iBankCoin
18 years in Wall Street, left after finding out it was all horseshit. Founder/ Master and Commander: iBankCoin, finance news and commentary from the future.
Joined Nov 10, 2007
23,474 Blog Posts

The Mountaintop

On my day off tomorrow I intend to take full advantage of the time by getting a blood test and heading out to a funeral. Normal stuff.

My singular conflict is whether or not to wear a suit for the funeral, when in fact I really don’t feel like wearing one. Don’t get me wrong: I don’t intend to wear a Hawaiian bathing suit or a Magnum PI costume. I suppose, at the end of the day, anything less than a suit lacks decorum, given the somber mood.

Here are some stocks that I found this weekend, that look interesting to me.

VICL
CMRX
NNVC
AGEN
PRAN

As you can see, I’ve been focused on biotech. I may or may not buy more biotech. In fact, I might ditch the idea all together, content with just RPTP, and buy some AFOP or maybe come oil. Everyone hates oil now and CLR and CXO are cheap. Or, if BALT trades down again, I’ll buy more. Fact of the matter is, frankly, the bulkers aren’t as interesting today as they were two weeks ago. Capesize rates are down 65% since Xmas and the BDI is off to its worst start for a new year in 40 years. To simply ignore that would be juvenile.

I was looking at CZZ, interested because of the share decline. Then I researched it and figured our Brazil is going through a major energy change, discarding the retarded sugar ethanol in exchange for “pre-salt oil.” Apparently, gasoline is cheaper than ethanol at the pump and government subsidies isn’t making a difference anymore. Brazil is awash with oil and the country is moving away from sugar ethanol. So much for Brazil being “the model” for alternative fuel.

Just a few random thoughts on a slow Sunday evening, ahead of a most eventful monday.

By the way, I find the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday to be a melancholy one, considering that such a great man existed so many years ago, who was supremely interested in the betterment of his people, a harsh and bitter contrast compared to the sophists who infect the “African-America” community today. Nothing has been accomplished. As a matter of fact, one might say King’s efforts have gone in vain, as the black community have been plagued by a culture in dire need of a remix (pun intended). Also, I find the term “African-American” to be a ridiculous one, especially since most black people in America have ancestry dating back hundreds of years, and have no more a connection to Africa than I do to the beer laden streets of Dublin.

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37 comments

  1. jsdjason

    If I was black I’d be embarrassed that Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, or others like them supposedly represent me. They’re but race-baiters trying to make a buck or two off the publicity.

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  2. the pirate

    Fly, you are so right, I had to step out of character. Today’s black leaders don’t measure up to Dr. King – and that is a GROSS understatement. In fact todays ‘leaders’ would have been laughed at by most people 20 yrs ago. Al ‘Tawana Brawley hoax’ Sharpton; Louis (regarding Jews) “And don’t you forget, when it’s God who puts you in the ovens, it’s forever!” Farrakhan. Modern ‘pop’ hip hop culture denigrates women and is satanic in i’s message of greed and thugism (Original hip hop was actually not bad at all and actually had a positive message). Great black leaders DO still exist, like the heroic Col Alan West:

    http://allenbwest.com/2014/01/black-liberals-will-never-fulfill-kings-dream/

    If the great Dr. King were alive to see what the radical leftists and (for some bizarre reason) anti-Semitic black ‘leaders’ today who are in power were doing and saying, I have no doubt he would be horrified.

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  3. ironbird

    Classic Fly. Caution thrown to the wind on what is okay to say.

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    • heaterman

      In the land of the free and the home of the brave….(aka the hallowed halls of IBC)…the truth is spoken.
      This is very often what would be termed, “non-PC”, and is in fact one of the reasons I read this blog.

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  4. ironbird

    Fried rice land does not look good losing the 2 handle tonight.

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  5. UncleBuccs

    Dr. Fly – as you know, I don’t own a suit…never have. Living in the southwest, and a somewhat reclusive demeanor have aided in my getting away with this.

    The last funeral I attended was my mother in law’s. It was in El Paso, a casual city, and the forecast was 108 degrees(two of my excuses). Auntie Buccs was too grief stricken to worry about my attire. I selected a classy outfit comprised of dark charcoal slacks and a black, texturally patterned Jhane Barnes shirt that I procured from Neiman Marcus.

    It’s funny that I’m typing this on MLK day, as the ceremony was my first African-American funeral. And to my horror, “blending in” would be even more of an impossibility as my father in law made a last minute request that I be a pallbearer. Everyone was very kind to me, but I have never felt so out of place in my entire life. Bottom line, if I’m to attend another funeral, I plan to wear a suit.

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    • ultramarine

      That’s a great story about a tough lesson. I’ve kept a suit around just in case for an unplanned job interview, but funerals sound like another good reason to keep a suit.

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  6. bushwacker2

    You are a gentleman. People look up to you. Wear the suit. (Top hat and cane are optional)

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  7. sk

    Except that we have a black President because of MLK.

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  8. flyaway17

    Aren’t the majority of our prisons inhabited by blacks, both male and female? I did not know this, but this country’s burgeoning refugee population also has huge obstacles to overcome. I was trying to help two 17-year-old, low-skilled-academically teens from Thailand find a job last week. Without social security numbers, they can’t get working papers. Without an SSN, they can’t get a job.

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  9. Bullish

    No suit? Crazy talk… don’t you ever have to meet with clients? I can’t imagine they are so impressed by your performance that you can show up at meetings dressed like Da Ali G.

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  10. stones

    Agree Fly but poor whites have their sophists too, and although it can generally be said that bums raise bums, society is compounding the problem by outsourcing the low skilled jobs these people depend on. It does no good for schools to tell kids to aim higher when they have no target. Ultimately, I think we can (will?) either support these people or find a way to employ them.

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  11. stones

    Moderator, my last comment a very poorly composed POS. My apologies.

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  12. tradercaddy

    That’s a coincidence.
    I went for a physical at the Doc’s 10 days or so ago and he wanted me to have blood tests, a PSA test (after my DRE-digital rectal exam), and a cholesterol test.
    I told him forget about the blood tests as I just had two of them for my recent hernia surgery (they always want to run up the bills).
    BTW the last paragraph of your post was so right on. I also hear the stories all of the time from my wife teacher who works in low income schools.

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  13. jdf

    Have some standards. Wear the suit. How is this even a question?

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  14. UncleBuccs

    Being a slow MLK day, I’ll tell another tale… This one isn’t about ‘suits’, its about blood tests.

    The year was 1995, and I had just been offered a job by the Pima County Juvenile Court. As a condition of employment, I was sent to the county hospital for a physical.

    I must say, this was the most thorough examination I’ve ever been subjected to. I was put on a treadmill, given a grip-strength test, received a back x-ray, a flexibility measurement, and even a prostate exam (my age was 25). Though unpleasant, everything went well, and I expected to receive an A+ when the results came in.

    Three days later, the physician reviewing my results called me up with a sense of urgency in his voice. According to my bloodwork, I had recently experienced a massive heart attack…! I knew this wasn’t the case, but complied with his request to come in for an immediate follow-up. The follow up consisted of all kinds of personal questions about lifestyle & activities. Sure enough, they coaxed the answer out of me… Creatine! This weightlifting supplement was pretty new at the time, and I was trying it. As it turns out, your body breaks it down into creatinine, which is also produced by your heart when it goes though a major trauma episode…who knew?

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  15. budh

    MLK was a great man who helped out all Americans, not just “his people.” Today he could never rise to such heights. One’s personal sexual history must be pristine. MLK Jr. had a lot of girlfriends. His opponents today would expose that and ruin him.

    MLK was highly effective. Today we have a black President, and no one calls him an ‘Uncle Tom.” While I am on the other side of the fence on most issues from Obama, I think it’s a very positive development for America to have a strong black man as President.

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  16. joecooltrades

    Don’t do the blood test, the NSA will learn you are a SPACE ALIEN, due to the glow in the dark, green color of your “blood”.

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  17. postapocalyptictrader
    postapocalyptictrader

    Our prez should be nicknamed, “Uncle Trump” not “Uncle Tom”, after the man who tracked down his birth certificate.

    Speaking of pre-salt oil, reminds me of that once-promising investment by an ex-billionaire from Brazil, Eike Batista. A $10 stock plummets to 10 cents in a little over one year, after a massive fail at prodding some black gold out of that pre-salt formation.

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  18. ironbird

    Any opinions on the eur/usd? This thing is trading with a getting loose look.

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  19. tradercaddy

    Futs just caught fire.
    Not sure but may be related to China injecting funds to keep rate spike down?

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    • ironbird

      Ignorant take thinks ytd chop. No clue on the healthy need of fried rice clam juice.

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  20. ironbird

    Why do eurotrash mega caps consistently get obliterated on earnings? Talk about a fucked up weak owner base. It is hilarious ring of fire death spiral action.

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  21. ironbird

    Davos is a trip. Did not the mob or robber barons of the past meet in private?

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    • ironbird

      The duckbox crew is over there like teenage girls at a new kids concert. Fucking weird.

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