a Greek Payout http://t.co/YrjsFuIb Could Greece?s next rescue payout go straight into the pockets of London hedge funds? $$ #yes Jan 11, 2012
Insurers Lifting Rates as Storms Defy Models http://t.co/SF6gQeWf After disasters, well-capitalized insurers benefit from rising premiums Jan 11, 2012
Building Skyscrapers Signals Excess, Forecasts Crashes, says Barclays http://t.co/PzkWBb81 Overly cheap capital creates white elephants $$ Jan 11, 2012
Yale’s Crash Confidence Index Shows Just How Fearful Investors Have Become http://t.co/eL3jG5j4 Short-term bullish indicator $$ Jan 11, 2012
Gen Y: Post Traumatic Stock Syndrome http://t.co/jMmRDwI6 In order to make $$ in the markets, you must survive the bad times. $$ Jan 11, 2012
Europe?s $39T Pension Threat Grows http://t.co/HHGm0NcV and in the US: Social Security – January 2012 and Beyond http://t.co/WrElghGi $$ Jan 11, 2012
Europe Banks Hoarding Cash Resist Draghi http://t.co/X2yqiTdR Euro-area banks have more than 600 billion euros of debt maturing this year Jan 11, 2012
An Imaginary Dustup? The Incalculable Harm of Regulation http://t.co/cB7j2N6e Agricultural regulations anger a farmer; he explains the cost Jan 11, 2012
Turkey Said to Tell India Help on Iran Oil Payments May End http://t.co/smdFrxQK Lot of second order effects from the Iran embargo. $$ Jan 10, 2012
EU Is Said to Consider Iran Oil-Embargo Exemptions Rather Than Blanket Ban http://t.co/12qgDjBD Mainly to help Greece, Italy & ENI $E $$ Jan 10, 2012
@D_T_A_F Well, they’ve been doing it consistently since the beginning of QE, at which point they changed their OMO methods. U might b right. Jan 10, 2012
Italy Is Biggest Risk to Euro, Says Fitch http://t.co/hNct22ZO E-Zone cannot survive if 3rd largest member can’t maintain financing $$ Jan 10, 2012
U.S. Inquiry of MF Global Gains Speed http://t.co/SVxElxzI The key might be the actions of the Treasurer prior to the bankruptcy $$ Jan 10, 2012
@groditi FM Global is still around http://t.co/7JE2tl9D MF Global is not. My inner insurance nerd is showing. FMG is a great company. $$ Jan 10, 2012
THE WORLD?S MOST PROSPEROUS BANK http://t.co/2jOeSujR Remember, that the national creditworthiness that the Fed is using to generate the $$ Jan 10, 2012
Geithner Presses China on Iran http://t.co/cL7KcKZp Tough sell; 11% of oil used from Iran http://t.co/FWLf6mXC & http://t.co/3tNMilGQ $$ Jan 10, 2012
@D_T_A_F Mmmm…. so they want people to think long-run inflation will be higher than otherwise? That’s not what they usually want. $$ Jan 10, 2012
Avoiding Innovation’s Terrible Toll http://t.co/Y20HSLrk Set up a new unit to creatively destroy your old one, before anyone else $$ Jan 10, 2012
Why does the Fed buy the longest TIPS? Scarcity -> Higher price -> lower real yield -> higher inflation expectations http://t.co/VOIG2gUk $$ Jan 10, 2012
RE: @iheartWallSt Desk commentary.? Escapes the strictures one must follow for “research.”? Can say what you want the? http://t.co/mUVhA0JQ Jan 10, 2012
Even Ron Paul Can?t Save America From Fiscal Disaster http://t.co/l6ldUddF Americans ask 4 the impossible; problem not politicians but us Jan 10, 2012
Buffett?s Apprentice Books Gains on First Buys http://t.co/j7R3j4Lg Purchases of 7 stox by Combs in the 9 mos ended 9/30 advanced ~14% $$ Jan 10, 2012
SEC Seeks Full Disclosure of Banks? Sovereign Debt Holdings http://t.co/B5sYTqCs Note: the banks only have to do this if they want to $$ Jan 10, 2012
An Exit Strategy From the Euro http://t.co/4K6DI0ZE It would benefit Europe in the long run to have macro flexibility back. $$ Jan 10, 2012
A Boom in Starter Capital for Hedge Funds http://t.co/uTvaIJ1c Excess cash seeks: diversification, flexibility, special ideas, returns $$ Jan 10, 2012
Gina Raimondo Math Convinces Rhode Island of America?s Prospects With Debt http://t.co/ZMjbs2IW Nixon: China :: Dems : pub pension cuts $$ Jan 10, 2012
The Danger Debt Poses to the Western World http://t.co/Wfnf1d1E A German take on the global mess of extend & pretend. Long, but gets it $$ Jan 10, 2012
Where to look for ideas in Distressed Investing? http://t.co/eDnCO7QA Hunter covers the bases; shows us the areas where he looks 4 value $$ Jan 10, 2012
The Global Impact of a China Hard Landing http://t.co/CQcfMH8Y Could be significant, to some degree China drives the world economically. $$ Jan 10, 2012
Why Europe stocks are too cheap to ignore http://t.co/6cGcyuKd It’s difficult to lose money on cheap companies w/low debt. $$ Jan 10, 2012
Speculators Raise Wagers on Price Gains by Most in 17 Months http://t.co/7Qosgt0H The risk-on trade proceeds; whether it succeeds?… $$ Jan 10, 2012
More U.S. Part-Timers Find Full-Time Jobs http://t.co/9CtmJbX6 Reluctantly, I am getting less pessimistic. $$ Jan 10, 2012
Survival of the unfittest: why the worst infrastructure gets built?and what we can do about it http://t.co/Ko5Eri0b ht: Michael Pettis Jan 09, 2012
But this buttresses my contention that hedge funds, aside from global macro and CTAs, hate volatility.? Anyone that w? http://t.co/snQjCYh7 Jan 09, 2012
@groditi That’s fine, thanks for the effort. Jan 09, 2012
@groditi I can see how you can get the $VXX historical prices, but not those of the VXX options. Jan 09, 2012
@The_Analyst That’s the reason why I think unionized jobs don’t get destroyed by foreign competition, but by technology $$ Jan 09, 2012
The Great Leading Indicator Smackdown http://t.co/EwNbt7NJ ECRI is a black box, but they usually do better at forecasting than the LEI $$ Jan 09, 2012
Corporate Profit Growth Slows as Europe Drags http://t.co/KyieZhsW Profit margins meeting the force of gravity, from punk demand $$ Jan 09, 2012
Correlation Nation (lets go to the charts) http://t.co/egTJ4iOb Bifurcated market boils down to liquidity/certainty vs not $$ #riskonriskoff Jan 09, 2012
China December Loans, Money Supply Signal Easing Conditions http://t.co/pT2WqTbR Please reflate the real estate market, please, please $$ Jan 09, 2012
China loan growth quickens http://t.co/FbKZVW4l With asset prices falling, China attempts to reflate through monetary policy $$ Jan 09, 2012
Pension reform welcome, but bankrupt Illinois needs more http://t.co/sp6xAzGF Retroactive repeal of ill-gotten benefits ->test constitution Jan 09, 2012
State finance officials should face the truth on pension promises http://t.co/CYYQ73Ad CA pension liabs > reported, reliant on hi inv return Jan 09, 2012
Merkozy On the Verge of Losing Sarkozy http://t.co/tu1j68Fu For that matter, Merkel is not that secure politically either $$ Jan 09, 2012
It’s a Man vs. Machine Recovery http://t.co/dt2uJnn2 Companies have been buying technology instead of hiring, and Okun’s Law is broken $$ Jan 09, 2012
On Trading Central Tendency http://t.co/x92jkx2Z @brucekrasting has too much fun showing how more transparency by the Fed could backfire $$ Jan 09, 2012
Top business leaders including Pimco’s Bill Gross support Ron Paul http://t.co/AFxAuF3t I find this surprising & I’m not sure I believe it. Jan 09, 2012
Shale Bubble Inflates on Near-Record Prices http://t.co/derIaWa0 Current land prices rely on fracking not being curtailed by regulation $$ Jan 09, 2012
Germany Auctions Bills With Negative Yield http://t.co/pUXUcGaU Never a good sign with too much demand for liquidity & certainty $$ Jan 09, 2012
Paulson After Worst Year Takes Cue From Griffin Climbing Back http://t.co/a324XoAj Very difficult to achieve, even for Griffin. $$ Jan 09, 2012
It’s not that machines are destroying jobs; they are making some jobs obsolete as productivity rises.? There is a nee? http://t.co/03IYCHhH Jan 09, 2012
Hedge Fund Returns In 2011 http://t.co/O89qAtlY Dismal year, what else? Make me feel better about my returns… $$ http://t.co/AxznD8LD Jan 07, 2012
Eastman Kodak Shares, Bonds Hammered on Bankruptcy-Prep Report http://t.co/5Ct7mA9I Bonds trading at $30; what if the patents r worth $$ Jan 07, 2012
David Rubin Pleads Guilty in Muni-Bond Trial http://t.co/wNZUGsgY I knew this guy back in my GIC-selling days. Couldn’t get his bizmodel Jan 07, 2012
I really appreciated this paper because it clarified a number of issues for me regarding repo. One thing they missed? http://t.co/zYq0U5ow Jan 07, 2012
Fed?s New Wordplay to Yield Negligible Results http://t.co/QprfJ6e1 @cabaum Transparency is good. Talk is cheap. It won?t do much harm. $$ Jan 06, 2012
New Markets Movement: Bring Back the IPOs http://t.co/Q7G8SazO Will take a lot more than changing the tick size to create more entrepreneurs Jan 06, 2012
Alcoa to Cut Smelting Capacity by 12% http://t.co/HTmIN0iY Given startup/shutdown costs, implies lower extimated level of global growth $$ Jan 06, 2012
How Art History Majors Power the US Economy http://t.co/6bNzBvyg Disagree. Best thinkers r all-arounds, who can write, calc, code, etc $$ Jan 06, 2012
US Universities Feast on Federal Student Aid http://t.co/1QYSJ6Hs Most of the subsidies for College r captured by colleges not students $$ Jan 06, 2012
Dementia?s First Signs May Appear by Age 45 http://t.co/ECLv3Jte Starts slow & picks up speed. Can’t remember the rest $$ Jan 06, 2012
Australia?s Strength Questioned by Philip Bowring http://t.co/diETnNpY Commodity producers vulnerable to a global slowdown. Also leverage $$ Jan 06, 2012
Italy Last Among Libya?s ?Friends? for New Oil Concessions http://t.co/4r5yKJol Libya?s ?friends? in order: France, US, Britain & Italy $$ Jan 06, 2012
Death-Defying Metal Thieves Tap Soaring Prices as U.K. Tightens Sales Law http://t.co/03octIHD Many don’t defy death successfully $$ #RIP Jan 06, 2012
I don’t think changing the tick size will change the fact that there are games surrounding trading.? It will change w? http://t.co/XXnyKemI Jan 06, 2012
When Nurses Catch Compassion Fatigue, Patients Suffer http://t.co/54tvbIQV Programs being created/used to help nurses avoid burnout $$ Jan 06, 2012
‘ @mbusigin Okay, so about 2% up, not bad. That’s usually pretty correlated with short rates, but not now. $$ Jan 06, 2012
@mbusigin @fundmyfund How strongly? There is a lot of single-family housing available for rent, which should hold rates down. Jan 06, 2012
The sinkhole http://t.co/DTW4vtDm DB plans 4 companies in the broadly-based S&P 1500, the deficit rose from $315 billion to $484 billion $$ Jan 06, 2012
Apartment Vacancy Rate falls to 5.2% in Q4, Lowest since 2001 http://t.co/6E2rL2CZ Will it eventually lead to increases in rental rates? $$ Jan 06, 2012
Flip This Economy http://t.co/0LBARLcQ A new study shows how short-term speculators made the housing bubble much, much worse. $$ Jan 06, 2012
Not Even Corp Mgmt Believe Their Own Equity Return Assumptions http://t.co/AdkRWujq With rates so low stocks must earn monster returns 2fund Jan 05, 2012
Sweden Shows Europe How to Cut Debt, Weather the Recession http://t.co/R9VBpkSL Monetary independence is the most important Swedish lesson Jan 05, 2012
The Public Deposit Option: An Alternative To ?Regulate and Insure? Banking http://t.co/Fvo6q2TJ Turn banks into deposit utilities, maybe? $$ Jan 05, 2012
China: the vultures are coming http://t.co/uyn6U7OV Distressed investing in China not straightforward; Does not have a clear rule of law Jan 05, 2012
China No Country for Old Men as Government Battles ?Demographic Tsunami? http://t.co/7pU1JqCz The “one child policy” hammers at China $$ Jan 05, 2012
Federal Reserve Balance Sheet Risks http://t.co/zih7AS0e As the monetary base rises, so does the price of gold? Seems to. $$ Jan 05, 2012
No:EU lawmaker turns up heat on US over bank rules http://t.co/Gs5rvupn Banks should not use their own models 2 mark positions, set capital Jan 05, 2012
Gavekal on Japanese Debt Scenarios http://t.co/fsqvKx8A Likes Japanese equities combined with protection against the currency & bonds $$ Jan 05, 2012
Macro Imploding http://t.co/iokKGr6h It’s just a matter of time before we abandon concepts like the monetary and fiscal multipliers. $$ Jan 05, 2012
@groditi I think that might be driving some of the negative earnings guidance revisions, but no one connects the dots. Jan 04, 2012
RT @groditi: @AlephBlog I see very little mention of how high FCFs due to depressed capex /wc could translate to depressed/delayed earni … Jan 04, 2012
Bond Exotica Gains Favor in Era of Low Rates http://t.co/jBOGzNJt I would worry, but we’re probably nearer the beginning than the end $$ Jan 04, 2012
@TraderNewsFeed I respect your opinion; let’s see what happens, I very well could be wrong, and you right. Jan 04, 2012
Equity Risk Premium Near An Extreme http://t.co/R1cYReUa Relies on the idea that profit margins will not mean-revert. $$ Jan 04, 2012
@TraderNewsFeed in 2nd and 3rd tier city residential real estate markets. http://t.co/yVjV9Fa4 & http://t.co/mOq9JrjB 2/2 Jan 04, 2012
@TraderNewsFeed You don’t get large moves in asset prices w/o debt-finance. The LTVs may be lower, but px moves have inverted borrowers 1/2 Jan 04, 2012
Pawnbrokers of last resort: when a pound of flesh is not enough http://t.co/yA3I0eZ8 Secured lending heightens risk when collateral falls Jan 04, 2012
China?s Home Prices Slide Amid Speculation of Reserve Ratio Cut http://t.co/2NJHYrZx Leverage collapse cannot b solved in ordinary ways $$ Jan 04, 2012
Chinese President Hu Jintao warns of cultural warfare from West http://t.co/lyOVkowA Difficult 2 channel prosperity away from freer thinking Jan 04, 2012
Refinancing Race to Dominate Third Year of Crisis: Euro Credit http://t.co/OwRkKSCe Lots of room 4 slips&stumbles in the 1Q12 refinancing $$ Jan 04, 2012
I just keep buying value stocks; worked in the Great Depression; should work now. http://t.co/JLv5g3Re Jan 04, 2012
Who are the most central members of the China?s leadership as we enter 2012? http://t.co/wwt0VY6X Interesting analysis of connections $$ Jan 04, 2012
Fed Will Detail Rate Plans, Easing Market Guesswork http://t.co/RNWNk8Wn More transparency will bring more volatility, not less $$ #ppht Jan 04, 2012
Downward revision on home sales data? http://t.co/uDhRiBVE NAR large revision down sales numbers 4 past several yrs going back to 2007 $$ Jan 04, 2012
Bond Bulls May Yet Have Reason for Cheer http://t.co/Qk3EQDfA When I see this argument get more common, I worry about a reversal $$ Jan 04, 2012
Mary Schapiro’s skeletons in the closet http://t.co/TeGlvBqK Alleges proxy used by NASD soliciting member approval 4 the merger fraudulent Jan 04, 2012
@ReformedBroker Wait. You used “value” and “Eastman Kodak” in the same sentence. Not allowed. Did Bill Miller get the memo? $$ Jan 04, 2012
NYSE Liffe US Announces DTCC GCF Repo Index Futures http://t.co/9JpHjbu7 ht @izakaminska; may allow for hedging of future repo rates $$ Jan 04, 2012
@izakaminska I suppose the GCF Repo Index Futures settle for cash. My Q: What are the systemic implications of hedging future repo rates? $$ Jan 04, 2012
The collateral crunch gets monetary http://t.co/rGlB3N7z Monetary multiplier collapsing in Eurozone. Protect solvency, do not lend. $$ Jan 04, 2012
?Princeling? General Attracts Notice with Criticism of Party http://t.co/4ZnfegKp Do children earn their own way or can parents help? $$ Jan 04, 2012
Buffett?s Defense Fails to Beat S&P 500 in ?11 http://t.co/BLynhyuo Buffett is doing fine. Just watch the growth in book value. $$ Jan 04, 2012
World?s Biggest Economies Face $7.6T Debt http://t.co/lVdUlLng Rollover risk in 2012. Who can see the tipping point 4 sustainability? $$ Jan 04, 2012
Bridgewater Takes Grim View of 2012 http://t.co/WeP3QYw7 Deleveraging bodes ill 4 most asset classes except long duration high quality Jan 04, 2012
Iranian currency slides under latest U.S. sanctions http://t.co/99wYHIGq The sanctions do have some bite, average people in Iran hurt more Jan 04, 2012
@PieFarmer No. Hedgies that try 2 arb r trying to collect a risky yield. As vol rises, that gets harder 2 do. $$ Jan 04, 2012
For Europe, Bad to Worse http://t.co/4DfbYeWl Likely Recession, Continuing Debt Woe May Make ’12 a Tougher Slog Than ’11 $$ Jan 04, 2012
Why Hedge Funds Tripped in a Volatile Year http://t.co/y0H4HqVw In aggregate, hedge funds r yield seekers & r hurt by volatility $$ Jan 04, 2012
Regulators Fleeing Ratings Dodd-Frank Banned Embrace No-Risk Greek Bonds http://t.co/6UGoNV2t Regulators go from one ditch into another $$ Jan 04, 2012
the haircut http://t.co/KfqiOplW @researchpuzzler on the need to have a margin of safety built into all investment assumptions $$ Jan 04, 2012
Tail Risk and Embalming Fluid, in 2012 http://t.co/BtBzo2Ey Argues that we will not be able to grow out of the debts incurred by gov’ts. $$ Jan 04, 2012
Brace Yourself For An Eventful 2012 http://t.co/hCcauPUR Makes the case that Germany could leave the euro in 2012 & hurt CHF in process Jan 04, 2012
@DonMartinCFP Thanks, Don — so you look at this? http://t.co/ErnQtMXd Jan 04, 2012
Muni Bonds http://t.co/y8fuhimH There are long term difficulties, but taxes will be raised and benefits cut. Muni bonds will do fine. $$ Jan 03, 2012
Auld Lang Syne: Remembering 2011 http://t.co/ctFUISOD Damodaran points out how high the equity premium is now. Makes me more bullish $$ Jan 03, 2012
@The_Analyst If you leave it all in the cash account, yes, if not, no. Which makes sames day liquidity a problem; three day lags… Jan 03, 2012
Political Calendar Hints at 2012 Volatility http://t.co/8kH5seL5 2012 likely to be a volatile year, much as 2011 was $$ Jan 03, 2012
Are Brokerage Accounts Safe? http://t.co/QBXChAvg We should press to eliminate the ability to rehypothecate using customer capital $$ Jan 03, 2012
@YooDman I agree w/you, but if the generals could get along w/o KJ Un, they would have done so already. This would try to pull KJU away… Jan 03, 2012
If I were Secretary of State, I would find out what Rock groups & basketball players Mr Un Kim likes & send several goodwill delegations. $$ Jan 03, 2012
Banker Who Fled Kim Jong Il Says New Leader to Open N. Korea http://t.co/cX4jHROu “Swiss education & his reported fondness 4 basketball” Jan 03, 2012
Paul Sees Top-Two Finish in Iowa While Wary of Backing Rivals http://t.co/4elw3fqP Has the least trouble with Romney, but can’t endorse $$ Jan 03, 2012
@DonMartinCFP What change in conditions would lead you to allocate money away from bonds? Jan 03, 2012
I’m going to try as an experiment publishing my tweets at my blog.? They highlight significant articles that I have read.? Let me know if you want me to do this regularly.? Alternatively, you can get my tweets via RSS or email, as I described here.
Anyway, here are the tweets:
China?s Top 10 Business Stories in 2011 http://bit.ly/rRN3S0 Patrick Chovanec, professor in China gives his perspectives on a tough year $$
Job Creation Is Price for US Health Law bloom.bg/rK5s7R Inflexible mandates on business tend to decrease jobs in the economy $$ #yup
Spain says deficit bigger than expected, hikes taxes reut.rs/vF8gLj Spain goes for austerity amid large budget deficits. Surprise! $$
Fear Recoupling in ?12, Not the End of the World bloom.bg/unlphk Pesek on dangers from Asian economic 2nd-order effects in 2012 $$
Heterodox economics: Marginal revolutionaries econ.st/tGlNai The Economist on the effect economics bloggers have on the mainstream $$
Bonds Prove Best Financial Asset in 2011 bloom.bg/tvL3z5 Leave aside Shilling, Hoisington & a few others. Who called this? I didn’t.
Major Dubai companies ?may need bail-outs? tgr.ph/v00OEW It is usually not wise to lend money on projects that are grandiose. $$ #duh
Borrowing From ECB Jumps on.wsj.com/vFlbpR If banks wont lend 2 each other bit.ly/v42Tw7 then CBs must lend 2 banks $$ #liquiditytrap
SSgA Files For Short-Term Junk Bond ETF bit.ly/tZFizH A promising idea that will get overdone, leading to losses. Nonrated CP anyone?
The Germans have many conflicting goals $$ RT @calculatedrisk: Merkel: “Will do everything to strengthen the euro” goo.gl/fb/vxa3h
Maybe 2 cents in dividends? RT @BCAppelbaum: If you put $1 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of the year, you would end the year with… $1 $$
TED Spread on Watch for Breakout bit.ly/v42Tw7 Short-term lending getting tight, banks don’t trust each other; CBs 2 the rescue? $$
A Margin for Error in Hedge-Fund Filings on.wsj.com/sC7KAO Might some hedge funds b mismarking their less liquid stocks? bonds? X? $$
BIS Describes the Exposure of Emerging Markets to Europe bit.ly/vJ3w1a Credit slowing down from EZone 2 emerging markets, GDP slowing
Deepening Crisis Over Euro Pits Leader Against Leader on.wsj.com/v1pjlz Tale of how Angela Merkel undercut Berlusconi. Clever lady $$
Gloomy Picture for Banks in Europe’s Core on.wsj.com/vQftdv EZone Govt’s & banks depend on each other; 2 drunks holding each other up
The Q Ratio and Market Valuation bit.ly/tkbOnp Good article going over the Q ratio, what it means, how to calculate & forecast $$
California Barred by Judge From Cutting Medi-Cal Rates bloom.bg/uSFCCX Expect this pattern to repeat in a fight over priorities $$
Hospice Turns Months-to-Live Patient Into Addict bloom.bg/s0WCiH Misdiagnosis of time to live can create addicted elderly folks $$
Contra: Republicans, Lost in Moderation bloom.bg/vCrabB Did the Republicans win more elections b4 or after conservatives took over?
Banks Continue to Stockpile Agency MBS bit.ly/tOMvNz Nice credit-risk free asset to pair against cheap funds from the Fed. $$
Tough Markets: Punishing Hedge Funds Since 2003 on.wsj.com/vPf2UN Hedge funds in aggregate r yield hogs & abhor volatility $$
End of Corn Ethanol? bit.ly/v599bC US ended a 30Yr subsidy 4 corn-based ethanol that cost $6B/yr & ended tariff Brazilian ethanol $$
China is a Closed Communist Economy, concludes research bit.ly/ucMjsH The Party is still in control & directs the use of resources $$
What Deleveraging? bit.ly/vj9jmZ What is this deleveraging you continue to babble about . . . ? $$
My friend Ron Smith has died.? For those that do not live in Baltimore, the Ron Smith show was the leading radio show in Baltimore.? I had the rare opportunity of being on the show three times out of the last three years.? Even better, I was able to do it in the studio with Ron.? The best times that I had when on WBAL were during the commercial breaks, where Ron and I would discuss issues that were far beyond what we were talking about to listeners.
Ron Smith was an intensely bright man.? He was an agnostic, though one that respected religious belief; his opinions outside religion were highly reliable.? He told me that I was doing “God’s work” for raising my eight children.
I will miss Ron.? He was the sort of person that I would have liked to have developed a deeper relationship with, but that was not possible because he was far more busy than I am. We corresponded over a number of issues over the years, and I always learned something from him.
Baltimore will be a poorer place without Ron Smith.
To come back to the beginning of this article, the fetish of rationality exists in economics because the math doesn?t work without it.? Many tests of rationality have failed, yet the profession does not give up, because their skills are useless if man is not economically rational.
One of my best pieces ever, where I defend Buffett’s purchase of Burlington Northern, because it is irreplaceable.? This helps to explain how Buffett manages for the very long term, and does well at it.
I can give all my blog readers and twitter followers a free six month subscription to WallStreetAllStars.com. Simply go sign up on?http://www.WallStreetAllStars.com/?and then shoot an email letting us know you subscribed to support@wallstreetallstars.com and?we’ll rebate you the $49 monthly fee each and every month for the first six months — that’s worth almost $300.
Most of the writers at Wall Street All Stars are former contributors to RealMoney, and other properties affiliated with TheStreet.com.? I think it is a credible team, and might eventually rival TSCM, minus Cramer.
But my involvement will be limited to the public side of the site for the most part, because my clients deserve my best ideas.? I am not out to sell them.
I want to start this evening with Twitter.? In the past, I used to do a decent degree of posts that summarized the news in a given area.? I don’t do those anymore.? Instead, I tweet significant articles 1-3 times a day. In general, I post the title of the article, a shortened link, and a quick comment on why it is right, wrong, important, etc.? If I want the StockTwits.com investment community to see it on their general ticker, I add a $$ somewhere in my post.? If there is a company I reference, I put a $ in front of its ticker, e.g., $AIG, and those following $AIG at StockTwits see the news.
Alternatively, if I want to have a potentially broader audience see it, I could put the hashtag #AIG in the post.? Anyone using Twitter and looking for #AIG will see it.
Beyond that, when I see articles that others have tweeted, and I agree, I retweet them, which republishes the tweet with attribution of the original tweeter to my followers.? Sometimes I get retweeted.? Retweeting can become a way of making something widely known. Sometimes I reply to tweets, or others reply to mine.? There can be some good conversations.
Twitter is not the same for everyone.? Some don’t tweet, but only use Twitter like a newswire.? Some don’t follow anyone, but use it as a means of updating their fans.? Some do both; you have to weigh off the time use.? Typically, I leave Twitter off most of the day, and then do my news updates in one set of tweets; it saves time.
But if you are going to use Twitter a lot, I recommend that you use Tweetdeck for Twitter.
Tweetdeck allows you to organize the tweets you send, receive, get mentioned in, and private messages as well.? If you’re going to do a lot with Twitter, I recommend it.
Now I recently started using a service that links my blog, my Twitter account, and my LinkedIn account, such that when I write a new post, like this one, it posts at Twitter and LinkedIn.? Tweets go to LinkedIn as well.
Now Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, and to a lesser extent LinkedIn are becoming identity providers/gateways to using other sites, such that when you sign up for a new site, it can be simple as clicking on a Twitter link.? If you are logged into Twitter, Twitter asks you to confirm the link, and if you do, the signup is complete.
Back to the Blog
There are two aspects to choosing a theme/style for a blog.? First, you want it to look good, and fit the content that you are producing.? A minimalistic style works well for many blogs, particularly if content is simple as well.? But to the degree, that you want to come off polished, a more graphically sophisticated style can pay off.? Whatever you do, make sure you like it — that it fits the personality of what you are doing.
The second aspect of choosing a theme/style for utility.? How many columns do you want?? What do you want to put in them?? How many built in widgets/utilities do you want the theme to have?
This is what I did: I wanted three columns.? Center for main content, left for advertising, right for everything else.? Now, regarding advertising, all advertising at my blog is labeled as such.? That means most advertising deals proposed to me don’t go through when they hear my terms.
The same is true when I write any book reviews, and link to Amazon, or anytime where I have an economic interest in what I am writing about.? Full disclosure is given.? If I or my clients own a stock, and I write about it, I disclose the interest.
As for the right side of my blog, it starts with my disclaimer that tells people that I make mistakes, so do your own due diligence.? After that, my sites widgets divide up the content by time and categories.? After that comes my blogroll, links, and registration/login data, comments, trackbacks, ways to subscribe, awards, and then the odd stuff.
Just a moment on the Blogroll: I use it to identify who I read every day, without fail.? Usually that means they don’t do a lot of posts, or I would be spending too much time reading.? There are many good bloggers that I read irregularly, often because they are so prolific.? I read their best stuff when it gets featured at Abnormal Returns, which is the best linkfest for finance posts.
That brings up the more general topic of linkfests.? It is easier to start blogging by doing linkfests, pointing out what you agree and disagree with, and broadening out from there when you find your voice.
Tracking Popularity
If you want to track the popularity of your web presence, there are a lot of ways to do it, depending on what you are trying to analyze:
RSS — Feedburner
Blog — Quantcast, Google Analytics, Technorati, Alexa
Twitter — Tweet Grader
Total social media presence? — Peerindex, Klout
There’s no end to all the tracking you can do, and it is possible to waste a lot of time with it.
A little bit more about Quantcast, which is my main means of getting data on my readers.? The 3 follow screengrabs give you the summary data for my blog.? Quantcast puts a cookie on the computers that will allow it.? Without knowing exactly who the person is, it correlates other data that it knows about the person to tell me a decent amount of geographics and demographics about my audience, including who their internet service provider is.
LinkedIn
I’ve heard the following: Facebook is where younger people pretend they have friends.? Twitter is where older people make friends.? LinkedIn is where you go to make money.? Here’s my public profile.
Unlike at my blog, where I am relatively picky about who I place on my blogroll, I connect with most people who ask me on LinkedIn, if I can figure out any small aspect of advantage to either side.
My only tips for LinkedIn is to create as complete of a profile as you can, and don’t just take the lazy way in communicating with people by simply using default methods of contact.? Try to differentiate yourself, be respectful, and realize that many people won’t want to connect with you, and that’s fine.? Start small, and build.
Amazon
Though not thought of as social media, my book reviews from my blog that I cross-post at Amazon.com, generate approval from those seeking out good economics, business and finance books to read.? And sometimes people comment on my reviews, and vice-versa.? It could change, but at present, I’m in the Top 2000 reviewers using the New Reviewer Rank.
Recently Cody Willard, a friend of mine, asked me contribute to a new site he was starting called Wall Street All-Stars, together with some writers that used to write for TheStreet.com.? What I am doing is taking old favorite posts from my blog, generally classics that are timeless, and writing 200-300 words after the end to explain how things are different now, where I was wrong or right, etc.? They are trying to make it a social site from the beginning.? If you get a chance, check out the site — it is about a month old and is a work in progress.
Summary
The internet is big, and I am not.? I don’t have a lot of resources.? But I lever what I can to make myself known, and it has made for me many friends, acquaintances and clients.? It can work for you as well; start small and add a little each month.? See what fits your personality, and where you have an edge versus other on the net, and give it your best shot.? You might end up surprised at the results you get.? Personally, it has been a surprise to me.
I’m writing this post for the Society of Actuaries Annual meeting, to explain some of the nuances of building a blog, and using social media.? I write this knowing that I am still a learner after 4.5 years of blogging.
Goals
The first question is why do you want to blog?? What do you have to say?? Do you have a lot to say, and the expertise to back it up?? You will need that if you want to blog long-term.? You should be able to state your goals in 30 seconds or so.
My main goal is to give back to others.? My secondary goal is to raise my profile, because it indirectly aids my businesses.
Commitment
Are you willing to give blogging regular time?? A few times a day? Once a day?? A few times a week?? Once a week?? As the frequency gets lower, the demand on quality gets higher.? If you can’t meet the tradeoff of quality versus frequency, blogging might not be for you.
Do You Have a Thick Skin?
I can be hurt.? My skin is not so thick that I can’t be hurt, but once you start publishing, the attacks can be significant.? The attacks can be reduced if you are humble, and willing to admit mistakes.
Building Your Brand
It is easier in the short run to start with Blogspot or some other free blog hosting service.? But then you have less control over anything except your content.? From the start, I had my own domain, and using WordPress, almost all of my blog has been self-created.? All of the utilities that I used to create the blog were free or donation-based.
Themes are readily available, which can make the appearance of your blog distinctive.? A little theme editing can go a long way.? Themes also can contain useful widgets like calendars, and other ways of segmenting your posts in order to make them more accessible.
Fixed Content
By fixed content, I mean pages that rarely ever change.? Who are you?? What are your goals?? How can they contact you, should you want that?? I have fixed pages for Book Reviews, My Portfolio Rules, Presentations I have given, etc.
Starting Out
Write a really good post, and point it out to a few bloggers who might be friendly to your point of view.? Ask them for a link, or to be on their blogroll.
Show Link Love
When you find good content, write about it and link to it.? If you do this well, links start coming back to you.? Maybe you will create anew niche, where you curate all the best posts in a given subject area.
Make Your Blog Accessible to Readers
Not everyone wants to make a regular trip to your blog, to pull your posts.? They might like the content pushed to them.
Do readers want to read your posts via email?? Then set up an account with FeedBlitz.
Do readers want to read your posts via Really Simple Syndication [RSS]?? Then set up an account with FeedBurner (a Google Sub).
If you have a good blog, you can allow an aggregator to scrape your RSS feed, and you will be published there as well.? More fame, but they get the ad revenue.
Worse, if you have a really good blog, unpermitted scrapers will republish your work (I have maybe a dozen or more).? I don’t care much about this, but many bloggers do.? You can threaten them with legal action; which usually gets them to stop.
Make Your Blog Visible to Google
Using a utility like XML-Sitemaps, it is easy to have a rich set of links for your site when people search using Google.
Offering Metadata on Posts
When you post, use categories and/or tags so that people can search your content for the things they are interested in.
Comments
Think in advance as to what your comment policy should be.? Unmonitored, monitored on the first post, you reserve the right to delete anything, etc.? Do you even want public comments?? Emails to you could be enough…? I monitor comments, all first posts must be approved by me, and I see all comments via e-mail, and edit/delete objectionable comments.? Oh, one more thing, I have people register in order to make comments.? That doesn’t mean that I get get any true information about them, but it does mean that there is a little hurdle, which means that a person has to be motivated to make a comment.? It makes the comments more high-quality.
Excerpts of recent comments appear on the front page of the blog along with excerpts from other websites quoting my work — a utility called “Get Recent Comments” automatically takes care of it.? Users can also subscribe to comments if they like, post by post, or all comments by RSS.
Using Akismet, or another utility to eliminate spam comments is necessary.? If your blog gets big, you will have to set up a Captcha to strain out machines that try to register with you and send spam comments.? Before I had this, my service provider nearly shut me down because of the huge number of Russian entities trying to use my blog unsuccessfully for spam.
Improving Usability
I added utilities to my blog to allow people to turn my writings to print, PDF, Word, XML, etc.? I used Universal Post Manager to do that.? It also allows users to send information about my blog to other social media sites, such as:
The Guts
Regular database backup is important.? There are utilities that do it quietly in the background.? In order to speed up the loading of the site, I use WP Minify and WP Super Cache, which caches the most recent version of the site for fast loading, along with the CSS and Javascript.
Tracking the Response
I use Googlebots, via Google Alerts to troll the web for comments about me or my blog.? Feedburner gives me data about how my RSS traffic is doing.
Quantcast and Google Analytics give me detailed demographic information on what sort of people read my blog.? I’ll give some examples in my next post.
Finally, I can get basic data on how much overall use the blog has been getting through simple software like WP Stats, Statcounter, and my blog host, Netfirms.
