Search results

One thing to realize is that savings in this context is not necessarily money in the bank, so to speak. A large part of this "savings" is really paid down debt because they're running out of options. Credit lines are being cut down or shut down, etc. The net overall result is good and...

He took that risk himself. If he disclosed his price up front he could save himself the time. But that's not his schtick, is it? He's made the calculation that it's worth the possible waste of time in order to possibly pressure an easy sell into an overpriced job. Don't feel sorry for him...

Yeah, I thought the same thing and said that to DW as we watched this. I really don't understand it at all. Also they should have already sold off all their excess stuff and toys (watercraft, etc.) before taking food stamps.

For what it's worth I agree with you and RustyS (and mostly with Ziggy too) on this topic. I don't use pot myself. I tried it in my youth but didn't enjoy the effects. But I find the hypocrisy regarding pot vs. alcohol to be truly ridiculous. Maybe it will require a generational change. I...

Surprise, surprise! :rolleyes:

Yeah, I know. I didn't really mean to imply that all US banks had acted like BAC, Citi, etc. Just generally. It's been tough at times for those who didn't follow the siren song of higher profits based on risky (and insane) business practices. I'm glad that those responsible ones are going to...

Here's an interesting article/editorial about Canadian banks written by Canadian correspondent: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/28/opinion/28tedesco.html?th&emc=th Let's hope we get back to good old boring banking practices soon.

Yes indeed. He's showing himself to be a bit of a weasel now. Shrugging his shoulders and saying, "what could we do?" IMO, he's one of the very few individuals who could have really effected the kind of change in direction that was needed to defuse this catastrophe. I'm not saying he could...

Apparently they're getting some started out in Sacramento. Sacramento homeless tent city When you build a significant part of your economy (California, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Florida) on a housing bubble, it's a real bummer when it bursts.

Nah, I don't believe that's all you did Ziggy! That little ole wimpy pledge isn't jinx enough to turn the market up. I think you secretly put on a little short position this morning. Come on, 'fess up! :laugh:

Oh I and many others were quite well aware of all that going on. What I didn't know was the degree to which much of the rest of the world was doing the same thing, the ridiculous leveraging going on on Wall St., the whole CDS boondoggle, etc. The debt driven consumerism in the US worried me...

Yep I basically agree about the div cut reaction, but who knows. Look what happened to the NY Times on Friday. They slashed the div and the stock was up 16%! It doesn't mean that it'll stay up of course. And it's still only at $4.07. The market is a mysterious thing sometimes.

Yep, he's backpedaling now after that "firm" commitment to the dividend not that long ago. It's definitely coming down. The question is what the market's reaction will be at that time. I'd say there's a good chance it will pop up on the news. But I don't want anything to do with anything...

Yeah, but they're rather thinly traded. :laugh:

I sure don't know, that's for sure. That thing's still a falling knife. Plenty have been cut by it and it's not acting very well right now, is it? I'd sure be waiting quite some time to see where it stabilizes. Of course it could spike up a bit from here before doing so, but who knows...

Amen to that. We need to find a way to be net producers again, not just consumers and churners of stuff and services. New energy sources are the future of a sustainable planet. I sure hope we make some significant strides very soon. There are certainly promising developments around so I'm...

Ditto, almost word for word except for the self employed and home office part, and only for about 28 years. I'd have to have some very unusual and complicated circumstances to think about hiring a CPA for the job. If I had a small business I'd certainly consider it.

Re: yours and ERD50's replies I now see the reason given the after-tax contribution considerations. I've just never run into that situation; didn't know it existed! You learn something everyday (well, most days). With that said, the original reply stating that tracking basis for a rollover...

I don't understand. Why would you need to know basis for a rollover IRA (#4)? It will all come out as taxable ordinary income, just as with a "normal" deductible IRA. Am I missing something?

Just beware that these are generally run with leverage and therefore very volatile and vulnerable to big losses if we see more downside in this sector. They're tempting, and if we do see another leg down I'm keeping an eye on them, but not now for me.

It's a pure crap shoot at this point. You may hit it big, or lose it all. The big bank stocks are purely speculative. Hard to call it investing at this point. I'm sure there are some smaller banks out there that have run a decent business. I've heard that's so. But who can trust any of...

Exactly. And I think that is Grep's point. (I'll stick up for him a bit here.) FD need not be so defensive.

I can't imagine buying one of these hot potatoes (grenades). Even with a small bit of money I couldn't sleep at night. This sector is just imploding, govt bail out or not.

:laugh:! I was thinking the same thing.

Did you say "friend?" With friends like that...