subprime

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. (…)

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? (…)

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. (…)

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

In my previous column, I mentioned that getting your investment ideas from financial channels and the business section of newspapers and magazines is really a painful path to follow in the money game. (…)