Jimmy Lathrop

Three Financial Stocks Worth Holding

I'd buy AZ before buying any of the other banks. Why? Because in Germany there is no fiction of market capitalism, and thus, there is no need to constantly change the rules when management inevitably blunders.

Commercial Real Estate Not Immune to Economic Woes

The sophisticated investors behind REITS and commercial real estate entities aren't going to be selling pencils and apples. They will come out okay. Maybe their youngest daughter will have to wait a few months for her nosejob but it is not going to affect Main Street, unless you are a plastic surgeon. We are talking about entities which have loads of cash and other assets. There is always Chapter 11 to fall back on or other individual state debtor-creditor laws to ride out the credit crunch. There are many problems with the economic health of this nation but we don't need to worry about who is going to buy the mall. Five years from now, the New Yorker will print a breathless piece about some filthy rich guy picked up all of these properties on the cheap and he will be heralded as a savior and fifteen years later there will be another piece about how after the filthy rich guy his kids mismanaged the real estate empire and were forced to sell everything to protect their expensive drug habits. Meanwhile, the other 99.9 percent of the nation will have been going about their business as usual.

How Wall Street Has Failed the Individual Investor

When people were at cocktail parties bragging about owing POT the word criminal never entered into the conversation. Blamers blame. Investors invest.

U.S. Stocks Look Like They're Still Headed Lower

What would have been a better ending to this article is a conclusion such as, in the near term it appears the bond market may outperform equities, or maybe a conclusion that a cash position would be better than long equities, but no, instead, we are urged to start a new speculative bubble in gold and silver stocks, with no analysis or data, just a faint urging. Football is played for 4 quarters. Just ask the Patriots who had an almost perfect season until the Giants won last year's Superbowl. This article ran out of gas just like New England.

Citigroup Report Further Fuels Debate About the Future of Gold

Let me get this straight - Citigroup's stock was headed to zero until Uncle Sam stepped in. They get a cash infusion and now they are giving it to the prop trading desk. They are signaling that they are going to be going long gold to try and drive up the commodity price like the prop desks did last summer until the Ponzi scheme blew up. Now they are coming out with this report which says, this precious metal which gives off no dividends and has big tax disadvantages when you sell it is going to be rising. If you are going to believe that, email me, and I will give you my PayPal address so you can send me your money and I promise you that I will honestly waste your money on junk bonds and penny stocks rather than getting your hopes up that gold may rise. Deal?

Five Things to Be Thankful for in This Market

I was hoping to find an article which was going to whip me into a frenzy whereby I would sell all of my stocks so I can buy a tent and start panning for gold to feed my family, but instead I came across this well-written and insightful article which is backed by clear analysis and hard data. Maybe the world isn't ending after all.

Gold: The Next Reserve Currency Player

Rip your gold fillings out of your teeth, melt them down, put on your hairshirt and run through the streets of your town ringing a bell yelling about how the end is near.

How Wall Street Has Failed the Individual Investor

Reread the article. The two guys who were held up as examples of how Wall Street failed them was an IT guy and a leadership and communications trainer. I don't believe there is a lot of job security in either of those fields, in fact, I would think that both men welcomed the high turnover rate when the economy was competitive, and now that we are in a recession they are having second thoughts. All they needed to put in the article was a real estate broker and you have the vulnerable livelihood network trifecta. As long as the WSJ keeps writing articles whipping the fearful up in a frenzy, then the market will keep going down, no matter what the government does to prop it up, because this recession is not driven by a credit crisis, lack of liquidity but a lack of trust in the market. This is the Rupert Murdoch effect. If you read the New York Post every day, you are used to it.

Take a Stand Against Government Spending

I give this article five hamburgers out of five!

Crosscurrents at Dow Chemical Make a Clear Forecast Impossible

Extremely well written article. I would have hoped that there was more written on the impact of Rohm & Hass specialty business providing higher profit margins than Dow's traditional product lines but this is by far the best analysis of the hurdles facing Dow in the coming year.

What Would Lou Do?

Thanks for the perspective, Roger. It was refreshing.

Klarman, Einhorn and Witmer: Examining Q3 Filings

Any article concerning Greenlight Capital without discussing Greenlight Re is telling only half of the story,

Why This Isn't Financial Armageddon

I understand that the band played while the Titanic sank. Substitute the words manila dinner party.

Gold in the Low $600s?

Hey Hand, did you know that if you insult the King of Thailand within the borders, its a crime punishable by imprisonment? If you click on j.bosun's profile, he has a webpage, but you can't find his name anywhere. That is because the Thai government monitors his web page. There are some things money and gold can't buy but the first thing that comes to mind is the First Amendment and freedom of speech. I mean, after all, it's what allows you to post your opinions without fear of reprisal. Right?


On Nov 21 12:09 AM The hand wrote:

> "Moving to Thailand in this economic crisis is like trying to find
> shelter from a wildfire in a fireworks factory." - jimmy lathrop
>
>
> i would be careful about throwing out baseless crap. your claims
> about the rule of law are laughable - and for a expat, thailand pretty
> much beats anywhere in the world. the political turmoil in thailand
> is peaceful open dissent relating to a former prime minister - and
> the few incidents of violence are from a radical islamic group not
> supported by the general population of the south. i would have no
> hesitation of living in thailand - and most places are significantly
> cheaper than the usa.
>
> "It wouldn’t surprise me if in our lifetimes we never see gold back
> below $700/oz.rised if gold never again drops below $700 an ounce
> in our lifetimes." - jeffrey nichols
>
> i would agree. the reason is simply the uncertainty about tomorrow
> will cause a flight to gold and will build a foundation under this
> price level.
>
>
>
>

Widening Rich/Poor Gap Spreads Contradict Global Recovery

I work from 9 to 5 and wrote it on my own time. I see you posted at 10:42 which is the Rong thing to do on company time.


On Nov 20 10:42 AM Rong wrote:

> Dirt lawyer/Jimmy L., enjoyed your comments. Who did you bill, how
> much for the time you spent on this?