Archive for August, 2008

• Sunday links: variant perceptions
  abnormalreturns, August 31st, 2008 at 8:14 pm, Comments: 0

  Take a closer look at companies that engage in significant R&D expenditures.  (NYTimes.com)
  The 8 stock portfolio is off to a good start.  (8stockportfolio.com)
  You need a “variant perception” to earn outsized returns.  (Capital Observer)
  Stock buybacks are no longer the great boon they once represented.  (WSJ.com)
  Why is credit protection on muni bonds expensive relative to corporates?  (Accrued [...]

• Friday links: accuracy and usefulness
  abnormalreturns, August 29th, 2008 at 1:02 pm, Comments: 0

  Fannie and Freddie employees have taken a hit in the value of their ESOP accounts.  (NYTimes.com)
  Without some plausible reason it is difficult to believe September is a particularly bad month for the stock market.  (Marketwatch.com)
  Gold seasonality is about to turn positive through the end of the year.  (Trader’s Narrative)
  12(b)-1 fees at closed mutual funds are [...]

• Thursday links: competitive pressures
  abnormalreturns, August 28th, 2008 at 12:48 pm, Comments: 0

  Three catalysts that could push the S&P 500 higher.  (Deal Journal)
  Emerging markets are taking it on the chin in 2008.  (MarketBeat)
  Infrastructure deals will happen, the question is when.  (Dealscape)
  “PIMCO’s move into ETFs increases the competitive pressure on the average mutual fund.”   (IndexUniverse.com)
  Five good ETF ideas that have not yet caught on.  (IndexUniverse.com)
  “(H)edge fund investors are [...]

• Wednesday links: implicit learning
  abnormalreturns, August 27th, 2008 at 12:19 pm, Comments: 0

  “By several measures, natural gas looks awfully cheap compared with crude oil.”  (WSJ.com)
  When hurricanes threaten look for a move in natural gas prices.  (VIX and More also Infectious Greed)
  “Ultimately, as the airlines have shown, bankruptcy is not always liquidation. Perhaps bankruptcy is what you really need to truly restructure and sell cars people buy.”  (DealBook)
  Why [...]

• Tuesday links: reversion effect
  abnormalreturns, August 26th, 2008 at 11:48 am, Comments: 0

  What is taking so long for the GSE bailout?  (naked capitalism also Dash of Insight, Accrued Interest)
  Dedicated short-sellers are a very small minority of the investment industry.  (TheStreet.com)
  Have the credit and equity markets diverged once again?  (FT Alphaville)
  China’s stock market has tanked, is the economy soon to follow?  (Mish)
  Still want to own some financials?  Take [...]

• Monday links: allocating capital
  abnormalreturns, August 25th, 2008 at 12:13 pm, Comments: 0

  Don’t confuse investing and saving.  (Market Movers)
  “(T)he dollar’s decline, now more than six years old, is looking long in the tooth.”  (WSJ.com)
  No one is willing to step up to add capital to Fannie and Freddie with the Treasury’s plans looming.  (NYTimes.com)
  The Fed is leaning on the Treasury to craft a plan that keeps Fannie and [...]

• Sunday links: struggles with selling
  abnormalreturns, August 24th, 2008 at 9:23 pm, Comments: 0

  “Individual and professional investors alike struggle with selling.”  Especially at a loss.  (WSJ.com also Street Capitalist)
  Global market returns since March 2003.  (Bespoke Investment Group)
  Bailout the automakers?  No thank you.  (Mish)
  Why hedge fund fees make sense.  (Odd Numbers)
  Is farmland overvalued?  (Economist.com)
  “Get financing when you can, not when you have to.”  (Aleph Blog)
  Changing demographics and the structure [...]

• Friday links: decoupling denied
  abnormalreturns, August 22nd, 2008 at 12:57 pm, Comments: 0

  Corporate bond spreads have widened out once again.  (WSJ.com)
  The market in private equity secondaries is booming.  (Deal Journal)
  Ten, no eleven, financial entities “on the brink.” (Mish)
  “Well, traditional Wall Street Research seems to be of minimum value to investors.”  (Big Picture)
  Is the PBGC embarking on an ill-considered diversification effort?  (NYTimes.com)
  The CDS market tends to move in [...]

• Friday links: decoupling denied
  abnormalreturns, August 22nd, 2008 at 12:57 pm, Comments: 0

  Corporate bond spreads have widened out once again.  (WSJ.com)
  The market in private equity secondaries is booming.  (Deal Journal)
  Ten, no eleven, financial entities “on the brink.” (Mish)
  “Well, traditional Wall Street Research seems to be of minimum value to investors.”  (Big Picture)
  Is the PBGC embarking on an ill-considered diversification effort?  (NYTimes.com)
  The CDS market tends to move in [...]

• Thursday links: ads about nothing
  abnormalreturns, August 21st, 2008 at 12:43 pm, Comments: 0

  Everyone thinks Fannie and Freddie need to be restructured so they no longer dominate the mortgage market.  (Accrued Interest, NYTimes.com)
  Beware commentators with “too much conviction.”  (Big Picture)
  What investment bloggers bring to the table.  (Aleph Blog also Big Picture)
  “(D)o not expect to see a sustained rally in the S&P 500 until financials are able to outperform [...]