Utility company earnings are seemingly exploding. Yes, they are beating already depressed comparisons but they are up. Big. And shares are responding to the good news. When was the last time you saw a utility stock up more than 5% in one day? Look at …
The Markets The stress test numbers were released pretty much according to the whisper: $75 billion needed. Traders took profits after the close but not universally. Banks are becoming differentiated; good and not so good. Examples, Good: BAC, BBT*. Not so good: WFC, STI. To …
Someone got my name. And my telephone number. And they are sharing it. Over the last week I have received three calls from what we used to call bucket shops. These are guys trying to sell all sorts of financial stuff. One, from Santa Monica, …
The Markets Sell the news? Traders lock in gains in early trading. Cannot blame them. The leaks of the stress test results are all over the place. Oddly, Bank of America is expected to be short billions and billions of capital and the shares are …
The Markets In the 80’s a TV commentator famously threw darts at the WSJ page of stock listings. The dozen stocks selected by his darts outperformed managed money. This led to wide circulation of the random-walk theory and doubt about investment managers. This was all …
Back from a great holiday in Ocracoke, North Carolina. Correction? We don’t need no stink’n correction. This is a freight train. Get out of the way. When I suggested on Friday that we were over-bought and that it would not surprise me to see some …
Today’s close was especially odd. Several sell programs hit as the market was closing, followed by a huge buy program which took the averages up at the close. These programs are triggered by computers that are programed to take advantage of seemingly minute differences. The …
The Markets One problem with the the solar cell industry is that the production of photovoltaic solar panels is reliant on relatively expensive materials such as copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) and cadmium telluride. To compound the problem, as these natural resources become depleted their …
Stopped out of Varian Medical (VAR) for a 3.7% loss. Hate that.
Shorts are emboldened here as the morning climb subsides. The feeling we have come too far, too fast is creeping in. Dow, for example, and one of my large positions, is up, gratefully, almost 20%—today. Added to IBM and established positions in SPAR, CBI and …