The Mutual Funds and Managers to Avoid

Ritholtz on the type of mutual funds and managers that active investors should avoid.

Read the article here.

Are the many new varieties of Vodka flavors (whipped cream, anyone?) a sign that the Vodka market is frothy and in danger of bubbling over?

Read the article here.

In mid-October 2008, as the Treasury was discussing which banks would be bailed out in the Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP), Kerry bought up to $550,000 worth of Citigroup stock and up to $350,000 worth of Bank of America shares. Days later, the American public learned that Citigroup would receive $50 billion from the TARP fund and up to $277 billion in additional loan guarantees. Bank of America also received $50 billion from TARP.

During the contentious healthcare debate in 2009, Schweizer noted, Kerry loaded up on pharmaceutical stocks, purchasing close to $750,000 worth of shares in one company—Teva Pharmaceuticals—in the month of November alone.

Drug companies were viewed to be among the major beneficiaries of the Democratic healthcare legislation. Pharmaceuticals “kicked in $80 billion to help make the bill work, but stand to make 10 times that amount in revenues from added government and government-subsidized business,” liberal columnist Howard Fineman wrote inNewsweek.

Teva stock was trading at about $50 a share when Kerry started buying, but jumped to $62 a share after the healthcare bill was passed, an increase of nearly 25 percent. After Obama signed the bill into law, Kerry sold his Teva shares, realizing tens of thousands in capital gains.

Kerry also bought shares of ResMed, a company that makes medical devices, which surged more than 70 percent after the healthcare bill’s passage. Throughout the healthcare negotiations, Kerry consistently opposed efforts to increase taxes on companies like ResMed.

He also purchased stock in Thermo Fisher Scientific, a firm providing products and services to hospitals, at $35 a share. After passage, they were trading at $50 a share, an increase of more than 40 percent.

Crude oil’s slide accelerated on Friday, as a poor jobs report added to a list of concerns on energy traders’ mind, ranging from the European debt crisis and OPEC’s increased output, to the looming higher margin requirements.

Crude is trading at $97.89 a barrel at Nymex, down 4.5%. Friday’s plunge will extend oil’s loss to a third session, leaving the market with a total loss of 8%.

The selloff started on Wednesday as the EIA weekly report showed a record level of oil in storage, and later intensified as CME Group, which operates the Nymex exchange, said it would hike margin requirements for speculators from next week. The fears didn’t phase out, even after CME said it had received a 90-day reprieve from the regulator. Adding to downward pressure on oil prices was the revelation by OPEC secretary general Abdullah al-Badri on Thursday that the organization is “not happy with prices at this level because there will be (demand) destruction.” Oil exporting countries are working hard to bring down oil prices by pumping much more oil than its official target, he added.

The last straw for oil bulls came Friday morning as the Labor Department reported that job growth slowed again in April to 115,000 jobs, the smallest increase since October, which has further stoked worries over energy demand.

Read more here:

This is the continuation from last weeks Frontline documentary.

This program discusses how the global economy is still in the perils of the 2008 debacle and how derivatives could potentially create another credit freeze. You want to watch parts 3 & 4.

Cheers on your weekend !
Episode 1

Watch Money, Power and Wall Street: Part One on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

Episode 2

Watch Money, Power and Wall Street: Part Two on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

Episode 3

Watch Money, Power and Wall Street: Part Three on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

Episode 4

Watch Money, Power and Wall Street: Part Four on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

Here is a list of stocks down more than 7%, click here for charts.

In 2009, MCA announced he was being treated for a cancerous parotid gland and a lymph node. He has since undergone surgery and radiation therapy.

So far, it’s not clear if the death is related to the rapper’s battle with cancer.

Russell Simmons’ website GlobalGrind.com first reported the death. We have spoken to people independently connected to the rapper who also say he is dead.

This is unconfirmed.

Full Article

A not so nice way to look into the future….

Full piece 

WTI is down $4.07 @ $98.47

Full article

“(Reuters) – TransCanada Corp has asked the U.S. government for approval to build the $7.6 billion Keystone XL oil pipeline, which has been put on hold due to environmental concerns.

The company said in a statement on Friday that it has submitted an application with the U.S. Department of State for the pipeline from the United States and Canada border in Montana to Steele City, Nebraska.”

Full article

I found this to be a very interesting read on our student loan problem.

Other accounts of the student loan debt problem put the estimates of total debt to $5-$7 trillion due to derivatives traded behind the market place.

Full look

[youtube://http://www.youtube.comwatch?v=BqVOt11bKJ0 450 300]

“The latest monthly and weekly report from the AAR showed more signs of a sluggish economy.  The latest weekly dataturned negative once again with carloads posting a -4.1% decline and intermodal posting a gain of 5.5%.   The 10 week moving average in intermodal moved slightly higher to 3.1%.   The AARhas details on the monthly and weekly report:

“The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail carloads originated in April 2012 totaled 1,113,105, down 64,335 carloads or 5.5 percent, compared with April 2011. Intermodal volume in April 2012 was 946,951 trailers and containers, up 32,505 units or up 3.6 percent, compared with April 2011. Detailed monthly data charts and tables will be available in the AAR’s Rail Time Indicators released online tomorrow.

Twelve of the 20 commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw carload gains in April 2012 compared with April 2011, including petroleum and petroleum products, up 11,376 carloads, or 43.1 percent; motor vehicle and parts, up 11,360 carloads, or 21.1 percent; crushed stone, gravel, and sand, up 6,617 carloads, or 9.3 percent, and steel and other primary metal products, up 3,297 carloads, or 8.1 percent.”

Full article

Some interesting facts about what happens for years after a credit crisis.

Full article

A sad no farm payroll number today. The statistics inside the report tell the true story.

Full look

ALXA, AIG, BEBE, DGI, DRIV, DLB, DOLe, FSLR, HEK, LF, LNKD, MHR, MFLX, SAPE, WRC

Full report

AIR, ALL, EPD, FDX, FSLR, HON, JDSU, LNKD, BIN, RHT, SKS, SFY, SPRD, SPWR, TRLG, VCLK, WFM

Full report

In Play 

On the Wires 

Unemployment rate is 8.1%

The bear case

The bull case