I read the following in a blog post entitled, “Let’s throw away the acronyms and explain Europe’s crazy policies in plain English”, at http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/:

If a country asks for help, and if it is prepared to have its government spending levels dictated to it, it qualifies for this scheme. To help, the ECB will sell assets it holds on behalf of all governments in the euro area. No new money will be printed. The ECB will use the money raised to interfere with the price of government debt, making it cheaper to borrow.

If the worst happens and the country goes bust, the ECB, and consequentially Europeans, will not get paid back first. Instead they will have to wait in line with other creditors. There is no limit to how much money we are prepared to spend on this.

The trade-off for the country involved is that it can still borrow but will lose control of its own budget. The trade-off for the rest of Europe is that the ECB might lose their government’s money if the country seeking help goes bankrupt. However, the currency block will stay together if the plan works.

Last Friday I was unable to post this. Months ago I had selected this bond for future purchase if the medical imaging business outlook improved for this company. Recently the credit outlook for AIQ improved and so I bought $100 face value for $85.60 which yields over 12%. Below are the bond and stock charts.


I wonder if the ‘high and tight flag’ pattern works for weekly charts? The weekly for ES also shows one.

This bond is CUSIP 28140JAC4, EDUCATION MGMT LLC SR NT 8.75000% 06/01/2014, and yields approx 23% at the price I paid today ($80.50 per $100 face value). EDMC is the second largest for-profit college education chain. It had a surprise loss for the recent quarter and has been sued by the DOJ for using fraud to get federal financial aid (EDMC denies this).

Still can’t get a bond price chart (maybe can find another site for bond charts). DynCorp is a privately owned defense and state depts. contractor (so no stock chart below). This bond is DYNCORP INTL INC SR NT 10.37500% 07/01/2017 (CUSIP 26817CAB7) and yields over 14% at the price I paid ($85.55 per $100 face value). Let’s raise the debt ‘limit’ and avoid ‘unnecessary’ federal gov’t budget cuts!

Gold, gold and more gold!

I can’t seem to get a chart of the bond prices this a.m., but below is a chart of the stock prices. The bond yields about 14% at the price I paid ($67.85 per $100 face value). It is RADIOSHACK CORP SR NT 6.75000% 05/15/2019 (CUSIP 750438AE3). Hopefully lots of folks will buy the new RadioShack branded cell phones and service plans, so that RSH can pay me back at face value in 2019 plus lots of interest while I wait!

I note that RSH stock has a huge 40% short float. Could be exciting or terrifying!

It looks to me like TVIX might have bottomed (short term). The RSI and MACD are rising on the weekly chart, so far. This possible bottom is more apparent on the daily chart. This tempts me to add to my VXX holding via buying some TVIX. I don’t know if I have the guts to do it though. VXX can be painful enough!


While I’m at it, why not accompanying charts of EEV:


BTW, I’m long VXX and EEV.

Ferro Corp. is a specialty chemical company in the USA that operates internationally. This bond will yield about 9.2% in my account. Below are the charts of the bond and the stock:


Although Ferro has been adversely affected by the economic downturn in international markets, it appears to my little brain that they might be able to continue making payments on their bonds.

The bond is actually from NII Capital Corp which is part of NII Holdings, which is a mobile telecommunications company focused on the Latin American markets. I was able to buy this 8.875% bond below face value, so it will yield 12.5% in my account. Below are the charts of the bond (recently downgraded) and the stock:


Needless to say, my hope is that this company will continue to grow its subscriber base and continue to make payments on its bonds.

Heckmann is a waste water service company working for shale oil/gas fracking companies in the USA. This bond yields close to 10% now and will grow in value IF Heckmann continues to do well and IF natural gas prices rise in the future. The stock has a large short float so it might be something to play with at some time in the future. Here is a chart of the bond followed by a chart of the stock: