A candid meeting of minds about subjects varying from making money in the markets to the vagaries of the human psyche to the philosophical aspects of man and much more...
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Next Meeting of the Scarlet Kings
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Meeting Minutes
The Vegas of the
We had a very interesting guest today, Rashi Dhanak, who is visiting from
Rashi confirmed what Kevin Day had expressed was his viewpoint when he went to
This increased focus on the accumulation of wealth has led to an identity crisis for the Arabs in the region. The young, many of whom are educated abroad, bring something back from there and so change what the Arabs in the region would like to keep. Foreigners can be dealt with harshly if they refuse to abide by the rules in
Kevin Day recalled an incident of involuntary house arrest on a British national who had gone there for vacation, whose passport was seized and reportedly had to bribe some officials to get it back and be sneaked from the country.
In addition,
Not surprisingly, Rashi continued, the Arab sentiment toward the
Hilary Clinton
Kevin Day, in a rare display of sympathy and exaltation toward the Democratic party, reaffirmed his view that Hilary would become President in 2012 and also extolled her abilities as Secretary of State. He remarked that in this world of turmoil and a great need for diplomacy toward the
He continued that there were plenty of chances for her to go into countries and bully them around and further entrenching the “might is right” belief that many countries hold toward
Jeff Harrington remarked on Bill’s role if this was to occur, and he believes that Hilary will be very independent in how she governs. Bill may be a “flea in the ear” every now and then, but nothing more.
The Taxation of Dividends
There is talk from Congress of introducing a tax on dividends that would approach 44%. This is an incredulous way to redistribute the wealth from the rich to the poor, a sort of Robin Hood legislation.
Jeff Harrington predicted that if this were to happen, corporations would very likely slash dividends completely. What would be the point if it were to be taxed 44%?
This would also change, Jeff continued, how analysts value companies, who are valued principally on the dividend model. This could mean valuations being done by the free cash flow to equity model or economic value added (EVA).
Disconnected Michelle Obama
We talked about the expenses being racked up the current first lady, Michelle Obama. Currently she is in
Above is the chart of the Nikkei 225. VJ Arjan explained how in the beginning of the 1990s the Japanese central banks following the asset price bubble from 1986 to 1991 decided to prop up their large “zombie businesses” who were on the brink of default. Interestingly enough, this lead to
But Kevin Day was apt to point out that this is always a market of stocks and not a stock market. There will continue to be opportunities despite what the overall market does.
Is President Obama going to be the Jimmy Carter of the Age?
“Carter was a harmless, bumbling fool.” – Kevin Day
VJ Arjan posed to the group the analogy posed in the press recently comparing President Obama to Jimmy Carter. Suffice it to say, President Obama is not a Jimmy Carter, besides the fact that each have a Nobel prize that is debatable as well.
Kevin Day believes that Obama is truly determined upon creating a more socialistic society and is taking out precise actions to this goal. Carter was a poor president due to his tendency toward inaction and thus a very ineffective president.
Where the Market is Headed
Any good technician can see that there is great resistance at the $10,700 level on the Dow Index. If there is a break downwards, and we assume that we are in a downtrend, then the next level of support is past $10,000 towards $8,500 (higher highs, and lower lows).