Fixed income investments

Banks (and brokerage firms) that own mortgage backed securities have been required — since November 2007 — to use mark to market accounting on these securities. Coincidentally, this was just around the time these mortgage securities started dropping precipitously in value. 2007 saw many mortgage firms get wiped out, and brokerage firms and banks holding these assets started realizing the volatility of these assets.

I received a phone call this afternoon from someone who found my firm online.  The gentlemen has received no guidance regarding his 401k at work.  Last July, he had $286,000 in his plan. (…)

Warren Buffett writes an annual letter to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway each year.  If you've never read them, you really ought to.  They are priceless gems.  Not a laugh a minute, but an interesting observation on what's happening. (…)

Throwing good money after bad into these banks is not the answer. (…)

What is left in the governments bag of tricks to get the banks back on track?  One topic that I wrote about — 5 months ago — has popped up this past week with more and more frequency.  We are finally starting to hear more and more chatter about relaxing "Mark to the market" regulations. (…)

It was reported this week that the Treasury Department sold $32 billion in T-bills at a yield of 0%. (…)

The Treasury announced they will begin to inject capital (money) into banks, under terms created under the bailout bill.  This article will try to walk through, in English, what this all means. (…)

Quick history lesson: Mark-to-the-Market was a practice originally begun by futures and commodity traders in the 19th century.  Essentially, mark-to-the-market means your holdings must be "priced" every night…at the price they can be sold at. (…)

In one of my most recent posts I discussed the "ready to explode" product issued by brokerage firms called "auction rate preferred securities."
Well, that didn't take long. (…)

"Mr. Valentine has set the price!"
Or, in this case Mr. Bernanke sets the price. (…)

You may not have heard of the term "auction rate preferred securities."
Yet.
If you have not, you probably will soon. (…)

Bank Failures in Nevada and California
The headlines this past weekend showed that US regulators took over two banks Friday afternoon and sold them both to Mutual of Omaha bank. (…)

Let's talk about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
How could these two companies be "OK" a week ago — and now this week they seem on the brink of disaster? (…)

Have you seen the Bruce Willis movie, "Die Hard"?
When the police officer starts to drive away, Willis sends him a message…throwing one of the bad guys on the hood of the car. (…)

Most Wall Street recommendations to buy are based on projected future revenues and/or projected future earnings. Projected. Or you could say, "predicted". (…)

I've labeled this “the yikes spiral” because typically this happens when certain markets are in free fall. (…)

Look At The Bond Market
Hate being the party pooper, but I think it's important to remind people that when interest rates start to creep up, that's usually a sign that the party in the stock market may be taking a pause, or even coming to a close. (…)

 

 Mullooly Asset Management Podcast: Look at the Bond Market [3:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download