Ockham Research Staff @ February 6, 2009 # No Comment Yet
Financials were the story of the day on Friday, with Bank of America leading the way gaining 26 percent. However, there is so much going on politically right now that Monday will likely be another volatile day with the direction of the swing resting on the speech by Tim Geithner about the next phase in the bank rescue.
More on: Banks Rally as Obama’s Economic Team Waits On Deck
Ockham Research Staff @ February 3, 2009 # No Comment Yet
Citi released a statement today about its use of TARP funds today, which included $36.5 billion in new lending. However, we are growing concerned that each decision out of Citi these days has been pushed on them by government interests. I guess these are the first signs of the dark side of TARP.
More on: Citi Bows to Pressure and Doubles Down
Ockham Research Staff @ January 26, 2009 # 4 Comments
There were a couple of very interesting pieces of news from the this morning that I believe are important. One, a study by the WSJ, has shown that banks thus far are lending less than before they received the TARP funding. The second comes from a newsletter from John Mauldin that warns of the possibility of more TARP programs headed our way.
More on: A Recurring TARP Nightmare
Ockham Research Staff @ January 22, 2009 # One Comment
In this post we reprint an article from the Wall Street Journal in which they expose yet another conflict of interest from the TARP bailouts. There are always going to be conflicts of interest when politicians and business start to intermix, and we fear that we are just starting to see the beginning of the problem.
More on: The Wall Street Journal Agrees
Ockham Research Staff @ January 21, 2009 # One Comment
We continue to be amazed by the evolving situation surround the America automakers. The latest deal will partner Chrysler with Italian automaker Fiat, but there will be no money changing hands, instead Fiat will share its fuel-efficiency technologies with Chrysler and in exchange they will receive more than a third of the struggling U.S. firm.
More on: How Much is Chrysler Worth? That Little?
Ockham Research Staff @ November 26, 2008 # 2 Comments
Is investing in high yielding stock really a way to hedge against a bad market? Well, as we have seen dividends getting cut at an accelerating pace, we thought it would be a good time to reexamine this strategy.
More on: Dividend Investors Beware!
Ockham Research Staff @ November 13, 2008 # No Comment Yet
American Express is the latest company to have become a bank holding company in order to receive special “bail out” money from the Fed. While this does make the odds of failure much less, does this make the company a suitable investment?
More on: American Express: Worth the Risk?
Ockham Research Staff @ November 12, 2008 # 2 Comments
Detroit is salivating at the opportunity for more funding from their friends on capitol hill. At the same time, there are some resounding voices out there demanding that the big auto companies be left to die. Either way, it’s not looking good for anyone involved, from the taxpayers to the UAW. We look at Ford, General Motors, and incorporate some great historical musings by Thomas Friedman on the last automotive bailout.
More on: GM, Ford… Who’s Next?