long weekend

out of town last week, back this week, heading into a 3 day weekend. The contagion seems to have subsided for now, the number of blow-ups is declining and although there were only 3 HF launches in July, the in-flows were still healthy and the industry looks like it *just might* survive...

The feds looks like they might step up (somehow) and rescue the sub-prime homeowners so they won't lose their homes.... nice of the government folk.

Happy Friday and a very happy long weekend.

DJIA 13,357.00

NASDAQ 2,596.36

SP500 1,473.88

another day...

another fund closes up shop...today there may have been more than one, but the one that made the news is Solent Capital and their Mainsail II Fund. They were heavily invested in guess what... yep, mortgage-backed securites and CDO's. And the carnage continues...there are still rumors swirling that a BIG fund is circling the drain...

Great pic at dealbreaker...

cutting rates

the Fed stepped up in a big way today, lowering the Fed Discount rate by 50 basis points. A surprise move that caused the markets to react to the upside today. Not sure if a 1/2 point decrease will make the problems of the past month or so simply vanish but at least it shows the Fed is paying attention to the markets.

Happy Friday.

DJIA 13,079.08

NASDAQ 2,505.03

SP500 1,445.94

141 to go

recommitted.....with a vengeance.

Is the fall-out over from the 'credit crunch' that has been crunching for about 7 or 8 weeks now? Big HF's are folding faster than a newbie at the WSOP. Several banks have gotten skinned too. There are still smart people saying we haven't seen the end of it and in fact we have only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg. On the other side of the coin, there are a handful of guys who manage 'credit opportunity' funds and they were on the right side of the trade the past several months....now up 300% or more for the year, posting over 100% gains just in the month of July...

credit contagion

another wild week, another few melt-downs as the credit market contagion spreads to previously un-affected areas. So say you're manager and your credit investments are hard to value, hard to trade and the banks are calling with the margin requirements. You can't raise $$$ by selling the credit positions, so what do you do? Raise capital by selling the liquid positions, mainly equities. That is one of the oft-given explanations for the pounding the market is taking. Throw in some very high volatility and a swirl of rumors of banks and funds going out of business (or at the very least in some very deep trouble) and you have the makings of a very hectic week. Evidently the stat arb and risk arb guys are getting thrown for a loop because it seems they all have the same 'proprietary models', so when one catches the flu, they all get it. They are all running for the exits but the doors are only so wide...

The Feds intervened 3 times today by injecting more money into the monetary system. The last time the Fed had to act like this was back on 9/11. With all that said, the S&P was up for the week so go figure.

Happy Friday.

DJIA 13,239.54

NASDAQ 2,544.89

SP500 1,453.64

the fade

another fade into the close, after a up and down week, the friday bell finally came, the markets sold off into the close, not a good sign for the longs. The selling pressure isn't over yet, the longs are taking profits, the shorts are establishing positions.

Happy Friday.

DJIA 13,181.91

NASDAQ 2,511.25

SP500 1,433.06