Archive for 'Stock Market & Finance' Category

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Crash of 1929 and 2008 compared

In his website, Trader Tom Hougaard compares the crash of 1929 with the current crash.

He writes, "

I had a look at the crash of 1929 and compared it with what we are seeing now. I must say that the repeat of history is astonishing. In 1929 we saw a crash in October, followed by a 2-day bounce, worth some 30%. The market then drifted lower and made a new low, before a multi-week rally ensued.

In 2008 we crashed into October, followed by a 2-day bounce worth some 26%. The market then drifted sideways lower, without making a new low, and made a significant bounce yesterday. Both charts are showing a classic pattern of a re-test of the lows, with one chart making slightly new lows, while the other doesn't. Both lows comes 10/11 days apart.

The Volkswagen Short Squeeze Play

Hedge funds have lost £18bn in two days of trading in Volkswagen (VW) shares that briefly saw the carmaker become the world's most valuable company.  The damage from the head-on collision between many scores of hedge funds (and maybe some banks) is yet to become fully apparent. Some early estimates suggested that the losses from the “short squeeze” could be as much as €30 billion ($37.4 billion), although the final tally will probably be many billions less.

VW shares rose 348% over Monday and Tuesday after it emerged that only about 5% of its shares were available. It hit more than 1,000 euros per share (about $1,275) on Oct. 28, versus a 52-week low of around 144 euros (about $183).  This gave VW the highest market capitalisation of any firm on the planet, far surpassing Exxon mobile which had a larger market cap compared to the whole lot of stocks listed in the PSEi.

Oil, Smoke, And Mirrors: About Peak Oil and its Consequences

Understand the economic, geopolitics, and implications behind the Oil Industry and the concept of "Peak Oil" production.

Bernanke Endorses Obama - WSJ

We would remember that early this week, Retired Gen. Colin L. Powell, one of the country's most respected Republicans, said the election of Obama would "electrify the world."

"I think he is a transformational figure," Powell said. "He is a new generation coming … onto the world stage and on the American stage. And for that reason, I'll be voting for Sen. Barack Obama."

Although Fed Chair Ben Bernanke did not explicitly give any such similar statement as Powell did in telling people to vote for Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, Online Wall Street Journal jumps to the assumption that his actions suggest so.

Warren Buffet calls a buy but won’t define bottom

Mr Warren Buffett – known as the "Sage of Omaha" or the "Oracle of Omaha" for his ability to pick the right time to invest in situations – admitted that he has begun to use some of his $62bn fortune to invest in the shares of American companies.

"Buy America, I am!" was his bold call last week.  Not as boldly arrogant as Jim Cramer, he does not attempt to call a market bottom, and freely admits that he does not know in which direction the markets are headed in the short-term.  He is a humble person that states that he cannot predict these things with precision.

The importance of Dow Jones Industrial (DJIA) and statistics of best and worst years

The Dow, the oldest continuing U.S. market index, is a way of measuring the combined stock values of 30 big U.S. companies. It's one of several stock market indices created by nineteenth-century Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company co-founder Charles Dow. Dow compiled the index to gauge the performance of the industrial sector of the American stock market. It is the second-oldest U.S. market index, after the Dow Jones Transportation Average, which Dow also created.

COMPUTATION 

Forbes Philippines 40 Richest

FORBES ASIA wrapped up their inaugural series of country-specific lists of Southeast Asia's wealthiest with the Philippines' 40 richest.

The list of 40 takes the booby prize among the region's rich. As a group, wealthy Filipinos are actually the poorest, when compared to their brethren in Indonesia, Malayasia, Singapore and Thailand. They had the smallest total net worth, $16 billion; fewest number of billionaires, just three; and lowest minimum net worth, a mere $25 million

The nation's historic political instability certainly hasn't helped, nor has the fact that the Philippine Stock Exchange has the tiniest market capitalization, an estimated $50 billion, in the region.

Fox news against CNBC’s choice in calling Jim Cramer their Financial Guru

Fox News all but wages war on CNBC commentator Jim Cramer in their latest ad which focuses on bad advice regarding Wachovia that Cramer apologized for and his dire warnings about the market on the Today show earlier this week.

"The last thing you need is bad advice. The last thing you need is CNBC's Jim Cramer," warns the ad.

The promos are running on FBN and FNC, as well as through local avails on CNBC in many of the biggest markets (including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles). The print ads ran in the New York Times and Wall St. Journal today, in the National section.

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