Archive for September, 2007
Monday, September 10th, 2007
Investors are quietly digesting Friday’s lackluster employment numbers, as well as Asia’s reaction to those numbers before trading begins this morning. Most Asian markets fell on Monday, reflecting concerns by investors that a downturn in the US economy would impact exports. In the US, hope continues to linger for a half-point decrease in interest rates when the Fed convenes next week. However, per the Wall Street Journal, comments made by the head of the Philadelphia Fed this weekend were less than promising:
“I believe disruptions in financial markets can be addressed using the tools available to the Fed without necessarily having to make a shift in the overall direction of monetary policy”
Looks like we’ll have to take a “wait and see” approach to the markets ahead of the Fed’s September 18th meeting.
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Sunday, September 9th, 2007
Warren Buffett’s bellwether holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, was named as this years most respected company in Barron’s annual survey of companies. The survey looked at the largest publicly traded companies as measured by market cap, then asked professional investors to assign a rating of highly respect, respect, respect somewhat, or don’t respect for each company. It should come as no surprise that 75% of respondents chose “highly respect” for Berkshire, putting it ahead of companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Toyota, Procter & Gamble, and General Electric.
Related Links:
Barron’s: 100 Most Respected Companies (subscription required)
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Saturday, September 8th, 2007
Friday’s employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics sent investors running for the hills, as the S&P 500 retreated almost 2% to close at around 1,454. Why? Because overall “Nonfarm” payrolls fell by 4,000 vs. July. However, is that really representative of private businesses? In my opinion, the number we should be looking at should exclude government positions.
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Friday, September 7th, 2007
According to the Wall Street Journal, an unidentified man dressed in black and sporting camouflage face paint and a toy gun attempted to rob Warren Buffett’s home Wednesday evening. Luckily, a guard at the home confronted the man, causing him to assault the guard and flee (both Buffett and his wife were home at the time).
Buffett is one of the top 5 richest people in the world and still lives in the same house he bought in ‘58 for $32k. He’s also giving away 85% of his wealth to charity. Bottom line: Buffett doesn’t do what he does for the money - he’s a philanthropist. So, for all you would-be burglars: pick someone else to rob. Better yet, pick up the phone and ask for help - Buffett will probably just give you the money.
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Wednesday, September 5th, 2007
Asset-backed securities, the financial instruments at the heart of the subprime lending meltdown, have been in the news so much that I’m beginning to have nightmares about FICO scores (look for that innovative joke to be featured on NPR’s upcoming roast of Alan Greenspan, and other exciting public broadcasting programs). So, while I’m contemplating quitting my day job, I came across something in the Wall Street Journal that I found peculiar: Art-backed loans.
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