Author Archive

• Sad News, TheStreet.com Editor Dave Morrow Has Passed
  The Reformed Broker, The Reformed Broker | February 3rd, 2010 at 8:14 am

  

  I've been a subscriber to TheStreet.com in one way or another for my entire career.  I was probably one of the first readers way back in '97 while interning under a broker who was obsessed with the newness of market commentary on the internet.

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• O-Regional Gangsters
  The Reformed Broker, The Reformed Broker | January 24th, 2010 at 11:24 am

  

  4 of the 5 best performing industry groups year-to-date are regional banks (based on Morningstar data):

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• How Obama Can Save His Presidency
  The Reformed Broker, The Reformed Broker | January 23rd, 2010 at 12:44 pm

  

  I'll start by saying that George W. Bush's last 4 years were atrocious too and that at least half of this mess was caused by the GOP to begin with.  Partisans can feel free to stay the hell off my site and let me get a few common sense points across.

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• TRB vs Carney on the Big Bank Tax
  The Reformed Broker, The Reformed Broker | January 21st, 2010 at 7:56 am

  

  John Carney seems like a good bloke.  I get the feeling that should he and I ever go out for a night of drinking, much of Manhattan would end up looking like the aftermath of Cloverfield and at least one of us would end up in the hospital/drunk tank.

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• China Pumps the Brakes, Time for a Little Honesty With Ourselves
  The Reformed Broker, The Reformed Broker | January 20th, 2010 at 11:17 am

  

  So China sees a potential bubble in stocks and real estate.  That's funny, I remember saying there was aproperty bubble in China just a couple of days ago...

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• Bespoke’s Estimated Earnings Growth by Sector
  The Reformed Broker, The Reformed Broker | January 20th, 2010 at 7:49 am

  

  As the 2009 4th quarter reports roll in, it is helpful to have an idea of which sectors are expected to show the most earnings growth year over year.  Bespoke Investment Group took the consensus estimates for Q4 earnings growth and gave us the below snapshot:

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• Skype-P.O. in the Works?
  The Reformed Broker, The Reformed Broker | January 19th, 2010 at 1:59 pm

  

  My pal Howard Lindzon recently got me to set up a Skype account with the promise that it would change my life.  He wasn't kidding.  The service is free so the only reason I've resisted this long is that I didn't think I'd have any occasion to need it.  Howard was right, Skype is sick.  Being able to see and say hello to my 3-year-old daughter while I'm at work makes the hours I put in that much easier to get through.

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• Hot Links: Glen Bell, Cheap Oil & a Great Time to be a Bank
  The Reformed Broker, The Reformed Broker | January 19th, 2010 at 7:50 am

  

  Stuff I'm Reading...
  

  "There is only one question you need to ask yourself today: Where is the real risk here, right now? Is it to the upside or is it to the downside?"  (EvilSpeculator)

  Maybe one day Venezuela will be hit by disaster and this fat, ridiculous clown Chavez will then pray for the US "occupiers" to arrive with aid.  (Reuters)

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• What Are The Frontier Markets?
  The Reformed Broker, The Reformed Broker | January 18th, 2010 at 12:00 pm

  

  In the early 00's, Russia had just gone through a devaluation of its currency, China was still nominally a Communist country, Brazil was locked in its endless battle against inflation and India was fairly hostile toward outside investment in its companies.

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• Of Course Chinese Real Estate is a Bubble. Grow Up.
  The Reformed Broker, The Reformed Broker | January 17th, 2010 at 11:21 am

  

  Hey amnesiacs, I'll help you out with your willful blindness re: speculative manias...

  There IS, in fact, a property bubble in China, it is utterly undeniable.  Close your eyes and repeat this phrase however many times it takes until you are able to sober up:

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• Dear Aspiring Financial Spam Blogger,
  The Reformed Broker, The Reformed Broker | January 16th, 2010 at 11:00 am

  

  Dear Aspiring Financial Spam Blogger,

  Congratulations!  You've chosen a career in a fast-growing and rewarding industry.  The American public is more interested in Wall Street hysterics than ever and there are no shortage of content mills for you to set up shop with!

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• Droppin’ Knowledge: Rich Masino on Investor Tax Injustices
  The Reformed Broker, The Reformed Broker | January 13th, 2010 at 10:37 am

  

  In the course of a fairly typical "takeover candidates" article at TheStreet.com, Rich Masino went off on a bit of a tangent that was actually more interesting than the meat and potatos of the piece.

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• John Mauldin Sees a Biotech Bubble…And Wants In
  The Reformed Broker, The Reformed Broker | January 12th, 2010 at 8:27 am

  

  The always phenomenal Outside The Box newsletter from John Mauldin features some good stuff by Patrick Cox of the Breakthrough Technology Alert this week.  Mauldin introduces Cox by laying out a case for the next decade being primed for a biotech bubble, one in which brilliant new therapies and treatments will be introduced and big money will be both made and lost...

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• Gold: You Can’t Eat It…But You Sure Can Trade It
  The Reformed Broker, The Reformed Broker | January 11th, 2010 at 11:45 am

  

  Listening to the hoopleheads debate the intrinsic value of Gold or lack thereof is like watching professional soccer - there will only be one point made for every 27 hours or so worth of back-and-forth tedium.

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• Emerging Markets Fund Inflows Break Records in 2009
  The Reformed Broker, The Reformed Broker | January 10th, 2010 at 12:36 pm

  

  MSCI Emerging + Frontier Markets Index (from Jan 1st 2009)

  No one should be puzzled about the fact that, according to EPFR Global, emerging markets mutual funds raised $80 billion in 2009, shattering the previous annual record of $25 billion.

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