summer season kicks-off

the summer season kicks off this weekend, even though it is being ushered in by clouds and rain. The markets have been ripping since their 'hiccup' a few months back. Now that summer on the street is officially here, will the markets cool or continue their upward romp?

Happy Memorial Day. Honor those who served and sacrificed for our freedom.

DJIA 13,507.28

NASDAQ 2,557.19

SP500 1,515.73

urge to merge

what is going on with mergers and acquisitions? It seems everyday a new blockbuster deal gets announced. Yesterday it was Goldman and TPG buying out the number 5 wireless carrier, Alltel, for $25B. The PE guys and the investment banks are doing a brisk business – the fees alone are very attractive not even considering actually participating in the deals as an acquiror. Then there is the merger activity of the industry participants, ie. the #3 player in an industry buying out the #6 player in the industry. All this M&A activity is fueling a heady market with the Dow and S&P at or near all time highs. What will time tell us about this flurry of buyouts and taking companies private…and then subsequently the PE companies that are doing the acquiring (Blackstone for example) which are now going public?

big premium

Another bullish week for the bulls. 'Round here is the buzz regarding Microsoft's purchase of Aquantive for $6B. AQNT closed around $64 this afternoon, up $28 from yesterday's close & a nice 78% gain on the day. Just another day in the life of mergers and acquisitions. Maybe the publicly traded companies felt snubbed with all the attention and deals that the PE guys were getting, so MSFT opened up its wallet and paid generously for the property that will allow them to compete a bit better with the Goog.

Happy Friday.

DJIA 13,556.53

NASDAQ 2,558.45

SP500 1,522.75

news flash...same old stuff

Out of town last week. Travel.

So Rupert is bidding for Dow Jones but the family doesn't want to sell. Michael Douglas will come back as Gordon Gekko in a reprise of his academy-award winning role, except now Gordo has entered the secretive world of global (macro?) hedge funds after completing his prison stint back in '87 - damn that Bud Fox. Wall Street: the sequel, is a long ways off but still fun to imagine what the movie will be like when finished.

More HF managers are jumping on the Obama bandwagon, better get my campaign contribution in asap. Oh, and the new insider-trading scheme de jour is the husband/wife combo....seems to be the latest trend in illegally-gotten gains.

Happy Monday.

DJIA 13,346.78

NASDAQ 2,546.44

SP500 1,503.15

up and away II

yes, it's part deux of the 'up and away' franchise....we may have to have several more installments as the weeks and months go by. We have reached the month of May. The summer slow-down is just a few weeks away. The Memorial Day kick-off, which of course means we can all bring out our whites, is so tantalizing close....

Even though the calendar may be signaling a summer breather, the markets have been on fire lately. The down 13K seems so 'yesterday' as does Naz 2500. If only the naz were breaking into higher territory each and every day!

Happy Friday.

DJIA 13,264.62

NASDAQ 2,572.15

SP500 1,505.62