Snowe Dressed for the Prom
Research for Online Investors

by John Dalt

10/13/09

Sometimes we wish people would keep their opinions to themselves.   Meredith Whitney downgraded Goldman Sachs (GS) before market open this morning.  Bummer.  GS is one of the stocks I check for a barometer of the market.  I used to watch Merrill Lynch; they seemed to give a nod to the direction the market was headed.

The market analyst world is full of self-serving savants that play a game that few of us understand.  I am suspicious of some of the opinions that float through the airwaves, as it seems they are designed to influence stock prices for reasons unrelated to retail investors.  How many times do you think a stock has been downgraded, and the trading room is buying on the resulting dip?  Ever since I learned that GS and JPM are among the largest traders in gold and silver, I am suspicious.

Olympia Snowe (r-Maine) announced she would vote the Senate health care bill out of the Senate Finance Committee at 1 p.m.  Health Care stocks took a hit.  If you can imagine Ms. Snow in a prom dress, you know how she feels.  She has forgotten how the girl is treated, after the boys have their way with her.  As the father of four daughters, I am always mindful.  A clumsy comparison, but goodness, doesn’t she realize she is the obvious object of affection because she has something they want?

The California Public Employee Retirement System’s (CalPers) Chief Investment Officer Joseph Dear was on CNBC today blaming everyone except himself, and his other executive officers, for the losses in their portfolio.  I hate to hear whiners.  I visited yesterday with paid up subscriber C.H., she is 75 years old and manages her own substantial investment account.  She lost money in her account last year, enough that it hurts her security as she considers living options.  I did not hear her blame the bankers or the government or anyone else.  Like most adults, she accepts responsibility for her gains and losses.

I get letters everyday it seems, from attorneys that are filing class action suits against companies for perceived wrong doing.  They comb records and come up with names of people that happened to own the stock and want me to sign up with them for my payoff in the lawsuit lottery.  No thanks.  I made the trade, or investment.  If I lose, it is my fault.  It is not Enron, or Oh! Bama’s fault or anyone else.  Grow up Mr. Dear, it is a tough world.  Like we used to say in the construction business, “If you want a friend, get a dog.”  I have a great friend in Trixie, she is always excited to see me, after the market closes.  Win, lose or draw!

Subscriber C.H. wrote about yesterday’s comments concerning “off shore investment accounts.”

" If you pick up the book "Emergency" by Neil Strauss you'll see his efforts to figure things like this out.  I think the best way to do it, is to buy a citizenship in either the Dominican or St. Kitts and then you should be able to open accounts at any number of foreign banks. As it stands now, no foreign bank will do business with Americans (it’s not in their interests to do so).  Any way you slice it, hiding your assets from the U.S. govt is illegal so keep that in mind when considering courses of action.  America is not as free a place as people assume.”

My interest, as stated, is to limit the ability of the government to penetrate the account.  I do not, nor would I recommend, hiding income or illegal tax schemes.  However, I do not want the government to be able to take money out of my account.  I remember Bill and Hill floated the idea of a ‘one time contribution’ of 15% from all IRA and 401k owners.  This kind of thinking could also extend to any investment account.  I want to keep the ‘voluntary’ in my tax compliance.  C.H. also referenced the IRS website for information.  You may want to go here for your own research.  This link is directly to the page on “Miscellaneous International Tax Issues."

“This just in, Obama wins Heisman Trophy after watching a college football game!”--- subscriber S.V.

The information presented in this newsletter is based on generally available news releases, corporate filings, current events, interviews and the editor’s opinions.  It may contain errors and you should not make investment decisions based solely on what you believe you have read here.  Do your own research, it is your money.  If you lose it, it is your responsibility, not ours or your grandmothers!  The editor may or may not have a position in any securities discussed.  The editor may have held a position in a security earlier, or in the future.

MarketToday Home Page

Back to Top