The purpose of IBOR is to protect financial markets and to create self-sufficient investors who produce economic growth instead of government deficits. IBOR standards create transparent financial markets, regulate speculation, and protect retirement portfolios. Here’s a sampling:

Section One: Product Transparency. All investors have a right to see precisely what securities are inside any investment product by accessing real time information that includes names and cost-based allocation percentages.

Section Two: Regulation and Education.

Section Three: Protection from Speculators. Investors have a right to protection from risks added to portfolios without their control, knowledge, or permission.
Naked shorting, index fund ownership of large share positions, and all naked option transactions would be prohibited.

Section Four: Controls of Hedge Funds.

Section Five: Brokerage Account Statements. Investors have a right to account statements that: 1) help manage asset allocation targets, 2) report realized gains and losses, 3) track …

Long-time Buy recommended oil-rig marketer Grey Wolf (GW) has finally ended its long-term courtship with Precision Drilling (PDS) by agreeing to be purchased by the E&P [exploration and production] trust for cash and stock totaling over $2 billion.  This follows GW turning down an offer from Basic Energy Services (BAS). 

Precision has missed earnings estimates in its last three quarterly earnings reports, but its Zacks consensus for fiscal year 2008 is up slightly in the past month.  For BAS, it has, like Grey Wolf, seen a flurry of upwardly revised estimates for both the eptember quarter and fiscal year earnings.

Zacls senior oil & gas industry analyst Sheraz Mian has covered Grey Wolf for years, and as of his latest Analyst Note has kept his Buy rating on the shares.  A quote: "[T]he termination of its merger agreement with BAS due to shareholder rejection... will bring back

According to former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan, the housing market is "likely to start to stabilize or touch bottom sometime in the first half of 2009."  However, the Wall Street Journal report this morning also quoted Greenspan as saying, "[P]rices could continue to drift lower through 2009 and beyond."  Meaning don't expect the housing bottom until the first half of '09 at the very earliest.

A sampling of U.S.-based homebuilders including D.R. Horton (DHI), Lennar (LEN), Ryland (RYL), Beazer (BZH) and Hovnanian (HOV) shows none of these companies with anywhere near positive earnings estimates for their coming quarters or fiscal year. Yet every one of these companies' stocks is up thus far in today's trading, from 3.9 percent (Ryland) to 8.7 percent (Beazer).

Driving up the valuation on homebuilding stocks may cause some ratings downgrades in the future.  In fact, Zacks senior equities analyst Mario Ricchio issued