This post provides links to a number of interesting articles I have read over the past few days that you may also enjoy.

• Daniel Gross (Newsweek): The greatest trade ever, November 10, 2009. How hedge fund manager John Paulson bet against the real estate bubble and made $15 billion in a single year.

• abc News: SocGen’s top analyst sees market lows next year, November 9, 2009. Albert Edwards, a top analyst with French bank Societe Generale, expects global markets to hit a new low in 2010, adding that he would not be surprised if the global economy enters another recession next year. Edwards, one of the leading equities bears and a long-term critic of the policies of Western central banks, is skeptical of popular opinion that extreme policy response will safeguard the West against a repeat of Japan’s lost decade of the 1990’s.

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Thursday November 5, 2009

DrStockPick.com Stock Report!

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Cavitation Technologies, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CVAT) announced recently that it has signed Miura Engineering Co., Ltd. Tokyo, Japan (www.miura21.co.jp) as its new agent to serve markets in Japan for CTI’s Nano-Cavitation Process Systems. Miura is a leading Engineering Company specialized in Edible Oil Processing Plants in the Far East. Last week CVAT reported a 3-for-1 forward stock split.

IRIDEX Corporation (Nasdaq: IRIX) today announced that it will release its third quarter 2009 financial results after the

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NEW YORK - November 4, 2009 - Credit implications of pending greenhouse gas (GHG) legislation will be a mixed bag for U.S. energy and related sectors from a potential positive for natural gas producers to a serious challenge for domestic refiners, according to a new Fitch Ratings report.

The basic premise of most corporate bond indexes is flawed. There has to be a better way.

Fixed income has been the fastest-growing corner of the ETF market this year, pulling in $31.5 billion in new capital through September. Those inflows worry me, for a number of reasons.

First, as I’ve written about previously, those inflows have forced some corporate bond ETFs to trade at large premiums to their net asset values. Those premiums are sustainable so long as investors continue to buy. Unfortunately, like all ETF premiums, if fund flows reverse, those premiums can collapse and turn into discounts, and investors will be left holding the bag. (See related story here.)

But there’s an even more fundamental problem with corporate bond ETFs, which stems from the way their indexes are constructed. This is the elephant in the room in corporate bond indexing, and it amazes me that it

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On Monday, Fitch Ratings raised its outlook for Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) to positive from stable subsequent to the completion of the company’s Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) for its Macau unit. The ratings also include an improved operating outlook following the relaxation of travel restrictions.  Through the Hong Kong IPO, Wynn sold 1.25 billion shares or a 25% stake in its Macau business, which represented Hong Kong's second-biggest haul of the year.  Macau, a former Portuguese colony, is one of the world’s biggest gambling markets. Though the economic slowdown has negatively impacted the revenues of casino operators in the last few quarters, we note that Macau has been posting record revenues. Recently, visa restrictions had been lessened by Beijing to allow mainland tourists to visit Macau once a month rather than twice a year.  In 2008, Macau generated HK$105.6 billion ($13.5 billion) of ...

This post provides links to a number of interesting articles I have read over the past few days that you may also enjoy.

• Andy Xie (Caijing.com.cn): Why one bubble burst deserves another, September 28, 2009. The financial crisis taught crucial lessons about the dangers of bubbles, loose regulation and debt. It’s a pity we didn’t learn.

• John Hussman (Hussman Funds): Zen lessons in market analysis, October 11, 2009. The best way of preparing for the future is to take good care of the present, because we know that if the present is made up of the past, then the future will be made up of the present.

• John Authers (Financial Times): Manufactured surprises will keep stocks rolling, October 10, 2009. A stronger recovery would help earnings but would also bring the risk of higher interest rates to

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Constellation Energy Group Inc. (CEG) is focused on improving its liquidity position and strengthen its balance sheet. The company was able to reduce its total debt level from $8.5 billion at year-end 2008 to below the $7 billion mark after the first half of fiscal 2009. The debt-loaded company with a debt-to-equity ratio of 134.6% after the first half of fiscal 2009 dished out $143.9 million in interest expenses during the recent second quarter of 2009 compared to only $78.8 million in the year-ago quarter. The pain may get even worse with the July 2009 downgrade by Fitch Ratings, bringing Constellation Energy's senior unsecured debt rating from BBB to BBB- and BGE's (Baltimore Gas & Electric) senior unsecured debt rating from A- to BBB+. With more than $1.5 billion of debt lined up for maturity this fiscal year, the company may have to resort to ...

On Tuesday, Citigroup Inc. (C) sold 4-part fixed and floating-rate notes worth $5.0 billion guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) under the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP). The notes belonging to the first tranche worth $1.25 billion carry a coupon rate of 1.25% and will mature on Nov 15, 2011. The notes will pay coupons semi-annually with the first payment expected on May 15, 2010. The notes belonging to the second tranche worth $250 million carry a coupon rate of 3 basis points (bps) below the 3-month London Inter-bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and will also mature on Nov 15, 2011. The notes will pay coupons quarterly with the first payment expected on Feb. 15, 2010. The notes belonging to the third tranche worth $1.0 million carry a coupon rate equivalent to 3-month London Inter-bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and will mature on Nov. 15, ...

On Tuesday, Citigroup Inc. (C) sold 4-part fixed and floating-rate notes worth $5.0 billion guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) under the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP).  The notes belonging to the first tranche worth $1.25 billion carry a coupon rate of 1.25% and will mature on Nov 15, 2011. The notes will pay coupons semi-annually with the first payment expected on May 15, 2010.  The notes belonging to the second tranche worth $250 million carry a coupon rate of 3 basis points (bps) below the 3-month London Inter-bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and will also mature on Nov 15, 2011. The notes will pay coupons quarterly with the first payment expected on Feb 15, 2010.  The notes belonging to the third tranche worth $1.0 million carry a coupon rate equivalent to 3-month London Inter-bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and will mature on Nov 15, ...

Moody’s allegedly hastened the credit crisis earlier in the decade by assigning top ratings to mortgage-backed securities that deteriorated later. Moreover, it is being probed by regulators worldwide, with several ongoing reviews in Europe for rating a European debt product, constant proportion debt obligations (CPDOs), at a higher-than-merited AAA.   According to the Wall Street Journal, Eric Kolchinsky a former analyst with Moody's Corp. (MCO) has accused Moody's Investor Service of issuing inflated ratings and will make the matter public by taking it to U.S. congressional investigators. Moody’s issued a high rating to a debt security, although it was planning to downgrade assets backing the securities. The Journal said that Moody's declined to make any comment but has suspended Mr. Kolchinsky, as he refused to cooperate with the investigation into the issues raised. Kolchinsky is scheduled to testify on the ratings firm reform before the House Committee ...