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HomeIf It Sounds Too Good To Be True…
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 18th, 2011 9:04 PM |
The market feels firm. Your broker calls with an opportunity that sounds very appealing. You are sitting on cash and feel you may have missed the run in the market. Your cash is generating little to no return. You are contemplating taking a flyer on this “deal.”
Your broker is really pushing you and indicating a lot of people are getting involved in these deals. The highlighted returns look too good to be true. But wait, haven’t you seen this movie before? Remember, ‘if it sounds too good to be true…’ it typically is.
Another play on this same theme was highlighted at Bloomberg a few weeks back. This story deserves serious attention. Pay particular attention to the commissions and fees earned by Wall Street and the risks absorbed by you, the investor. (more…)
Sense on Cents Media Appearances
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 17th, 2011 9:22 PM |
I believe one of the highest hurdles we face in an attempt to elevate the level of ‘sense on cents’ within our nation is the very fact that we live ‘in the moment and for the moment.’ How can we achieve a greater sense of perspective on the shortcomings and failings we have had in the past so we can recognize them in the future?
Perhaps even more importantly, how can we simply be more aware of past failings so we can more effectively navigate the economic landscape? Should we rely strictly on our financial media, our financial regulators, and our political operatives to protect our interests? Do not be so naive. We have to do better than that. We need to take personal control and pay personal attention to our own well being. How can we do that? Welcome to Sense on Cents.
Auction-Rate Securities and Municipal Market Dislocation
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 13th, 2011 9:39 PM |
![[ROLLOVER]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-AZ049_ROLLOV_NS_20110113202716.jpg)
The demise of the $330 billion auction-rate securities market may have culminated in February 2008 but the impact of that reality continues to be felt today. How so?
Large segments of the ARS market provided financing for a wide array of municipal entities. How did those municipal entities receive financing when the ARS market froze? Reports indicate that bank letters of credit (LOCs) provided ongoing financing for many municipal borrowers. Now what?
As those LOCs are rolling off, banks are extremely reluctant to roll them forward and impending default is staring many of these municipal borrowers right in the face. The capital markets are not anxious to provide liquidity and banks are equally reluctant. Thus while the Federal Reserve throws support behind many market segments, the municipal market has retraced back to levels last seen in early 2009. (more…)
Our ‘Walking Pneumonia’ Economy
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 13th, 2011 6:44 AM |
Sense on Cents Hall of Famer Rick Davis of Consumer Metrics Institute provides fabulous insights on our “walking pneumonia” economy. Rick writes:
The last of the BEA GDP reports issued during 2010 indicated that the “real final sales of domestic product” were growing at an anemic 0.9% rate during both the second and third quarters of 2010. This number is calculated by reducing the headline GDP number by the net amount of goods being added to manufacturing inventories (and therefore not being sold to end consumers). Their characterization of the number as the “real final sales” within the economy is telling, and a 0.9% annualized growth rate over the course of the six middle months of the year is statistically indistinguishable from a dead flat economy. (more…)
For Goldman Sachs, This Has Been a Challenging Period
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 12th, 2011 7:35 AM |
What is a reputation worth?
I have always maintained that people and institutions ultimately have the reputation that they deserve. While there are always instances of misunderstanding or miscommunication, reputations are not built upon individual instances or single interactions. Reputations develop over time.
The last few years has been a period of time during which large holes have been blown in the heretofore seemingly impenetrable fortress known as Goldman Sachs. Now Goldman is on the defense to repair those holes which have exposed the unseemly innards of its firm. What have we learned? What is the most glaring hole? Let’s navigate as the Financial Times highlights, Goldman Tries to Answer Its Critics:
“For Goldman Sachs, this has been a challenging period.” (more…)
Which U.S. Senator Blocked the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act?
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 10th, 2011 9:22 PM |
Let’s bang the drum once again to promote truth, transparency and integrity. In this rendition, let’s collectively work to expose the Congressional coward, that is the United States Senator, who blocked the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act. In the process, Senator “Coward” took a stand against our prized virtues while defending the monied interests of corporate elitism.
Did you just vomit thinking that our hallowed halls upon Capitol Hill are populated with such louts? Why haven’t others on Capitol Hill raised a hue and cry? Fellow cowards? You think? Getting their bread “buttered” in the process? You think? What happened to our country?
High five and major kudos once again to the Project on Government Oversight for bringing attention to this travesty. Let’s call out the cowards and demand the answer as to whom blocked this act. How so? Let’s navigate as POGO writes, (more…)
Life is Precious
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 9th, 2011 8:43 PM |
As I contemplated writing about the Friday Employment Report or the ongoing issues within the European debt crisis or the prospects for the market, my mind kept coming back to something so much more important. That is, life itself.
I can not put into words how badly I feel and how much I empathize with the families impacted by the tragedy that occurred in Tucson, AZ this weekend. Situations such as this tragedy once again raise the unanswerable question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”
While there are those who may want to politicize this tragedy, I care to direct my focus and attention elsewhere. To the families of those who lost their loved ones yesterday, “I am sorry. Our collective national heart breaks with yours. We care.”
For those who were injured yesterday, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), our prayers go out to you for a full and total physical and emotional recovery.
To our nation as a whole, let us never forget and always appreciate that “life is precious.” Let us also understand that there is a power of evil in our presence. This evil left unchecked will continue to erode the very core of our nation. Let us lead the charge against those individuals and those practices which promote evil. How so? Be an active and consistent force for love, charity, and hope. Choose joy!!
Our children are counting on us to do nothing less.
God Bless America.
Larry Doyle
Please subscribe to all my work via e-mail, an RSS feed, on Twitter or Facebook.
I have no affiliation or business interest with any entity referenced in this commentary. The opinions expressed are my own and not those of Greenwich Investment Management. 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.
American Mandate: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 7th, 2011 6:03 PM |
The outline highlighted below needs no real preamble. The fact is this draft should be an American Mandate as it represents the ultimate ‘sense on cents.’ The time is long past due for some accountability in Washington. This mandate is the right start.
Much like the reflection of Capitol Hill in the photo to the right, the members of Congress may want to reflect upon just how elitist the entire body has become. Who in Congress has the balls and the backbone to propose this Reform Act? I am calling out each and every Republican and Democrat alike. Who’s in?? You call yourselves Americans? Let’s see it.
I thank the friend who passed this along and I would encourage others to spread this American Mandate!!
CONGRESSIONAL REFORM ACT of 2011………….. (more…)
Paul Ryan (R-WI) Addresses ‘Fiscal Train Wreck’
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 7th, 2011 9:15 AM |
Upon further review and with a little prompting from some regular readers, I am correcting an oversight and am pleased to now induct Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) into the Sense on Cents Hall of Fame. He clearly deserves it.
Why induct Ryan now? Well, listen for yourself as Mr. Ryan provides a healthy dose of Midwestern values along with a man-sized portion of ‘sense on cents.’
Larry Doyle
Please subscribe to all my work via e-mail, an RSS feed, on Twitter or Facebook.
I have no affiliation or business interest with any entity referenced in this commentary. The opinions expressed are my own and not those of Greenwich Investment Management. 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.
