Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Stock Purchase

Today I bought SKF @ $101.98.  SKF is an ETF which bets that financial stocks will go down.


My reasoning for this play -
  • Stocks rose big today, despite bad news for financials in that lending rates are rising, this suggests a downward correction in the near future.
  • Financials are sheltered by the current ban on short selling.  When this ban is lifted, presumably at the end of the week, financials should fall due to the reintroduction of a downward correcting force.
  • While a bailout may well be passed by the end of the week, the market largely factored in a bailout today.  Also, for a bailout to pass, it will need to be less favorable for financials than the one that was voted on yesterday.
  • On Friday, a myriad of bad economic news will be released.  The first target for this bad news will be financials.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Final Jeopardy

Category - 20th Century America

Answer - Experts say Glenn McDuffie is the mystery man in the classic Eisenstaedt photo taken in this year.

My Response - 1945 (Correct)

New Business Idea

In light of our current economic discombobulation, I've begun to pursue scams and thievery to grab the scraps of the US economy.

Here is an email I've drafted - 

FROM Mr JACOB BARSTRAND
12 MIDWILL EASTRAND
NEW YORK CITY,
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

DEAR Sir,

My name is Jacob Barstrand the first Son of Nigel Barstrand, former COMPTROLLER of the US TREASURY. As you are aware if you listen to news on CNN or BBC, my country is in great turmoil. My father has resigned and handed over office to Mr. Moses Silverton having been given an automaton by America to leave office.

We have been granted Asylum in Nigeria, but which the Nigeria's Emissary seem to be fighting against, and has created a lot of misunderstanding or civil disorder in Nigeria since the 11th of August 2003. Nigeria is in West Africa and across the Atlantic Ocean from The United States, therefore there is no guarantee for security, hence my father sending me to South Africa to safeguard my life and that of my family. I came into South Africa with some money, which I have successfully deposited in Security Company, which would need your help to take this money out of Africa.

If you are interested and ready to help me, I will gladly give you 15% of the total sum of (US$700B) Seven Hundred Billion United States Dollar Which is currently laying in the Security company here in Johannesburg, for you effort and 5% can be set aside for any expenditure that may be incurred by you for saving me from the predicament while the 80% is for investment in your country.

Kindly treat this matter with high confidentiality, as you know the current situation, which you can verify from CNN or BBC. I would like you to reply urgent as to enable me know where you stand as time is of essence.

Thank you and God bless.

Best Regards

Jacob Barstrand.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

I just had a terrible weekend...

Thursday night during one of my numerous information absorptions, I was ecstatic to learn the USC had fallen to unranked OSU.  I thought that the football gods were going to bless me with yet another wonderful weekend.

Coming into the weekly cycle of American male-validation, my teams were all undefeated.  Sadly, they're all leaving this cycle no longer able to make such boasts.

Nebraksa lost to Virginia Tech, Colorado lost to Florida State, and the most hurtful, the Broncos lost to Kansas City.

So to all USC, Florida, and Georgia fans, I'm there with you...

Thursday, September 25, 2008

I need a Bailout

I've kind of got myself into a jam recently.  Due to a highly unfortunate and unlikely chain of circumstances, most of which are totally out of my control, I need some big-time help.

I'll be blunt with you, I need $700 billion.  If I don't get it, everyone around me will lose their jobs. The standards of living which we are used to will crumble.  People will be on the streets starving, the dead will rise from the grave, dogs and cats will live together...it will be mass hysteria.

Look, I know I have been wrong about these kinds of thing in the past.  You probably remember when I asked you to buy into that plan I had to win free gas for life. I realize that the results of that decision have yielded a quagmire of ego from which there are no signs of escape, but I promise this is different.

Here is how I got into this mess. I am sure you will sympathize with my decision making processes -
  • It all started back in the early 2000s when you gave me all that money from the internets.  Haha, we all got a little carried away with how much money we bet on the internets, but we still came out with a lot.  Instead of being responsible with that money, I sort of had this bet-big-on-the-next-homerun mentality.  I wanted to make a safe, educated bet though so I put it all on...
  • Housing, and I bet real big.  My highly educated professor from a prestigious university told me the price of housing never goes down.  I accidently built slightly too much though...No biggie.  I'll just sell it to a few people who may not normally be in the housing marketing, I'll sell to...
  • Sub-prime borrowers, c'mon, my motivations were altruistic.  I really put on my philanthropic hat and allowed people to own houses who couldn't normally afford it, a win-win.  I was packaging and distributing an Econo-American Dream!  Some people were hesitant at first, but I simply leveraged the post-9/11 patriotism surge and the record low interest rates to manipulate the masses into a deal that was...
  • Too good to be true, only it wasn't.  Well, maybe by some interpretations it was.  I noticed that perhaps some of these decisions weren't the best.  No worries though, as long as I could conceal the risk of my minor mistakes, I could distribute them evenly amongst the major financial institutions which  comprise my lifeblood.  The detrimental effects probably wouldn't be noticed...as long as we don't experience an...
  • Economic downturn...wtf I thought the business cycle was only relevant hundreds of years ago.  Anyway, the black-hole of debt I created began to feed on itself an everything around it.  Those banks who I thought would be able to handle the minor hiccup...turns out they are collapsing.
Long story short, I need a bailout.  In order to close up this black hole of debt, I need more money than has ever been given to anyone ever, ever.  

I realize this goes against every value we've ever held dear, and represents a total reversal of the mindset which has allowed us to achieve our historical level of success.  I realize that it doesn't make much sense to solve debt problems with more debt, especially when I'm taking out a debt from the people that yielded the bad debt in the first place.  

No worries though, I asked my friend who is 12 credits away from his MBA if this was a good idea, and he didn't see why not.

Please make the check out to "Fail", actually, just make it out to cash.  I'll pay you back I promise.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Final Jeopardy

Category: Novels

Answer: This title of an 1851 work doesn't show up until chapter 133.

My Response: Uncle Tom (wrong)

Correct Response: Moby Dick

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Final Jeopardy

Category: Presidential Lasts

Answer: He was the most recent US President not to serve as a governor.

My Response: George H.W. Bush (correct)