http://www.hedgefolios.com/read Helping equity investors build and manage their own portfolios in bullish or bearish markets Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:40:32 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en HEDGEfolios year-to-date stock performance for 2008 (through 06/30/08 close) was up 16.15%. Over the same time period, the S&P 500 index was down -12.80%. At the end of June, the HEDGEfolios universe consisted of 3,405 stocks. Commentary: The first half of 2008 is complete and it certainly has not been easy. With ... http://www.hedgefolios.com/read/performance-through-june-30-2008 In terms of stock market analysis, I don't do a lot of things the way you are "supposed to do them" - I've spent a lot of time creating my own theories and refining them. When it comes to measuring or sensing stock market volatility, I do not ... http://www.hedgefolios.com/read/measuring-volatility Yesterday morning, Bob Pisani of CNBC suggested that the market would rally. When that happened until about 11:00, Vince Farrell decided to suggest that Pisani was some kind of market genius and named the positive action "The Pisani Bounce". Of course when the bounce "unbounced" from 11:00 until ... http://www.hedgefolios.com/read/the-pisani-bounce I used to make fun of Countrywide being treated by the media as a proxy for the health of the housing/mortgage/credit markets. Here are a few brief samples: Additional ... http://www.hedgefolios.com/read/is-gm-your-leader The previous post on my Unsettled concerns about Credit Default Swaps was long and had a deep dark ominous tone. If one of my posts is long or painful to read it's typically because the topic is extremely important and not being dealt with appropriately in my opinion. ... http://www.hedgefolios.com/read/brevity-and-levity Our financial system was on the brink of a meltdown from counterparty risk associated with Credit Default Swaps when the Fed bailed out Bear Stearns. We still are on the brink and for the same reason. At that time, $45 TRILLION was the estimated notional value ... http://www.hedgefolios.com/read/unsettled The Greens are excited about hybrid cars and there seems to be a cheer that goes up every time we hear a story of somebody who got fed up with their gas guzzler and bought a Mini or Prius or any other vehicle that was more energy and environmentally-friendly. ... http://www.hedgefolios.com/read/green-junkyards Watching this brewing battle with Bud and InBev, I couldn't help but reflect on the similarities with Hershey's board and the politicians surrounding Hershey, Pennsylvania who told the foreign company (Cadbury) to Kiss Off. With all the St. Louis and Missouri politicians and that "Show Me" attitude, it isn't ... http://www.hedgefolios.com/read/what-do-bud-hsy-and-yhoo-have-in-common Richard Fisher, President of the Dallas Fed has been talking tough lately about inflation. He even dissented (BFD) from the rest of the FOMC yesterday and voted for a 25 bps hike. But before you get impressed that Fisher knows what he is doing and is the lonesome ... http://www.hedgefolios.com/read/richard-fisher-and-inflation Don't worry - we bottomed already. Weren't you paying attention when so many smarties said that over and over again the past three months? March was the bottom. Remember? Bernanke set the bottom with the Bear Stearns bailout. Remember? The worst ... http://www.hedgefolios.com/read/how-can-we-be-bottoming