If that's for real, then what else can be not faked?
"In the meantime, big investment banks have been showing how much they learned from the financial crisis by repackaging their CDOs (collateralized debt obligations) as CLOs (collateralized loan obligations) and trying to get them off their books. Lehman Brothers (LEH: 44.60 +0.55 +1.25%) is the latest in joining the game, creating the “Freedom CLO” which will hopefully free it of its CDOs and bring it into the bright new future of CLOs.
It all sounds a bit like a late April Fool’s joke: banks hoping to rid themselves of toxic CDOs they hold by repackaging them as CLOs. But Lehman is not alone; Deutsche Bank (DB: 119.75 +2.01 +1.71%) and Credit Suisse (CS: 57.03 +1.00 +1.78%) have also been busy converting CDOs into CLOs. It will be interesting to see whether there is actually any take up for these products now that they’ve been renamed, or whether investors will see through this blatant attempt at dumping their CDOs and other bad debts." from GraceCheng.com.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Skybus grounded for good
by Tom Barlow
(Observer's note: The airline stocks rebumped nicely last year after restructuring and settling with the unions. I once thought the airline industry might have unfolded its new era given the need of increased inter-continental travels nowadays and people shun away from driving due to increased fuel costs, especially when companies such as Skybus are reforming the air travel industry as an economic mass transportation service provider. Unfortunately, this year we firstly saw Hawaii airline broke its wings, and then ATA, and now my favorite - Skybus - I was among one of the first group boarding passengers to get a round trip between Columbus and Boston priced at $36 including tax and fees! I still think there may be a drastic change not far away from us in transportation industry, something like an affordable flying car from GM or Ford or another discount airline just like Skybus. Hmmm I like the name "Skyship" better, or "Skywalker".) :-)
Skybus, the no-frills airline headquartered in my home town of Columbus, announced on April 4th it was folding its wings and quitting. The airline has discontinued all flights, stranding passengers who were due return trips from their outbound flight, and declared bankrupcy.
The move, which the airline attributed to rising fuel costs, gives credence to the naysayers who had derided the company's model from the onset. With only a few planes, (five at launch), the airline attempted to use unrealistically tight turnaround times to service an ambitious national flight schedule.
Intially, Skybus was best known for its policy of reserving at least ten spots on each flight to sell for $10 each. Later, it gained notoriety as the airline that could not be contacted by telephone, refusing to deal with customer service problems except by e-mail. When it ran into maintenance problems with a couple of jets on the same day recently and had to cancel a number of flights, its customer non-service brought a great deal of negative press.
I'm sad to lose the many direct flights Skybus offered, but this and the earlier folding of ATA demonstrates how difficult it is to play in this high stakes, low rewards industry. At the moment, I just want an airline I can count on. The only one I can think of is the U.S. Air Force.
(Observer's note: The airline stocks rebumped nicely last year after restructuring and settling with the unions. I once thought the airline industry might have unfolded its new era given the need of increased inter-continental travels nowadays and people shun away from driving due to increased fuel costs, especially when companies such as Skybus are reforming the air travel industry as an economic mass transportation service provider. Unfortunately, this year we firstly saw Hawaii airline broke its wings, and then ATA, and now my favorite - Skybus - I was among one of the first group boarding passengers to get a round trip between Columbus and Boston priced at $36 including tax and fees! I still think there may be a drastic change not far away from us in transportation industry, something like an affordable flying car from GM or Ford or another discount airline just like Skybus. Hmmm I like the name "Skyship" better, or "Skywalker".) :-)
Skybus, the no-frills airline headquartered in my home town of Columbus, announced on April 4th it was folding its wings and quitting. The airline has discontinued all flights, stranding passengers who were due return trips from their outbound flight, and declared bankrupcy.
The move, which the airline attributed to rising fuel costs, gives credence to the naysayers who had derided the company's model from the onset. With only a few planes, (five at launch), the airline attempted to use unrealistically tight turnaround times to service an ambitious national flight schedule.
Intially, Skybus was best known for its policy of reserving at least ten spots on each flight to sell for $10 each. Later, it gained notoriety as the airline that could not be contacted by telephone, refusing to deal with customer service problems except by e-mail. When it ran into maintenance problems with a couple of jets on the same day recently and had to cancel a number of flights, its customer non-service brought a great deal of negative press.
I'm sad to lose the many direct flights Skybus offered, but this and the earlier folding of ATA demonstrates how difficult it is to play in this high stakes, low rewards industry. At the moment, I just want an airline I can count on. The only one I can think of is the U.S. Air Force.
Speculation Barometers: China and Solar Stocks
(Observer's note: This article is again from Bill Luby's site. Below I'm highlighting the sentences worthy of chewing, imho. Another blog I frequently visited is a blog of blogs - "Investment Blogger's Digest" for observations on general economics and market condition.)
Two areas that have been rife with speculative frenzy – both bullish and bearish – over the past year or so have been China and solar stocks. Not surprisingly, the space where the two intersect, Chinese solar stocks, has been one of the most volatile segments of the market.
I have elected not to show the long-term chart of these stocks, which looks a lot like a higher beta version of the chart of the FXI. Instead, the chart below compares the year-to-date performance of most significant players in the Chinese solar space that are traded on US exchanges: JASO; STP; LDK; YGE; TSL; SOLF; and CSUN. I left JASO as the anchor and show the volume in this stock at the bottom of the chart because JASO is the biggest gainer of the year so far and the chart shows that after the March 10th bottom, strong volume flowed into the stock over the next three days, marking the beginning of the current leg up.
Given their high profile and speculative history, Chinese solar stocks can be an excellent speculative barometer, not only for China and the solar sector, but for the markets as a whole. More importantly, where there is strong speculative activity, particularly coming off of a sharp bear move, there is increased confidence in the markets and a high degree of perceived opportunity.
Two areas that have been rife with speculative frenzy – both bullish and bearish – over the past year or so have been China and solar stocks. Not surprisingly, the space where the two intersect, Chinese solar stocks, has been one of the most volatile segments of the market.
I have elected not to show the long-term chart of these stocks, which looks a lot like a higher beta version of the chart of the FXI. Instead, the chart below compares the year-to-date performance of most significant players in the Chinese solar space that are traded on US exchanges: JASO; STP; LDK; YGE; TSL; SOLF; and CSUN. I left JASO as the anchor and show the volume in this stock at the bottom of the chart because JASO is the biggest gainer of the year so far and the chart shows that after the March 10th bottom, strong volume flowed into the stock over the next three days, marking the beginning of the current leg up.
Given their high profile and speculative history, Chinese solar stocks can be an excellent speculative barometer, not only for China and the solar sector, but for the markets as a whole. More importantly, where there is strong speculative activity, particularly coming off of a sharp bear move, there is increased confidence in the markets and a high degree of perceived opportunity.
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