Blogs

Here we go again ...

Reggie - I am a large hotel company and have been treated like a thief by the doo doos [he is referring to Reggie Middleton's notorious Doo Doo 32 (As I see it, these 32 banks and thrifts are in deep doo-doo!)].

Here we deconstruct the largest of the AAA rated Agency MBS offerings that the Fed just bought (at the bargain price of just under $9B). No mortgage insurance and no verifiable assets or income are all highlighted features for a non-trivial portion of these CA-dominated loans, 18% of which are cash out refis. Who says the taxpayer isn't getting his money's worth?

For all of you momentum chasing, non-calculating, never touched a spreadsheet, CNBC luvin', James Cramer watchin' bulls out there, I have a feeling you will be hearing a lot of I told'ja so's over the next 12 months.

Here is a quick look at the Ackman short, O's covenant risk and a comparison to the cash shortage at American Campus Communities. ACC's issues are more imminent!

No matter where the stock market rises to, no matter what accounting shenanigans are being pulled, and no matter what program traders or momentos are pushing for the moment, sooner or later (usually sooner than many realize) the fundamentals come home to roost. Enter Wells Fargo...

As you can see, there are many things going on in the world and I am just trying to connect all the dots as best as I possibly can, focusing on the major trends that will shape our future.

Citi upped the rate on my CC to 30%. Do these guys get it that we hate them? It would appear not. These stupid practices will do this bank more harm then good. How many times will they shoot themselves in the foot? Once too many will be the answer.

MoveOn.org is not one of my favorite institutions. What really irks me about them are the lies and economic falsehoods they promote. Now they are agitating for the public option in the regressive health care bill as good old American "healthy competition." It's a lie and they know it. They've produced a silly video starring that well known expert on health care policy, Heather "I've-seen-you-naked" Graham. It's probably her best performance since Boogie Nights. The public option will kill health care in America.

Same as it ever was ...

The REIT space has seen share prices pop significantly in this extended bear market rally. This, along with a few financial shenanigans, seems to have masked the effect that a literal real estate depression has had on those entities which buy, sell, develop and hold real estate. The fundamentals and macro outlook are still horrendous, yet share prices have been elevated significantly. Ackman, from Pershing Square, has released his short thesis on the REIT Realty Income, and I throw my 22 cents in (it was 2 cents, but I levered up 10x), as well as offer another REIT with a greater cash flow problem...

When I testified on Parliament Hill last April, I knew it be a matter of time before pensioners would be protesting their cuts in pensions and benefits. As much as the images of Nortel pensioners taking it to the Hill disturb me, they are nothing compared to the mass protests we'll see all around the world in the future when the pension crisis reaches a boiling point. Politicians should take this as a wake-up call and act in the best interests of all citizens.

A rare interview with the woman behind the pseudonym behind the man behind the pseudonym.

This the skinny on PNC Bank. The "Off the Books" version, you know the stuff you will never get from the sell side or the popular media.

I wondered how America fell so fast. I think I found the answers.