Bottom

This quote is from some publication - don't ask me which one - maybe Yahoo. "I don't think anyone can say we've reached the bottom yet," said Chuck Gabriel, managing director of Capital Alpha Partners in Washington. "It's going to be a very gloomy Christmas." Kim Caughey, equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh, said that "for investors to get more confidence, we need to know details" of the new administration's plans to handle the crisis. "There's been a vacuum of leadership" she added, "and when that happens, you get fear and rumors, and then people sell." It came from about two weeks ago. These people know nothing. They panic just like everyone else. Even their guesses are half-hearted. They are too scared to stick their necks out and say something concrete. I think what I said was that the market had already hit bottom - it's time to start buying. You can have a different opinion, of course, but at least state it - don't be a marshmallow when you talk - please.

Ken Fisher

Ken Fisher has written a book - it's titled The Ten Roads to Riches. Here they are:

1. Start a successful business—the richest road! 2. Become the CEO of an existing firm and juice it—a very mechanical function. 3. Hitch to a successful visionary’s wagon and ride along—it’s high value-added. 4. Turn celebrity into wealth—or wealth into celebrity and then more wealth! 5. Marry well—really, really well. 6. Steal it, legally—no guns necessary! 7. Capitalize on other people’s money (OPM)—where most of the mega-rich are. 8. Invent an endless future revenue stream—even if you’re not an inventor! 9. Trump the land barons by monetizing unrealized real estate wealth! 10. Go down the Road More Travelled—save hard, invest well—forever!

Good luck.

Trading places

This is from a legitimate news service: "Hugo Chavez views Russia as a key player in moving toward a world freed from U.S. dominance. He welcomed Medvedev's visit saying it is one step toward "a new world that's being born." In Brazil, Medvedev agreed to host a summit of Brazil, Russia, India and China next year to discuss creating a new global financial structure — a reflection of how economic power is shifting from the United States and Europe."

As I've been saying, some countries will now start a chic trend to reorganize the world according to a more sophisticated balance of power formula. Will they succeed? Who knows? Buy relevant cheap stocks and keep your fingers crossed. Oh, and be very careful when crossing the street.

CUBA

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it is quite safe to assume that the new administration will open a huge doorway to Cuba. Now, the big thing here is to figure out which industries will most benefit from the new policy. I would say practically everything. The trick will be to get the banks to finance the myriads of new ventures that are being planned (as we speak.) Good luck to all of you and try not to stuff your faces with too much turkey.

Horse sense II

Okay, the credit emergency seems not to be over. Lots of people never saw it as a real emergency since the stock market seemed to be doing fine inspite of the delay in securing the 700 billion dollar injection of funds but there you have it. There is more to be done. More businesses to save. More jobs to create. It will be so much fun. Did Wall Street learn anything? Who knows? Just buy as many conservative shares as you can while they're still cheap. I think WAMU is about 4 cents. Is that cheap enough? We need an injection of plain old horse sense. That's what we need.

Hans Rosenfeld II

No, that's not Hans Rosenfeld on the left - that's a movie star from another era. Anyway, as I was saying, Mr Rosenfeld had one of his ideas stolen by Hollywood bigshots - the idea for the movie ROBOTS. Remember that movie??? It wasn't just the idea itself - it was the entire script and the design for the robots. Imagine you talk to someone about an ingenious new invention. Next thing you know, they manufacture it and make lots of money and you're left standing there wondering how they could do this and get away with it.

Blue Lips

So, ...the market finally bottomed. I predicted this. The world's top economists kept saying the market might hit bottom in about six months. They are all so wishy-washy. I said one to two months at most. It is Friday but not Friday the 13th. If it were, people would be more panicky than they already are. Courage is in very short supply nowadays. Now is the time to start having a good time. Prices are coming down - gasoline is a lot cheaper, too. There was this Harvard economist on NPR trying to explain why deflation is a bad thing. He just beat around the bush for ten minutes and didn't say a thing. Enjoy falling prices while they last.