Musing on Tuesday End of Month Wrap-up

• Finishing touches are being applied to my client April inflation fighting webinar. We all know some form of inflation is coming we just don't know how bad it will be. I'll give ideas and suggestion. It'll all be done by phone and computer. Tell your friends and I'll have more news coming. You won't have to leave your home or office.


• Last week started off on a sour note with oil up, gold down and markets off. Commodities rolled over and no rate hike from the Fed as we look forward to the balance of 2010. Big Ben testified in front of a Congressional panel insisting that rates will not increase soon. This means Treasuries are still appealing if bought right. More being heard from Japan as they prepare their first IPO in many years, one of their insurance companies is going public. Wal-Mart entered the on-line video biz by spending $100 million buying an existing company. Tuesday saw the markets spiral into a triple digit loss as consumer confidence evaporated. Wednesday was the bounce with Bernanke pledging no rate hike. Thursday's 188 point drop in the DOW recovered most by end of day losing a scant 53 due to jobless claims and credit problems overseas. Friday ended up as did the month.


• According to Mark Humbert at MarketWatch the stock market is neither extremely over-nor undervalued right now. He said, Right now.


• General Motors may be the hottest IPO of 2010. The government wants out with almost a 61% stake along with the Canadian government and UAW health-trust making up another 30%. Clients with an interest in this should call me now.


• A brilliant little puff piece on whole life insurance written in the WSJ last week broke rules that if I or anyone who is licensed to sell the product either wrote or said what the writer Leslie Scism did they'd be slapping the cuffs and making me walk the prep-way. Yes, I'm talking they're writing about life insurance as an investment - which we all know it isn't.


• The pain in Spain is mainly following the woes of Greece. Same story different accent. George Soros and fellow hedge funders gathered at dinner (I kid not) to launch a massive attack against the Euro. Using 20-1 leverage this could be a huge assault.


• Citigroup, Inc. is about to sell a hedge fund business, their fund of funds management with about $4 billion in assets. U.S. government ownership in the banking giant has decreased from 27% to 23%. As we seeing a slowly emerging healthy Citi, or a company attempting to get out from under government ownership at any cost?


• A world of worries as some suggest a China bubble, and recent articles expose empty skyscrapers in downtown Beijing. Brazil too overvalued in the near term but, according to Martin Jansen of ING Investment Management, (his words) could be a double in 5 years.


• Almost 10% of 8000 FDIC-insured banks in trouble. Losses on commercial real estate will account for more small to mid-size banks to topple in 2010. Locally, Flagstar??


• AIG delays IPO with MetLife. GMAC plans IPO to repay US. Even if cash raised through IPO could take several years to completely repay according to GMAC Carpenter. NOTE GMAC...the bank not the car company.


• The sour economy has spilled over into the coffin business. Casket sales are down and cremation's are up.


• Finally, Ronald Howes, Sr., 83, inventor of the Easy Bake Oven passed away 10 days ago. He created Easy Bake at Kenner toys in the early 60s. There is no truth to the rumor that Ronald requested to be cremated in one of his own inventions.