Interest Rates

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. (…)

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

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. (…)

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. (…)

The news surrounding Bear Stearns on Friday morning was not good! There are several important elements to this story. (…)

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

The two big questions around my house these days are:
1. What kind of Halloween candy will we be giving out this year?
2. When EXACTLY do we change the clocks again? (…)

I'm not an economist (thank goodness!), but it's just my opinion that episodes like what happened in 1998 (and even in 2001 and in 2002) — when the Fed stepped in and changed interest rates — were more situations of market "liquidity" issues. (…)

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

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: Interest Rates are Rising [3:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Interest rates are on the rise. Why?
In my line of work, we never know the reason why certain events took place — until after they've occurred. (…)