SubscribeTim Sykes on Wallstrip
January 26, 2008
It seems it is the weekend of videos on TDI.
My good friend Tim Sykes was recently interviewed on Wallstrip. You are either going to love him or hate him I suppose. He has an irreverent style that has turned thousands of investors into fans of his website/blog. Tim is a teacher and an entertainer. His story is rather fascinating and his current non-stop sleep depriving obsession is to create greater transparency on Wall Street.
The basic tale-o-tim is that while studying Philosophy and Business at Tulane University, he managed to turn his $12,415 Bar Mitzvah Gift money into a fully audited pre-tax sum of $1.65 million. This was from 1999 to 2002 before founding his hedge fund, Cilantro Fund Management, LLC in 2003. He is was also one of the cast of traders on Wall Street Warriors and has been featured in dozens of financial rags.
In 2006, Timothy’s hedge fund was ranked the #1 Short-Bias Fund by Barclays for 2003-2006 and he was named to Trader Monthly’s 2006 ‘Top 30 under 30,’ a list recognizing the top 30 investment professionals under the age of 30.
Here is where the plot thickens; according to Tim, after suffering a roughly 35% loss over the course of two years, on October 1, 2007, he closed his hedge fund and started a publishing company, BullShip Press, LLC. All of this was in an effort to promote Freedom of Finance, the concept of a hedge fund manager’s right to discuss their business freely without risk of penalty or censorship. Then, on November 1, 2007, Tim unveiled TIM, or Transparent Investment Management, announcing he will go back to his $12,415 roots and repeat the feat of turning this sum into $1.65 million. This time around, his plan is to detail all his investments and his investment process on his blog, as he hopes to “become the first hedge fund manager to detail their strategies for all to see.”
Check out his Wallstrip interview and make sure to track his real-time trading account on Covestor. AND, if you are looking for a good read that will give you the details of Tim’s story, get a copy of his book, An American Hedge Fund. It is an entertaining and fast read.
Cramer Video - A Bull AND a Bear
January 26, 2008
I have been just tickled with the Santelli, Ip and Cramer funnies. This video has been circling around and is just a hoot!
Rick Santelli is the smart one and a big round of applause to him for not bowing to the cackles of the street. Keep up the good work Rick. You da man!
This is a great Video, check it out. HEY GUYS: ADMIT YOUR ERRORS!
Friday Stock Screen: 25 Highest Yield from S&P 500
January 25, 2008
A simple list of the top 25 highest yield stocks from the S&P 500. It is a good time to look for deep value and many of the names produced by these types of screens will provide just that. Be careful not to fall into the trap of chasing yield as that is a sure-fire way of losing hard earned capital.
Look at the list as a starting point for more research.
Finally, with the markets showing great headwinds in front of it, many of the names toward the top of the list may need to be reviewed from a debt and capital standpoint. Make sure the none of these are overburdened with debt as it could become a problem for the dividend into the future.
(ACAS) (ABK) (CZN) (HBAN) (WIN) (WB) (DDR) (RF) (FITB) (AIV) (BAC) (CMA) (NYT) (EQ) (KEY) (BBT) (LEG) (GGP) (PFE) (EQR) (AEE) (PGN) (USB) (MI) (NCC) (TEG)
Disclosure: Horowitz & Company clients may have positions in stocks mentioned in this article.
On Lust and Trust
January 25, 2008
Over the past few days I have received a good amount of mail from blog subscribers, podcast listeners and clients. Many have mentioned that they are disillusioned. Some are horrified. Others are fed up (no pun intended)! Come to think of it, I do not think that there were any that were, even in the least, happy with the markets even though they gained. It is rather obvious that there is a great deal of confusion out there.
On average, investors are looking for answers while they are having a hard time envisioning the future. For sure, there are a few that think this is just a quick correction and nothing to worry about. There are even those that are all for blame, such as the curmudgeons that frequently come up with a good bashing of the Fed, the media and hedge funds. But when we really look at the situation that is developing, we need not blame. Rather, we need to find long term solutions. The crap layered on top of crud within the financial sector is nothing new, nor will it ever stop without significant intervention.
As we have been busy recalling the Savings and Loan Crisis, we seemed to have forgotten about the CMO meltdown two decades ago and the “rouge broker” fiasco’s we have witnessed during the past many years/months. Lest not we even bring up the forever banished names of Long Term Capital Management or Enron!
One particular email that caught my attention from a loyal podcast listener hit the proverbial nail on the head. It talked directly to the point that it is not only the current administration’s or even the old-guard’s fault that we are in such a disarray. The truth is that out of all of the current politicians vying for the coveted position of Commander and Chief, there is no particular name that brings any feeling of comfort. No one that is seemingly able to come up with anything more than political rhetoric and snippets in an effort to win over votes.
I think that what is happening in the financial arena is immoral. The lust for profit above all else has gone too far. Capitalism succeeds only when trust, and the spirit of fair play is maintained. We are at a critical inflection point and I do not see any existing governmental authority figure who can inspire.
Greenspan left quite a mess in his wake. Now he is off to the hedge fund which is exploiting the downside of the easy credit conditions he himself enabled. This scenario is a microcosm of the morally bankrupt behavior that is commonplace.
..Fred S.
Once more, we are in a crisis of confidence. One that will take time to heal. Be sure that once we are back and fully trusting those individuals and companies that help us “create wealth,” they will assuredly cook up another scheme that brings on another financial implosion. Then, the cycle will continue on again and again and again. Feel better?
TDI Episode 41: UPDATE - Exploding the Economy with Gas !
January 22, 2008
Guest: John C. Dvorak. Exploding the Economy with GAS! Recession coming? Are we seeing the projected 2009 crash much earlier than is expected? Andrew is still bearish in the face of the uncertainty and the inability of the Fed or Washington to come up with a cogent plan to help stave of what is shaping up to be a prolonged market slump and eventual recession.
John C. Dvorak shares some of his thoughts on the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2008. He still has a concern about Intel (INTC) and AMD (AMD). We discuss the effects of mergers and acquisitions and the indigestion issue. The forward view for the technology sector is also explored.
Andrew shares a crazy idea of how to stimulate the economy by creating a stimulus package through rebates at the gas pump. While there are many holes in this idea, it could help to pad consumer’s pockets immediately and help to bring new money to the economy. Waiting to fund the problem until April is stupid. We need to see an explosive move NOW!
John also discusses his recent MarketWatch article concerning the MYSQL acquisition and how it seems to be an error on the part of Sun Microsystems (JAVA).
Lots and lots to chew on in Episode 41…Listen through iTunes and subscribe to make sure you get future episodes.
Coming up on future episodes are the founders of Covestor and then we have scheduled Chris Jolley from MSN Money who will share with us all of the important features that MSN Money has to offer.
Andrew is teaching a FREE class January 31, 2008. Make sure to sign up ASAP as reservations are required. See Details.
————————————-
Links
-
GoToMeeting
