CEO Compensation: What It Is And Who Makes The Most?
“How much do you make?” It’s one of those taboo questions that usually goes unasked during polite dinner conversation. But after a few beers, the vocal chords are often limbered enough to divulge family secrets. Tax return numbers may slip off the tongue. Even so, such private matters are usually...
You Can’t Have It Both Ways!
“The market is discounting the turn in the economy.” Isn’t that a common refrain these days? Every time I turn around, someone on bubblevision or in the blogosphere tells me the reason the market is going up is that it is a leading indicator and portends better days ahead. There has been...
First Single-Country Frontier Market ETF Now Trading: VNM
Van Eck Global launched the Market Vectors Vietnam ETF (VNM) today. Not only is this the first US-listed Vietnam fund, but it is also the first of the MSCI-designated “frontier markets” to have its own single-country ETF. A remarkable achievement, especially in light of the fact that six...
Wal-Mart and the Baked Beans Economy
Today the Commerce Department reported an unexpected decline in retail sales for July. Remarkably, it appears that people who do not have jobs spend less money, and retailers lose sales as the number of such people grows. Why this surprises anyone is unclear. For those who do have money, one of the...
Buy the Pullback When it Arrives (GATEX)
The longs are in control with the stock market inching up the charts through the summer. The S&P 500 broke thru 1000 on August 3rd and then got another boost from better-than-expected July employment numbers. And yet, we like to remind our readers that better-than-expected employment figures...
Why So Angry About Health Care?
Maybe you, dear reader, can help me. I am trying to figure out why people are so upset about the proposed health care reforms. I see the angry mobs on TV shouting and screaming at congresspeople, Senators and cabinet members. Obviously there is a lot of passion about this issue. The primary claims...
Cash For Clunkers Extended
Cash For Clunkers is back. After burning through its initial $1 billion in a week, the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) aka ‘Cash For Clunkers,’ received another round of funding from Washington. Last Thursday, the Senate voted to extend the popular car buying program before their Summer break....
Details of Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against ProShares SRS
On August 5, Labaton Sucharow LLP, a New York law firm specializing in security class action suits and antitrust cases, filed a class action lawsuit (press release) on behalf of all persons who acquired shares in the UltraShort Real Estate ProShares (SRS). The summary contained on the Labaton Sucharow...
Job Market Improves Slightly
This morning’s monthly payrolls report came in better than expected, sparking a rally in stocks and driving bond yields higher. The headline numbers: payrolls fell by 247,000 in July, far better than the 443,000 jobs lost the prior month. It was the smallest job loss since August 2008. A...
ETF Billion Dollar Club – August 2009
The size of the ETF Billion Dollar Club dropped to only 11 members, a -26% plunge from last month’s roster of 15. Back after a short one-month absence is Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3x Shares (FAZ). The five funds leaving the list are SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), iShares MSCI Brazil (EWZ), ProShares...
