Monday, November 12, 2007

Insanity Helps

Look at this chart:

Can anyone tell me where on this graph the company in question filed for bankruptcy protection?

Levitt is up 25% on the day? Why does anyone even pretend this is a market and not a crooked card game.

56 comments:

anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Is this the FIRST time this sort of thing has happened?

Anonymous said...

It's all good. A win-win.

Peripheral Visionary said...

No idea what they're thinking, if they're seriously buying it for the long term. It could simply be a lot of short covering, however; if you've been short since they were 10++, you don't want to take any chances on a miracle happening in bankruptcy court, just take your fat stack of cash and get out. Enough shorts covering and the price could go up, the stops get triggered, and you have a short-term move up.

Definitely an opportunity for an arbitrage profit by selling short and betting the bankruptcy goes through, if you want to play dangerously.

Anonymous said...

Not working out the same way for E-Trade.

serinitis said...

If you look at the longer term chart, the investors have already left the stock. Right now it is just the gamblers that are left.

Pleather Murse said...

Hm. I always figured a stock got delisted if the company went into BK. Guess not.

BTW, this E-Trade thing's got me worried. A run on brokerages? I've got some cash in a Scottrade money market ...

Ogg the Caveman said...

I'm not too worried. I'm 100% in fishnet futures right now.

Bilgeman said...

Rob;

Y'know, for all the heartache it's going to cause people, at least the real estate bubble had something that you could look at, point at, and soil yourself while laughing aloud:

"You DUMBSHIT! You bought a Casey Serin Home!"

You can take pictures and e-mail them across the internet for the amusement of friends and acquaintances.

If stocks and bonds are your bag, how do you know that you're not purchasing a "Casey Serin Fund"?

Does anyone at all remember how the pig-shampoo being peddled by Enron dragged their so-conspirators
at Arthur Andersen right down with 'em?

Think about it...the guys you were counting on to make sure that there really WAS a SONY HDTV inside that box were in on the scam.

What a shock when you get your new tee-vee home, open the box, and find three cinder blocks duct-taped together.

Bilgeman said...

Oh;

BTW, saw my first "Hillary for President" bumpersticker today on the Baltimore beltway.

It was on an Acura MDX...(50k Toyota SUV= Dipshit).

The woman driving can best be described as "schoolmarmish".

Bakersfield Bubble said...

Gamblers looking for GF's. Yes, this happens all the time.

Lou Minatti said...

BTW, saw my first "Hillary for President" bumpersticker today on the Baltimore beltway.

She is unelectable on a national level. I firmly believe that even most Democrats know this and are horrified at the thought. They cringe when Hillary cackles or tries to be black/southern/fire-and-brimstone Bible believer who believes/doesn't believe/believes that illegals should get state-issued driver's licenses. People like Obama and Richardson I can respect. I know where they stand, even if I disagree.

I can understand enthusiasm for other Democratic candidates. I see no enthusiasm whatsoever for Hillary except for some government employee union members. I don't care what they say, the polls are wrong about her being the front runner.

Bilgeman said...

Lou:

"I don't care what they say, the polls are wrong about her being the front runner."

Well, among middle-aged female, imported luxury SUV-drivin' BaltiMorons, the UberFrauFuhrer is apparently the shiznit...

Bilgeman said...

More Monday hilarity:

The Short Bus is still up over at FoCloHelpBook.

Shouldn't it have been towed away to impound by now?

(I swear I get a nasty chuckle every time I see that!).

Lost Cause said...

Hillary is so far ahead in polls and funds, you should get out of your republican bubble once in a while. It is going to look bad when she starts doing even mnore impossible things after she gets elected.

Lou Minatti said...

Hillary in fishnets?

b4freedom said...

It's a good buy.

Here's why. You loan "Me, Inc." 500 billion zillion upaloops @ 2%/month. After a few go rounds at the business circus, I can't pay it without looking like a clown. So, I get my paper work together and go get some judge to shield me from your teli-collectors. The judge looks at my rediculous debt and says, "You're an idiot. Pay 1%/month instead." This free's up 1% (2% minus 1% = 1%) that can then be used to line the business owners pockets (stockholders).

Bilgeman said...

Lost Cause:

"Hillary is so far ahead in polls and funds, you should get out of your republican bubble once in a while."

Yes, Komissar! I'll leave that hotbed of reaction, my ship's engine room and report to the ReEducation Camp.

" It is going to look bad when she starts doing even mnore impossible things after she gets elected."

Y'know what REALLY scares me?

You just might NOT be deliberately trolling.

Stalinist, much?

Anonymous said...

Did someone say Hillary in Fishnets?

r said...

50+ boomer female here. I won't vote for her, and I voted for CARTER.

Centipede said...

I'd rather not think of Hillary in fishnets.
Sometimes I just want to curl up and die somewhere.

Rob Dawg said...

The Dems clearly have no idea the level of negatives she brings to the contest. This goes way beyond not voting for her for a lot of people that just by showing up will prevent her election but are so opposed they will actively work against her campaign.

Oh, and she's screwing up in California big time which normally wouldn't mean anything but this time means no money to win contestable states.

Lost Cause said...

Hey, Al Gore finally got a job today.

Lost Cause said...

Not really trolling about Hillary. Bush mainly does nothing, so it will seem like FDR's first 100 days in office when she takes over. The Republicans will lose, a splintered party. Read it and weep.

BJ said...

On Topic:
It was on Monday 12 that the notice of filing occurred... see the stop in trading?

The reason why it went up... shorts covering. Happened to WCOM and a few others. 27.4% short, 5.34M shares short, Average volume 528,128... I think it will take a few days to unwind all those shorts. Should be interesting. There is a possibility of de-listing with bankruptcy. Generally goes to Bulletin Board, or Pink Sheets. Symbol changes to indicate state (L, LQ, E)postpended on end.

@Bilgeman
It was on an Acura MDX...(50k Toyota SUV= Dipshit).
Acura is made by Honda.

Infinity = Nissan
Lexus = Toyota

But I really do worry about the possibility of Hillary Clinton winning. It is a reason to be concerned when someone wants power as badly as she does. She is also heavily playing to the 'sound bite'... to the point of pre-arranged questions and answers. Many of her proposals, while sounding nice and inviting, will be a disaster in implementation.. ie. Mandatory Heath Insurance.

As for the Republican party, they need to get out of their religious trip and remember that the founders of this nation insisted on separation of church and state for good reason. Both parties are playing to the extremes and forgetting that the first one that really moves to center will win.

Brian said...

It will be hard for the Democrats to loose this one.

In the last two years Ohio has gone Democratic, and without Ohio the Republicans don't have a chance.

Unknown said...

The dems are screwed if clinton wins the primary. As Rob and others pointed out she polarizes voters. if she wins then I think a repub is a shoo in. If Obama wins then the dems take the whitehouse. it's really that simple. Even though Obama in many ways is more liberal than hillary. The ball is really in the dems court for this election. hillary would be like putting the barrel of the shotgun in your mouth and having your dog pull the trigger.

serinitis said...

Hillary is unelectable unless she runs agaist a Republican. The loathing of Bushes heirs is even greater than the loathing of Hillary.

Bilgeman said...

BJ:

"It was on an Acura MDX...(50k Toyota SUV= Dipshit).
Acura is made by Honda."

Ah, you are correct. Thanks, I've been on the road FAR too much this past week.

In any case, I don't see the point in spending extra for a "luxury" version of what is functionally a Jeep Cherokee or Chevy Blazer.

Buying the "downmarket" Honda version would have been just as good, and with the money saved, one could afford to pump some gas into the vehicle and actually drive it without resorting to voting for someone who would have the government subsidize your health care.

Bilgeman said...

serinitis:

"The loathing of Bushes heirs is even greater than the loathing of Hillary."

I don't know about that. I know more than a few Floridians, and I've heard nothing but good about Guv'nah Jeb Bush.

Peripheral Visionary said...

aaron: "The dems are screwed if clinton wins the primary. As Rob and others pointed out she polarizes voters. if she wins then I think a repub is a shoo in. If Obama wins then the dems take the whitehouse. it's really that simple. Even though Obama in many ways is more liberal than hillary. The ball is really in the dems court for this election."

I completely agree. I just have no idea who all the people putting themselves as being for Hillary are. An unscientific straw poll of the democrats I know shows that most of them favor Obama. I think the Hillary vote is just the anti-Bush vote, but if they really want a Democratic president, then they'd be lining up behind Obama, not her. I suspect many Republicans will vote for Obama . . . but Hillary? No way.

Bilgeman said...

PV:

"I just have no idea who all the people putting themselves as being for Hillary are."

Ah...meet the blowhard Labor Bosses of the AFL-CIO.

They think HillaryCare would be the dishwasher-safe rubber sex-toy.

But like most national elections, the AFL-CIO boyz don't really know who the rank and file like.

Because they NEVER really ask them.

AFL-CIO thinks that Presidential elections should be, and are, conducted just like their own union elections.

Anonymous said...

I don't know about anyone else, but I personally would vote for any dem candidate except Hillary. If she gets the nod I will stay home on election day.

Peripheral Visionary said...

Completely off-topic, and cross-posted to CR, but I loved a comic strip in today's paper; perfectly captures the spirit of the markets, and the Fed, and Casey for that matter:

Cornered

Unknown said...

PV,
I'd vote for Obama or Guiliani at this point. If Hillary was the dem candidate then I won't even have to pay attention to politics anymore.

anonymous said...

I was a card carrying member of the GOP for many years. I always voted a straight Republican ticket.

Then George Jr. came along. During his 1st term, I started to realize that Bill Clinton wasn't all that bad, even though I voted against him twice.

I then did something I never thought I'd do. I voted for a Democrat. Not so much because I thought he was a good choice, but rather because I knew George Jr. was such a horrible choice. GW will go down as the worst President of the past 100 years. People love to make excuses for him but the bottom line is since GW, I'm paying 200% more for fuel, 80% more for food, my $ has lost 30% of it's value, and our economy is barely floating on fumes now.

Yeah I know, it's not his fault. Blame it on Greenspan, he was left with a mess from Clinton, 9/11, etc, etc. People who elected Bush always make the same excuses.

The fact remains that I know many people like myself - life-long GOP'ers who are now Dems or Independents.

I am now a registered independent voter who will vote for Hillary because the GOP choices we have now are horrible.

anonymous said...

The only Republican I've voted for in recent years was Arnold.

Find a Republican Presidential candidate like Arnold and they'll get my vote.

Metroplexual said...

The only Republican I've voted for in recent years was Arnold.

Find a Republican Presidential candidate like Arnold and they'll get my vote.
--------------------------
They used to be called moderates, but now the GOP calls them lefty socialists. It is where the GOP has lost its way. The supposed "big tent" has been shredded in a scorched earth form of republican strong arm tactics. I don't see it changing much any time soon and as a result the dems will take over completely in NOV 2008.

anonymous said...

You're not kidding about the GOP losing it's way.

Back in last century I was a diehard Republican. I HAD to listen to Rush every single day, among other things. Even in this century and even after becoming an independent, the last time I got choked up was watching Nancy lean over Ronnies casket. I used to keep a picture of him on the wall. All in all, I was 100% GOP.

The GOP I thought I knew was against big government. But the fact is that Clinton did a better job in cutting government way more than any Republican in my lifetime and GW has grown it more than any other in my lifetime. Thanks to GW, government is the biggest ever.

The GOP I thought I knew prided themselves in upholding personal rights, The Bill of Rights, our Constitution, and privacy. Fact is the GOP in this century has trampled on our Rights more than Clinton would have ever wanted to.

The GOP also used to be known as conservative spenders. That's no longer the case. GW spent more in his 1st term than Clinton did in both and didn't stop there. GW has effectively ruined the US with his spending.

I now equate the GOP with "big government" because that's exactly what it's become.

Peripheral Visionary said...

You can't possibly be serious in thinking that Hillary will manage the economy better than the other candidates!

And the President doesn't run the economy; the only person who even comes close is the Fed Chairman, and I've heard precious little criticism of either Greenspan or Bernanke. In fact, both parties tripped over themselves to declare what an incredible genius Greenspan was in his day. Ron Paul has been the only one to offer any real, substantial, and well-deserved criticism of the management of the economy.

George W. Bush oversaw the largest expansion of the government since the days of FDR, but that's what you get when you have a President and Congress from the same political party. At least over the last one hundred years, the only way to restrain government has been to split control of the government between the two parties. With Democrats in control of Congress, voting in Hillary will only make it worse.

And Bill Clinton gets some credit for cutting spending, but most of the credit should go to the Republican Gingrich-era Congress. Say what you will about Gingrich and his cohort, they came in with cutting the size of government as their priority, and they did just that, and it was not until he and others left that the profligate spending returned.

Lost Cause said...

Polarizing voters has been the operating principle for the republican party for years, and it has been sucessful. Why is it a negative when it is a Hillary trait?

Lost Cause said...

Edwards has labor behind him. Hillary was booed at an AFLCIO forum. Put down the talking points bildgeman.

Lost Cause said...

Finally -- sure, I can think of others who I would rather want elected. But it will take me about ten minutes to get used to hearing "Madame President." I am sure she will do just fine.

Lost Cause said...

Do you people realize that Al Gore was in charge of downsizing the government under Clinton?

Welcome back to reality, folks. Please deposit your empty Kool-Aid™ cups in the recycle bin.

Pleather Murse said...

Ron Paul's the man for '08. Despite the slanders of the republicrats trying to paint him as a "lefty" (!) he's more conservative than the whole repug roster of Neocohens up there. I think they realize the danger he presents which is why they're ramping up the attack/ridicule machine.

Property Flopper said...

One important thing to realize when discussing the "size" of the gov't - which set of numbers are you using?

The "official" numbers usually only take into account actual gov't employees / military, etc.

The numbers you want to look at include contractors, fellowships, grants, etc... anyone who is doing work that is paid for by the gov't.

Reagan started the trend of "smaller" gov't by outsourcing to contractors, but each administration since then has done the same thing - there are a LOT of people working for the gov't that are not on the official roles.

Used to be one myself...

Rob Dawg said...

Ron Paul would make an interesting VP choice for either Mitt or Rudy.

People are so focused on the wrong things. Rudy and Hillary are both incorrectly presumptive frontrunners. IMHO Romney is way out in front in the primary race. He was not 20 feet in front of me last month describing exactly how the Rep choice will go. He will have the nomination sewed up with California.

Hillary suffers from the anyone but Hillary syndrome. Obama is the lucky recipient there. He isn't qualified to be a good President. He just plain old does not have enough experience. 4 or 8 years from now with no "Gary Hart" moment or surviving a Gary Hart moment like Bill and he'll be ready.

So, are you ready? Romney/Paul v Obama/Richardson.

you heard it here first.

Lou Minatti said...

Ron Paul's the man for '08.

Ron Paul is unelectable.

Despite the slanders of the republicrats trying to paint him as a "lefty" (!)

I am not aware of any Republicans who paint Ron Paul as a lefty. A full-bore kook, most definitely.

he's more conservative than the whole repug roster of Neocohens up there.

Gee, I wonder who you are referring to by using the term "Neocohens"? How very subtle. Are these "Neocohens" in charge of the international banking system? Are they secretly pulling the strings in the US government? Do they have big noses?

I think they realize the danger he presents which is why they're ramping up the attack/ridicule machine.

Posts like yours do more damage to Paul's credibility than ANYTHING a Republican could say.

Bateman said...

Didn't know this was such a conservative blog...won't hold it against the good content that is usually discussed. W has destroyed the creditability of the US in the eyes of the world and damaged the GOP so profoundly that it is impossible for them to win the Presidency in '08, regardless of candidate matchups. Linking religion and politics is the most dangerous issue of our time and Mitt would continue the secular connection. Please, please, please, anyone but him.

You shouldn't have to be Christian in order to feel like a patriot and any candidate that possesses that mindset should be discounted.

No one ever heard Bill Clinton say God told him to be President?

Want a laugh?
http://ifuckedanncoulterintheasshard.blogspot.com/

Metroplexual said...

I too think Mitt is a bad choice. He is damaged goods once people get to know him. Rudy is either a boldfaced liar or crazy. As for Hillary I cannot stand her. I think the dog on top of his car incident shows his lack of compassion and from what I have heard his lineage comes from a family tree with few branches.


That said, I thought the blog you linked was hysterical, Ryan you are too funny. BTW, the reason he did MAnn in the poop chute was there was something sticking out in front. And I don't mean the Adam's apple. BTW I enjoy the content as well on this blog.

Metroplexual said...

I think the dog on top of his car incident shows his lack of compassion and from what I have heard his lineage comes from a family tree with few branches.

Sorry this line pertains to Mitt.

Lou Minatti said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Akubi said...

@Ryan Davison,
I Fucked Ann Coulter in the Ass, Hard cracked me up so I featured it in my latest Zillow Book post. That woman is absolutely frightening.
Conservative? This is a very mixed bag of folks who probably only share a certain degree of fiscal conservatism in common. I hate the pseudo-Christian BS both parties are buying into.

Bateman said...

Unexpected screen when I clicked the ZillowBook link at work....

The coulter experience is from a couple years ago... is a classic and must view if you didn't see it the first time around.

The, "Thanks for not staring at my Adam's apple" is the funniest line on the internet not uttered by Casey Serin.

Akubi said...

Oops, I forgot to use the fishnets AKA NSFW code word.

jellie said...

Ryan, thanks for the laugh. That was the funniest thing I've read in a long time.

@Akubi: Fiscal conservatism? That claim is only for Republicans who aren't in power. They all spend money for their own pet projects.