Well this is certainly an interesting perspective (NYT):
Madoff paused as he related this. His voice settled. He said to me, “I am a good person.”
—-
A comment I often hear people make about 13F tracking is that you will always trail the manager in buying the stock. This is factually true, but it assumes that is always a bad thing. Case in point, from MarketFolly: “you can buy shares at the same level (or even below) what Buffett paid for them in Conoco Phillips (COP), Kraft (KFT), Sanofi Aventis (SNY), and Munich RE”
—-
Which is the largest company in the United States—Exxon, Walmart, General Electric, or Bank of America? The answer is…
…all of the above.
Walmart ranks first on five-year average sales. Exxon ranks first on five-year average cash flow or earnings or market cap. General Electric is at the top of dividend payer list for the past five years. And, even after all of its write-offs, Bank of America remains the largest company by book value. (From IndexUniverse / Arnott)
—-
If you are interested in trading system design the I think Conquering the Divide: How to Use Economic Indicators to Catch Stock Market Trends is a must read. Want to know how to turn BAA spreads, PMI, and Durable Goods reports into money makers? Check it out.
—-
Well this looks bullish. James Glassman (Dow 36,000: The New Strategy for Profiting From the Coming Rise in the Stock Market fame) is now out with a book Safety Net: The Strategy for De-Risking Your Investments in a Time of Turbulence. I haven’t read either so no comment on the texts.
—-
I bought all of these currencies (usually $10mm+ bills) on eBay for about $20. Top 5 Hyperinflations (CNBC):
Greece, Oct. 1944
Germany, Oct. 1923
Yugoslavia, Jan. 1994
Zimbabwe, Nov. 2008
Hungary 1946