A person I met through the Greater Brunswick Area Chamber of Commerce (GBACC) has started to sell financial services through a third-party provider. She said that people could pay off their mortgage sooner and save money using her services. I did some investigating and found many of these companies to be a pyramid scheme with high upfront costs and little added value to mortgage holders.
See this article below from Kiplingers:
http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2008/05/prepay_mortgage.html
Friday, July 18, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Short-term Bottom Is In
Good earnings from Wells Fargo and a drop in oil prices have led to a great rally in the financial stocks today. Expect this rally to continue for the next month as stocks are way oversold and short interest and pessimism are at record highs.
Oil, agriculture, and metals all headed lower today. These stocks will be bargains in the next couple of weeks and can be picked up at good prices soon.
Oil, agriculture, and metals all headed lower today. These stocks will be bargains in the next couple of weeks and can be picked up at good prices soon.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Financial Stocks Continue Lower
IndyMac bank was taken over by the Feds this weekend, and regional bank stocks continue to move lower. National City (NCC), Washington Mutual (WM), and Wachovia (WB) look like they are on the ropes with shares below $10 today. Investor pessimism is at record levels, but still no signs of a bottom.
Money flows continue to move towards metals, agriculture, and energy. As one investor has said, anything that can fall on your foot is something one should invest in today.
Dick Bove, a respected financial analyst who has been right about predicting the fall in the financial stocks has said that much of the decline in companies such as Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC) has been overdone.
Unfortunately the financial stocks will not find a bottom until confidence starts to move up. Confidence will head higher when job losses shrink and end which will probably eventually occur in 2009. Until then, it will be a painful 6 to 9 months minimum ahead.
Money flows continue to move towards metals, agriculture, and energy. As one investor has said, anything that can fall on your foot is something one should invest in today.
Dick Bove, a respected financial analyst who has been right about predicting the fall in the financial stocks has said that much of the decline in companies such as Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC) has been overdone.
Unfortunately the financial stocks will not find a bottom until confidence starts to move up. Confidence will head higher when job losses shrink and end which will probably eventually occur in 2009. Until then, it will be a painful 6 to 9 months minimum ahead.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Commodity Prices Exacerbated by Weakness in Financials
Commodity prices are being exacerbated by weakness in the financial stocks. Every time bad news comes out on a U.S. financial firm, commodity prices head higher as investment managers sell financial stocks and hide in commodities. Oil is definitely overpriced at $145 per barrel, but the price of oil will not decline until financial stocks stabilize at the end of 2008 or 2009.
This is not necessarily speculation as much as finding a place to hide when the U.S. economy heads south. bankruptcies increase and the dollar falls.
This is not necessarily speculation as much as finding a place to hide when the U.S. economy heads south. bankruptcies increase and the dollar falls.
Stop Losses Important
Today the markets are falling to new lows thanks to worries about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It looks likes these stocks will go to zero at this point on lack of liquidity and overleverage.
Even though market sentiment is the lowest in years, creating a very bullish sign, it would be best to wait for Fannie and Freddie to hit zero and be recapitalized before dipping toes back into the market at this time.
Even though market sentiment is the lowest in years, creating a very bullish sign, it would be best to wait for Fannie and Freddie to hit zero and be recapitalized before dipping toes back into the market at this time.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Time for Summer Rally!
The stock market has been oversold over the past weeks with major bargains across all sectors.
Even the weakest sectors including financial, aerospace, retail, and REITs have been sold beyond any reasonable targets.
Bottom fishing in high quality names is a good strategy at this time.
Names to consider include Bank of America (BAC) in the financial space, United Technologies (UTX) in the aerospace sector, Target (TGT) in the retail sector, and Felcor Suites (FCH) in the hotel REIT sector.
Even the weakest sectors including financial, aerospace, retail, and REITs have been sold beyond any reasonable targets.
Bottom fishing in high quality names is a good strategy at this time.
Names to consider include Bank of America (BAC) in the financial space, United Technologies (UTX) in the aerospace sector, Target (TGT) in the retail sector, and Felcor Suites (FCH) in the hotel REIT sector.
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