More poor research

As you may know, I get to see a lot of financial research. Sometimes there are brilliant gems worth every moment or penny spent on the research. Then there is the vast majority of research- garbage.  Research is too often just a sales pitch to buy stocks or mutual funds. Show what seems to be a scientific look at why stocks should go up (or down) and you have the makings of a convincing sales piece. If you can make your point in just one powerpoint slide or page, it is even more impactful.

GM: General Misunderstanding about the stock

There shouldn't be anyone left on the planet that doesn't know GM went bankrupt. At least not amongst people who might buy and sell stocks. It came to me as some surprise then, when I checked GM's stock price today, that it was actually up. The stock was up 2.5% today to a whopping $0.52 per share! Lest you think only a few shares traded hands, some 32 million shares traded today and has averaged about this volume since filing chapter 11. That's $16 million of GM stock trading each day. (By the way, the name of the "old" GM was changed to "Motors Liquidation Company" under ticker symbol "MTLQQ").

Who could have been first on the moon?

A few years ago when I was teaching in Seoul, I visited the Seoul science museum. It was mostly geared to kids. Lots of buttons you push that have unexpected results like a bolt of electricity arcs between two wires or you find out what Karen Carpenter's weight would be on the surface of a neutron star. Kids love that sort of thing. There was also a space exhibit. Part of the exhibit was a little diorama model of the moon with your classic LEM and two astronauts exploring the moon. I've included the picture below the fold. Tell me if you see something rather odd in the photo.

Max out your friends, not your credit card

A guy I worked with years ago (circa 1991, a time when a young Victoria Jackson was teaching America to laugh and Sergeant Slaughter finally defeated Ultimate Warrior for the WWF championship belt) told me about how when his father was a young salesman he was part of a "suit financing ring". Each ring would have, say, 10 friends or coworkers. Basically each person put in $5 a month. At the end of each month, one person would get a new business suit (10 people putting in $5 a month would give the fund $50 a month and I guess back then a good business suit would run you about $50). After 10 months, everyone had a new business suit and the cycle would continue.

Anecdotal observations from Las Vegas

I happened to be in Las Vegas for a conference this weekend and noticed something new. No, not another hotel or attraction- those are always springing up. Rather, I noticed that prices have risen on the strip. Not hotel room prices- those have fallen hard.  In fact, a room at the center-strip and recently renovated Mirage are just $63 per night. The Monte Carlo offers rooms from just $38. I have paid double and triple these rates at the same properties in the past.