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• We didn't learn the lessons of 1907

  Posted Sep 26 2008, 11:48 AM by Anthony Mirhaydari
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  Filed under: Lehman Bros, Bear Stearns, banking, JPMorgan, economy, Washington Mutual, Anthony Mirhaydari
  Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money

  With everyone comparing the current economic crisis to the Great Depression, I'm struck by the similarities to the Panic of 1907. Courtesy of derivatives expert Satyajit Das, take a look at the following except from the Economist:

  "...public credit depends on public confidence…The financial crisis in America is really a moral crisis, caused by the series of proofs …that the leading financiers who control banks, trust companies and industrial corporations are often imprudent, and not seldom dishonest. They have mismanaged…funds and used them freely for speculative purposes. Hence the alarm of depositors and a general collapse of credit…"

  These words were written on November 2, 1907   Read More...

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• Muzzling the bears

  Posted Jul 14 2008, 11:53 AM by Todd Harrison
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  Filed under: investing, Lehman Bros, banking, economy, Todd Harrison
  Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money

  Hello from New York, where I don't much care how they "fix" Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, but the related witch hunt to crack down on "rumor mongering"  has me frothing at the mouth.

  I expect the government to use whatever means they have at their disposal to ensure the smooth operations of the financial markets. You may approve or disapprove of the government behaving in such a manner but you can't deny that there is precedent for such manipulation (see: Long Term Capital, Bob Rubin's October '98 Bear Slaughter, Last August's manipulations, etc. et al).   Read More...

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• Surprising stocks top best of 2008 list

  Posted Jun 26 2008, 01:18 AM by Jon Markman
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  Filed under: investing, Merrill Lynch, Investment Banking, Motorola, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Bros, Valero, economy, Jon Markman
  Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money

  

  It’s easy to imagine that the 25 best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 Index this year are all oil and gas producers, and the 25 worst-performing stocks are all banks and brokers. Yet as we near the halfway mark in 2008, it turns out that there are quite a few surprises in the mix of best and worst.

  For instance, the No. 1 stock in the benchmark index this year isn’t an oil producer, but a coal miner, Massey Energy.  It’s up 155% so far, rising to $89 from $35 as coal prices have soared in the wake of booming demand in China and India. The No. 2 stock is actually a discount retailer, Big Lots. It’s up 100%, from $15 to $30, as investors speculate it will get a big share of tax-rebate money from low-income Americans.

  Most of the rest of the next best 15 gainers   Read More...

  Discuss ( 49 comments) 70,784 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this