Market Conditions

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. (…)

That was the headline I found over at CBS Marketwatch.  As usual, the news media is whipping (anyone who will read) into a frenzy about Lehman Brothers.  More news may be forthcoming about Lehman — between the time I finish writing this and the time you read this. (…)

Recently, oil and commodities dropped 20 to 25% in four very fast weeks, catching nearly everyone off guard. But as fast as the drop took place, we start to see signs of a reversal back up. (…)

Sometimes, trying to get your arms around a gigantic number (for example, the area of earth covered by land) just takes time. (…)

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

The line heard in every economic recession, and every single stock market pullback is: this time it's different. (…)

Another theme I'm surprised hasn't been discussed more often will be more foreign firms trying to make acquisitions of US-based companies in the next few years. (…)

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? (…)

 Looking at relative strength changes really helps to drive home underlying themes in the market. (…)

This article could be titled: Can (fill in the blank) go any lower? I'm not picking on Merck.
The reality is you could drop in Merck, Citibank, General Motors, Ford, J.P. (…)

Oh boy, these kinds of headlines are never good.
Two former Bear Stearns portfolio managers were arrested this week, not because they did a poor job of managing money. (…)

Frequent readers have seen earlier posts where I have discussed option expiration week and the volatility that comes with it.  But there was scant mention of option expiration at all this week.  Options expired on Friday and the Dow Jones dropped 220 points. (…)

The indicators flipped to defense this past week.
What does that mean?
Well for many of us, we have a LOT of money already in cash. so we're properly positioned. But now what? (…)

Just about the time Mr. & Mrs. (…)

The market averages seem to be starting summer early. We saw a broad-based sell-off this past week, after several weeks of positive movement. (…)

The period we're in now is not necessarily a "bull market" or a "bear market" but more like a structurally "fair market." I didn't make that up on my own — Tom Dorsey, from Dorsey Wright and Associates in Richmond coined that term. (…)

There was an article distributed nationwide, written by the Associated Press, and carried locally in the Asbury Park Press on March 22, 2008. (…)

All these firms hold the same investments.
There is STILL considerable risk in the group.
Why did this happen to just Bear Stearns? (…)

UPDATE: Sunday evening, 03/16/2008: Bear Stearns to be acquired by JPMorgan Chase for $2.00 in stock swap deal.
That is NOT a typo!
The stock closed at $30 on Friday. On Thursday, it was $57.00. (…)