emily x

Comment Stream

Comment Stream
Filter comments by:
Highest rated Latest comments
Or filter by symbol:
  • Pain at the Pump: It's a Dollar Crisis, Not an Oil Crisis
    Personally, I never thought of SUV ownership as a sign of a high standard of living -- more like a low standard of intelligence. And re: the previous comment, Congress didn't give us the current energy "policy," Dick Cheney did, and refused to allow Congress or anybody else to examine or question it.
    May 29 13:26 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • The Oil Shortage, and Other Fairy Tales
    "all the court jesters on CNBC ooh and ah at the magnificence of the demand cycle, even though there are no fundamentals there at all!" -- hilarious, and sad, and so true! Great article. I didn't know Iraqi oil prod'n isn't counted -- fascinating. What's that, petty cash for Dick Cheney?
    May 22 09:36 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Playing the Agriculture Game
    "commodity company stocks act more like other stocks than futures — making them a rather poor substitute for commodity investments." Very interesting point, altho your chart indicates that the stocks of companies like Mosaic and ADM far outpaced the futures ETF and ETNs -- for last year, anyway.
    May 15 10:49 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Jim Rogers: Fed Policy is 'Outrageous'
    Fantastic. This guy is one of the only voices of reason in the entire financial community. Michael Metz is another.

    Re: the currency question above, Rogers has previously recommended: Swiss franc, Japanese yen, Chinese rinmindi.
    Apr 08 09:53 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Does Bad Economic Policy Lead to Greater Financial Regulation?
    I agree that the economic policy (if you can call it that) of the last 8 years has "created incentives for undisciplined behavior" (to say the least). But it looks to me like the slide in the value of the dollar is the result of several forces coming together, the main one being the administration's desire to make, or allow, the dollar go as low as possible. Far from being the result other nations' losing faith in us, the extremely weak dollar is very much a feature of current republican economic policy. It's a cause, not an effect.
    Apr 02 10:42 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • The Case Against Ethanol
    "Ethanol is 20% less efficient than gasoline. It takes 450 pounds of corn, for instance, to produce the ethanol to fill a seventeen gallon fuel tank. ... And it takes more than one gallon of fossil fuel - coal, oil and natural gas- to produce one gallon of ethanol."

    Not to mention the amount of water it takes to grow the corn -- a very water-intensive crop. I agree w/ your premise that the whole ethanol thing is a charade. Your idea that it's a "liberal feel-good program," however, is plainly contradicted by the full-blast, and as usual unconsidered, support it has gotten from this president.
    Mar 25 10:27 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Agriculture Explodes, But I'm Still Waiting to Buy
    "Agricultural prices are a long ways from their all-time inflation-adjusted highs. I do suspect that we will eventually see those highs." -- Then it would seem we're looking at a long-term uptrend, not necessarily an overextended condition. Commodities take big falls when they fall, but on the whole, I think you get in sooner rather than later on this and just hold on for the next 5-10 years. Of course, it's not my money, so... easy for me to say!
    Jan 04 09:45 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • No Bottom Yet: Housing Permits Drop To 14-Year Lows
    "[A] speculative bubble just burst and now everyone is thinking rationally again" -- Amen, brother! As one who has been thinking rationally on the sidelines in a rented condo for the last 2 years, I couldn't agree more. Home prices ARE still "too high" -- and yes, we will know it (the pullback) when we see it. Sellers who can afford to have pulled their houses off the market for now, but that's only a small percentage. Those who have to sell are mostly still in dreamland, aided and abetted by deluded real estate agents who swear by the hype put out by their national organizations. I actually had a broker tell me at an open house 2 weeks ago that her company thinks we've hit bottom here in SE Michigan. "Oh yeah?" I said. "Based on what? Do you know of some new influx of buyers to this area?" Answer: No... Because no such thing is happening. Around here, like in other places where a LOT of new construction went on the last few years, much of it bought up speculatively by "Rich Dad Poor Dad" readers, supply has just flooded demand. Barring some fundamental change, like a whole lot of new jobs into this area (even less likely than a bottom in housing), this is going to continue for a while (i.e., the "forseeable future").
    Dec 20 09:51 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Kudlow & Cramer Deliver Signs of a Market Downturn
    Good piece. Kudlow is *insufferable* -- I congratulate you for having made it thru his show!! I think my record is 30 minutes before my screaming at the TV makes the neighbors open their doors. He wastes the time of some very good guests, that's for sure.

    Cramer is indeed "educational and entertaining" -- The main thing I've learned watching his show is not to follow his advice. I lost quite a few shekels trying that at home when I first started investing. But it was all good -- it got me to pay more attention and make my own decisions, then I made it back and then some. A very valuable lesson. He's still fun to watch. But I actually listen to people like Michael Metz and Jim Rogers.
    Dec 18 10:52 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Is Agriculture the New Global Warming Bad Guy?
    Previous comment: "not a single useful, investible idea in the article. In other words..useless." Literally, what planet are you living on that you can afford not to care? It's essential to look at the environmental and human cost of any "investible idea" at this point.

    Agribusiness is a huge factor in carbon production and by extension global warming. AND large-scale water pollution, caused by massive use of fertilizers and pesticides. "How can I make money off this?" is just not the question to be asking, even on an investment website. Come on, financial wizards, you're supposed to be so smart -- put the brains to use for something greater than your near-term profits.

    PS, I don't agree that a "global collapse in commodity prices" is on the way -- maybe a setback in 2008, but the overall trend is up and will continue so for the next 5-10 years. IMHO.
    Dec 17 10:55 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Will Murdoch Reinvent The Wall Street Journal?
    "I would have preferred to see more in depth articles." -- Agreed, it's one of the few remaining newspapers where the writing really matters, and it comes from their own staffers. They've always had good writers. As he has done w/ every other news outlet he controls, Murdoch will politicize WSJ's reporting until it's no longer trustworthy. It'll become absurd right-wing propaganda. It's a shame -- they never shoulda sold out to him.
    Dec 13 11:17 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Could China Crash the US Dollar on a Whim?
    Superb article. Thank you!
    Oct 24 13:56 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Julian Robertson Predicts a Doozy of a Recession
    "In fact, strike that, ignore the government numbers (even though the market won't) and just read the job cuts from company after company in their press releases" -- You got that SO right, Trader Mark! Great article. I agree, rates are going down, but in terms of the consumer it's not even going to touch the real problem, which is stagnant wage growth (for those who have jobs, that is), and the cost of everything else, from gasoline to property taxes, going up. The middle and working class in this country have been crushed and squeezed like oranges for years -- and now we're finally getting to the point when there's no juice left.

    Next phase: REALLY low-paying manufacturing jobs start coming back to the US -- only it'll be India and China hiring us this time. Can't wait for that!
    Oct 24 13:42 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Seven Reasons Why a Weak Dollar Hurts America
    If by "cutting federal spending," you mean ending the money drain that is the Iraq war, absolutely. Simplify the tax code -- YES: how about a flat 1/10th tax for everybody, including corporations, excluding the poor, the elderly and those on unemployment?

    Great article. Nobody is talking about the damage that the falling dollar is doing. It's almost like heresy to say it -- the business people think it's helping them; everyone else thinks it doesn't matter.
    Oct 19 10:38 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • A Closer Look At Unemployment
    All us "persons employed part-time for economic reasons" in Michigan -- i.e., 3/4 of the population -- thank you for bringing this up!!
    Sep 07 13:18 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article

emily x's Comments Stream Stats

  • 34 Comments, 0 , 0
  • Total Comment Stream rating - = 0