1. Declared Defeat on UCBH Lottery Ticket: This California based bank looks like a basket case to me. I bought 50 shares as a lottery ticket at $1.64 and sold those shares today at $.81. LOTTERY TICKET PURCHASES: LINKS IN ONE POST When a bank decides to forego paying the government dividends on its preferred stock, and defers payment on its junior debt (called trust preferred securities), then it is to say the least in trouble. UCBH is conducting a review to restate its 2008 results and to finalize results for the first six months of 2009. This lottery ticket reached the point where I did not want to waste anymore time following it. I was already disgusted with the management after the last earnings call. /UCBH/ I am curious why Mr. Wu still has a job as the CEO. Maybe, just maybe, it is time to cease rewarding failure in the U.S.
2. Google Earnings Look Okay To Me: I own GOOGLE, with the last shares bought at $395: Bought Google Excluding items, Google reported earnings at $5.36 a share, beating the consensus forecast of $5.08. Paid clicks increased 15%. Cash and marketable securities increased to 19.344 billion from 15.845 billion as of 12/31/08. Revenues only increased 3% from the year ago quarter. Excluding commissions paid to partners, revenues rose to 4.07 billion, slightly beating the consensus estimate of 4.06 billion.
3. Impressed with IBM: Earnings for IBM's quarter came in much better than expected at $2.32 a share. The estimate was $2.01. IBM raised 2009 guidance to "at least" $9.7 per share, with the consensus currently at $9.15.
Some news organizations were reporting that the House Democrat's health plan will cost, not 1 trillion, but 1.5 trillion.
I understand how hard it is to keep track of 500 billion these days. When estimates are thrown around with 500 billion gaps then maybe Ron Paul is being too conservative in estimating the final 10 year price tag at 2 trillion, maybe 3 trillion, give or take a few hundred billion, here or there.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a financial advisor but an individual investor trying to navigate my way through a difficult market. I have never worked for a financial institution and never will. In these posts, I am acting as an unpaid financial journalist and an occasional political commentator. I am also aggregating financial news stories that I view as important and providing readers of these posts with links to those articles, sort of a filtered, somewhat intelligent, free search engine. Any discussion made by me of particular securities is not a recommendation to buy or to sell. Trade at your own risk. Consult with your financial advisor prior to making any purchase or sale. I will try to identify my sales too but it may take a few minutes after I implement them to create a post explaining my reasons. The sale may before or after the post. Before buying or selling any stock, even one recommended by a trusted financial advisor, please research it and make up your own mind which is what I always try to do. Research would include reading reports, reviewing financial records, earnings estimates, sec filings and prior earnings releases and news. In this post, and all others by me, I am merely describing my reasons for purchasing or selling securities, and the potential pitfalls that I identified prior to purchase or the reasons for a sale. The securities mentioned in this and all posts written by me may not be suitable for others based on their unique financial position and risk profile. By way of example, it is unlikely that I will ever need the funds contained in my retirement accounts. Always read the prospectus before buying a Trust Certificate, bond, preferred stock or other bond or bond like investments. Information contained in my posts has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable but cannot be guaranteed. It is always important to follow the investment process. the investment process NOT A RESEARCH SERVICE These posts by me do not constitute investment advice, nor shall they be construed as a guarantee of future results, or as an offer of any transaction in securities. All content in these posts is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only, and it is a form of entertainment for me. Opinions are subject to change and they certainly evolve over time as information is assessed and analyzed for compatibility with prior opinions, the only process for a serious investor, and a topic of frequent discussion in this post. Everyone is responsible for their own investment decisions, and no one should ever make any decision unless they are willing to accept full personal responsibility for it.
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