Select Page
Good News – Bad News: Wachovia And The Market

Good News – Bad News: Wachovia And The Market

At least good news for taxpayers... CitiGroup has backed out of talks for Wachovia leaving the entire deal for Wells Fargo. I'm guessing that after more of the depth of bad debt came to light, it became more and more obvious that the deal just was not longer going to be in the best interest of CitiGroup's stockholders. That was the good news, as long as...

Panic

My mother called me this morning.  “I’ve been worried about you.  Are you okay?”, she asked. I told her that I was fine; that you only lose when you sell.  Which got me thinking…What rules should investors employ in this market? You only lose...
Market Panic

Market Panic

All right, perhaps panic is too strong a word, but my goodness, it certainly does feel like one. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5% today and is now down 30% since January 1. The S&P 500 is down 33.7% year to date and the NASDAQ is off 35.6%. This is indeed a bear market, but there is nothing rational about it whatsoever. The sell off appears to be about nervousness investors are feeling about the future, the global economy, the bailout, corporate earnings. I try to keep a cool head, but the Dow is down 800 points in two days and even I wonder where it's going to end. Then I remember what Warren Buffet said...

Biblical Worldview of ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’

Prior to the start of the school year, a parent very wisely asked me to write an article which essentially responds to the following question - "How can a Christian effectively respond to ‘Walking with Dinosaurs: The Life Experience,' a traveling stage show which depicts dinosaurs as they lived prior to extinction?" The "Walking with Dinosaurs" production is described by the producers as a "dazzling arena spectacle of unprecedented size and quality," and it is scheduled in Des Moines for October 1-5 at the Iowa Events Center. What's the rub?! Why any controversy?! Dinosaurs are cool! Dinosaurs fascinate people, particularly schoolchildren. "There's no harm in studying dinosaurs," you might say.
Wells Fargo: Smart Like Buffett

Wells Fargo: Smart Like Buffett

It probably comes as no big surprise that Wells Fargo (WFC), one of the largest banking concerns in the US, well diversified in financial products across deposits, lending, credit cards, sales finance, and a smart mortgage originator, announced Friday that they had made a deal to purchase the entire Wachovia package for $15.4 Billion. The surprise comes with the fact it was five days late. The deal undercuts CitiGroup's (C) announced purchased of part of the Wachovia (WB) operation, and does what CitiGroup could not do: completes the deal without Federal Funding. I was shocked when I heard, since Wells had originally participated in negotiations last weekend along with CitiGroup. Wells evidently was able to use the week, in which a contract had not yet been signed, to perform additional due diligence, and came up with an offer Thursday evening.

Burning Down The [US] House

Talking Heads: No visible means of support and you have not seen nuthin yet ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The House of Representatives today passed the Senate version of the $700 Billion Bail-out.  For now, it’s over.  Bush signed the bill shortly after the vote, and we have not...
    Log in