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Sense on Cents Endorses eWallStreeter

Posted by Larry Doyle on August 28th, 2010 8:15 AM |

News happens fast and travels faster. Markets react accordingly. Print media is unable to keep pace with the blogosphere in capturing, deciphering, and distributing market moving news and information. This reality does not mean that the blogosphere is not filled with much disinformation, if not worse. What is one to do? Where is one supposed to turn? I am happy to inform readers of Sense on Cents that when I want to know what is happening on Wall Street, I turn to one site to get the quickest and most comprehensive recap of breaking news. Which site might this be? eWallstreeter. Read the rest »


Raymond James Taking Center Stage in ARS Tragedy

Posted by Larry Doyle on August 27th, 2010 12:05 PM |

The play that has more acts and actors than the longest running shows on Broadway is regrettably anything but entertaining.

Although the entire financial industry would clearly hope it could wake up from the nightmare known as auction-rate securities, the fact is this ongoing saga is no bad dream but a very real tragedy. Which player seems to be taking center stage in this ongoing epic disaster? Enter stage right, Raymond James.

A month ago, we witnessed in a WSJ review, Raymond James Ordered to Buy Back Auction-Rate Securities:

An arbitration panel ordered two units of Raymond James Financial Inc. to buy back $2.5 million in auction-rate securities from an investor. Read the rest »


California Non-Sense on Cents

Posted by Larry Doyle on August 27th, 2010 5:07 AM |

If a picture spells a thousand words, then two graphs of the employment situation and future pension obligations in California far exceed the works of William Shakespeare.

Should we file these under the heading of “American Tragedy”? Would these works be referenced when somebody looks up “future default” or “unsustainable”? These future pension obligations did not happen by accident. The projected figures represent the plundering of California municipalities with subsequent tax burdens left to future generations. How did this happen? Let’s “read” the following “tomes” provided by the California Department of Finance and highlighted in The Wall Street Journal,

[schwarzenegger]

You might almost think you were reviewing a “Greek tragedy”.

This is no way to run a state or a country.

Larry Doyle

Related Sense on Cents Commentary
Sense on Cents/California

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I have no affiliation or business interest with any entity referenced in this commentary. As President of Greenwich Investment Management, an SEC regulated privately held registered investment adviser, I am merely a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.


Roubini: Growth at Stall Speed

Posted by Larry Doyle on August 26th, 2010 12:03 PM |

Sense on Cents is serving a full helping of Nouriel Roubini today.

Hopefully, our morning course only served to further whet your appetite for more financial wisdom from this economic giant. Having already dined on market structures, the world of Wall Street, and assorted vices and virtues this morning, this afternoon we are serving a course of Roubini’s outlook on the economy.

Bon appetit as Bloomberg delivers, Roubini Says Third Quarter Growth to Be ‘Well Below’ 1%:

Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economist who predicted the global financial crisis, said U.S. growth will be “well below” 1 percent in the third quarter and put the odds of a renewed recession at 40 percent. Read the rest »


Roubini on Greed and Amorality

Posted by Larry Doyle on August 26th, 2010 5:38 AM |

Nouriel Roubini is both revered and derided. While he gains huge credit for having forecasted our economic meltdown, he is equally maligned for having missed the 2009 rally in the markets. I am less concerned with Roubini’s market calls, but I am very interested in his views on the inner workings of our economy and market structures. To this end I was thrilled to review Roubini’s recent Project Syndicate commentary, Gordon Gekko Reborn.

As you read Roubini’s commentary, I encourage you to think whether the recently enacted Financial Regulatory Reform package will fully address and implement the changes Roubini deems necessary. I will add my take as we navigate. On that note, Roubini writes: Read the rest »


Kevin Dillon vs JP Morgan: David vs Goliath

Posted by Larry Doyle on August 25th, 2010 1:54 PM |

If image is everything, then how is it that perhaps the most revered global banking institution in the world today allows itself to get enmeshed in an ugly legal complaint with a junior level professional.

I am referring to a complaint brought by Kevin Dillon against JP Morgan. I first addressed this situation on July 8th when I encouraged Mr. Dillon to meet Peter Sivere, a former JP Morgan employee who was unceremoniously, and in my opinion undeservedly, relieved of his responsibilities. I wrote Kevin Dillon Meet Peter Sivere, Read the rest »


Jeff Gundlach Had the Call

Posted by Larry Doyle on August 25th, 2010 7:40 AM |

What is it that distinguishes the greatest athletes in sports, such as Michael Jordan, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Peyton Manning, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird? While these ‘best of the best’ have and had many extraordinary athletic skills, those who love the game know that these world class athletes were able to see exceptionally fast moving action in slow motion. (In Manning’s case, he still does!!) As such, they played the game three steps in front of their teammates and four steps in front of the competition. As a result, special things happened.

In the world of investing, there are a handful of investment managers who possess similar instincts. Jeff Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital is one of them. Two months ago, Jeff was the keynote speaker at a Morningstar conference. Let’s roll the tape, as I highlighted Jeff Gundlach Sees 10Yr Treasury Rallying to 2.5%:

3. What does Gundlach predict for government bonds?

He said there hasn’t been a single day when the U.S. government bond market has failed to be the beneficiary of risk concerns globally, especially over the euro. “And as long as that’s the case, the probability is the 10-year Treasury is going to go to the yield of two-and-a-half percent,” he said. “Which sounds very low, but it’s been there before. In Japan, when they were dealing with similar problems, the bond yield stayed below that level for 20 years. So the bond market outlook in government bonds, for the time being, is positive.”

Where was the 10Yr Treasury when Gundlach made this call? Read the rest »


Alternative Housing Finance: How Does “SwapRent” Work

Posted by Larry Doyle on August 24th, 2010 11:58 AM |

Our nation rests on a foundation of entrepreneurial risk taking. I am a strong proponent that our government should work to promote those who have the minds and spirit to take risk and drive our nation’s future economic growth ever higher. That spirit has brought us untold gains over the years. We need to continue to tap into that spirit whenever and wherever we can. On a day in which we just reported that existing home sales dropped 27% in the month of July, I believe it is timely that we tap into this ‘spirit’ and address another alternative housing finance solution.

I referenced the need for real entrepreneurial spirit the other day in writing, A Proposed Solution to the Foreclosure Crisis:

With the Conference on The Future of Housing Finance being held in Washington today, do we really expect the government to propose anything that may help support or fix our system of housing finance?  Read the rest »


Invisible Taxes = Loan Sharking = Usury

Posted by Larry Doyle on August 24th, 2010 8:27 AM |

Why is it that the very people who saved and invested to finance a lot of the growth in our nation are now the very ones being penalized by the exceptionally low interest rate policy of the Federal Reserve? While Ben Bernanke and his Washington cronies maintain that our economy needs these artificially induced government driven interest rates, the very fact is these anemic rates are crushing those citizens in our country who live on fixed incomes and rolled their CDs. While savers are getting waxed on one side of the coin, the banks are sticking it to our brethren who rely on credit lines from their credit cards on the other side. That’s business, you say? No, that is not purely business. In the midst of an economy dominated by the government, our current interest rate and credit card policies are nothing more than invisible taxes on both savers and consumers alike.

There are two sides to this coin and on both sides banks are squeezing American citizens. Savings rates have plummeted while borrowing rates via credit cards move higher. Both these points are highlighted in recent commentaries.  Read the rest »


The Price of Everything, The Value of Nothing

Posted by Larry Doyle on August 23rd, 2010 12:23 PM |

What is something worth? Very simply whatever somebody is willing to pay for it, correct? While regulations or the lack thereof have a big impact on overall levels of returns and compensation, all other things being equal, I do not begrudge those who take risk, work hard, and reap rewards. I applaud them. I view that process as the essence of capitalism.

Does this line of thinking still work in our Uncle Sam economy circa 2010? One of the overriding themes highlighted in Observations on My Afternoon in New York City addressed the topic of market valuations. I wrote:

4. Investors do not want to sell what they currently own because they do not know what they might purchase to replace it. Investors do not want to allocate more capital because they are concerned about market valuations in general.

I should have been even more pointedly specific in writing this statement. While I do believe many people in the market today are concerned about the overall level of the market, the point I was trying to get across is that people do not trust or believe the individual values of investments at current prices. Why is this the case and how does this happen? Read the rest »


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Larry Doyle

Larry Doyle A Wall Street veteran's views and instincts on the markets, economy, and all things financial.







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