Bought 100 JTD/ ADDED TO ADRU/SOLD GJS

1. Animal Spirit Somewhat Animated by Jobs Report-Bought 100 JTD at $10.13 and Added to ETF ADRU (see Disclaimer): I did buy a 100 shares of another CEF on Friday, JTD, a leveraged fund which was selling at over a 16% discount to NAV as of Thursday's close. This fund has about 75% in stocks and 25% in preferred securities, corporate bonds and other securities. JTD - Nuveen Tax-Advantaged Dividend Growth Fund Based on my cost, the current yield is 9.87%. JTD Fund Quote Dividends are paid quarterly. This is a link to the last quarterly report filed with the SEC: FORM N-Q I looked at the preferred securities and most of them appeared to be what I call Trust Preferred, which are junior bonds. I did notice several positions in the Aegon and ING securities that are currently eligible for the qualified dividend rate. One objective of this CEF is to invest at least 80% of the fund in securities "that are eligible to pay tax-advantage dividends". JTD

I also added to my existing position in the ETF ADRU at $19.81. My last add was on April 21, 2009 at $15.12 (total cost w/commission). This ETF contains the ADRs of 100 large European companies and has an expense ratio of .30%. BLDRS Europe 100 ADR Index Fund - ADRU The dividend yield is currently over 4%. ADRU Fund Quote Admittedly, it would have been better to buy more at $15.12, but I would say in my defense that I did do a lot of buying in early March, just before the market turned up, and continued doing so through that month and into April. That was all the bravery I could muster, and the buying was heavy at times.

2. Sold 100 GJS at 13.06 (see Disclaimer): I just bought this TC at $12.25, and I blow between cold and lukewarm on it. Bought 100 GJS/ I was lukewarm on it when I bought it back and now I am giving it the cold shoulder again. It has an okay float but does not have a guarantee. I like to have both. So out it went for the second time this year.

Jobs Report-Better than Expected/Recession Kaput/POM, BAM/Bought 100 JDD in Roth

1. The Ubiquitous Bear David Rosenberg: I am just keeping a catalog of Rosenberg's bearish commentary. This is a link to his latest bearish calls. (video: CNBC.com & written summary: CNBC.com) As the market rallied 50% off its lows, Rosenberg has been consistent in his bearish views, as I would expect. He is now calling this rally the biggest bear rally of all time. I am sure that Alan Abelson would agree with him, since both of those sages missed the run up entirely and have been naysayers every step of the way. Whatever, this rally has done wonders for my portfolio.

2. Jobs Report-Much Better than Expected: Nonfarm payrolls declined in July by 247,000, much better than expected by the consensus forecast. Employment Situation Summary The unemployment rate fell to 9.4%, while the forecast was at 9.7%.

The revisions to prior months are moving in the right direction for the first time in months, with the revisions reducing the number of job losses. Both May and June were revised to show less losses. The work week was up too, which is a positive, even though the increase was just to 33.1 from 33. The economy is clearly turning, notwithstanding the protestations of Abelson and Rosenberg. I can almost see Alan calling David now trying to find something negative to put in his column tomorrow.

I would not be surprised if the increasingly positive economic data puts a stop to the dollar's recent decline.

3. Goldman Sachs on the Return of Commodity Price Rises: GS released a report yesterday predicting that the current rally in commodity prices is just the beginning. Before the recession hit hard, there was a supply shortage caused by years of under investment. The credit crunch has made that problem worse, which will show up again in higher prices once the world recovers from the current downturn and worldwide demand starts to accelerate. I suspect that this forecast will turn out to be true, but the timing of another spike in prices is probably impossible to predict with any precision. I read another story today that there are about 50 super tankers being used to store about 100 million barrels of oil , due to slack demand, anchored primarily off the Gulf Coast in the U.S. and in Europe.

I am not going to even try to predict commodity prices. Instead, I will sell my commodity positions into parabolic moves, which happened last year, and then gradually add positions back after prices crater, recognizing that commodities have a place in my portfolio, just not a permanent seat at the table, more of an invited guest that hopefully will not overstay their welcome. Admittedly, this is a somewhat simpleton approach, and ultimately it is based on a recognition that I have no confidence in my ability to predict short term moves in commodities. I do have a small measure of confidence in putting on and taking off longer term positions. Recently, I have added positions in RJI, RJZ, and RJA. Bought MSPRA RJZ & ADX/ COMMODITIES AS AN ASSET CLASS Bought RJI, Sold DKQ, Bought Google/Pared BWX Added RJA Last fall I added UNG and UCO. Dynamic asset allocation shifts: from long bonds to commodities Starting a Shift Very Slowly into Commodities

4. Brookfield Asset Management (BAM-owned): BAM was one of the non-consumer staple stocks bought in March during RB'S frolic and detour: Buy of EWC & BAM (at $13.73). BAM reported net income for the 2nd quarter of 24 cents compared to 17 cents in the year ago quarter. Operating cash flow declined to 46 cents a share. The average estimate, as shown at YF, was for earnings of 17 cents. Revenues were 2.978 billion. MAYBE HEADKNOCKER NEEDS TO GIVE RB MORE MONEY TO INVEST.

5. Pepco Holdings (POM-owned): POM is a non-core electric utility holding, but I am currently reinvesting the dividends to buy additional shares. Earnings fell to just 11 cents for the 2nd quarter. This was down from the 2nd quarter of 2008, when the firm earned 53 cents a share excluding some special items. Revenue fell to 2.07 billion, down from 2.52 billion in the year ago quarter. Both the revenue and earnings were well below the consensus forecast. POM is a weak hold.

6. Bought 100 of CEF JDD in ROTH (see Disclaimer): I have been moving my asset allocation in the retirement accounts to 70% bonds/30% stocks, as I have found over the past 9 months or so tremendous opportunities in buying individual bonds or bond like securities, such as equity preferred stocks. I bought 100 shares of the closed end fund JDD in the ROTH this morning at $8.4. This is a leveraged fund. While I do not buy stocks on margin, never have, I will venture into buying small positions in CEFs that leverage their assets with borrowed money, as long as I have some comfort in the market. Leverage will work decidedly against these leverage CEFs during a market meltdown, as shown clearly in what happened to them between September 2008 to early March 2009. Excluding interest expense, the expense ratio for JDD is currently .88%. JDD - Nuveen Diversified Dividend and Income Fund As of yesterday's close, the discount to NAV was 16.76%: JDD This is primarily an income fund, which is why I put it in the ROTH, where I am focusing now on a lot of income generation. The current yield based on my cost is over 10% annually, paid in quarterly installments. JDD Fund Quote The fund divides its investments into four categories: 25% in REITs; 25% in Emerging Market Debt; 25% in non-REIT common stock (mostly of the higher dividend variety); and 25% in floating rate senior loans. JDD This is a link to the last quarterly report: FORM N-Q

Bought 50 IXC AT $31.9/ Bought 30 TIP at $99.25/Sunopta/Paul Tudor Jones

1. Bought 50 IXC to Replace STO (see disclaimer): I mentioned in an earlier post today that I sold STO, and I intended to use the proceeds in another energy investment. I bought 50 shares of the Ishares S & P Global Energy Sector Index Fund (IXC) at $31.9. As of 8/5/09, this ETF contained 82 companies, including the foreign energy conglomerates like Total, Royal Dutch, ENI, Statoil, Repsol, Petro Bras, and the Canadian oil and gas companies. iShares S&P Global Energy Sector Index Fund (IXC): Holdings Exxon has the largest weight at around 16%. That is still lower than a U.S. only energy ETF such as XLE, where Exxon has a 21.58% currently.http://www.sectorspdr.com/spdr/composition/?symbol=XLE The expense ratio for IXC is .48%. iShares S&P Global Energy Sector Index Fund (IXC): Overview Except for the Canadian energy companies, where I do have some ownership stakes, I do not own any of the other international oil and gas firms contained in IXC, so this buy today does achieve some diversity for me in this sector. I was not able to muster much in the way of animal spirits today before the jobs report.

2. BOUGHT 30 Shares of the ETF TIP at $99.95 (see disclaimer) The ETF TIP fell below $100 today intra-day, and I added 30 shares to my position at $99.95. I do not view treasury inflation protected securities to be a screaming buy, at best a lukewarm add as an alternative to cash earning next to nothing in a money market account. I am reinvesting the dividends to buy additional shares, and I now prefer to buy these securities directly at auction in my ROTH IRA. This ETF has a weighted average maturity of 9.18 years. iShares Barclays TIPS Bond Fund (TIP): Overview I therefore use the 10 year treasury as a benchmark for comparison purposes. Today, the 10 year nominal rate was around 3.75% and the 10 year TIP was approximately 1.86%, as shown at Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) - Markets Data Center - WSJ.com. That would place the break even at around 1.89% which for me at least is -at most - okay for a small nibble.

The next 10 year TIPS auction is currently scheduled for Monday, October 5, 2009. http://www.treas.gov A five year TIP, which does not interest me, is scheduled for October 26th.

My broker did not charge me for submitting a non-competitive bid for the last 10 year auction. 10 Year TIP Auction/Sold Pepsico/ Sold General Mills

This kind of buy originates more from a recognition that I need to do something with at least some of the cash recently raised by selling stock, and the TIP buy is sort of a default option which does not require the LB to endlessly over think a course of action.

3. SunOpta (owned Lottery Ticket): Sunopta continues to generate a lot of sales without earning much in profit. While revenues declined 11.7% year over year, STKL still generated 257.7 million in revenues for the quarter. The market cap at today's close of $2.73, up from my purchase at $1.65, was only 176 million. The company simply can not earn much money on those sales. Earnings were a paltry 1.8 million or just 3 cents a share. If you give STKL the adjustments it wants to make to that number, the result is still a pathetic 7 cents per diluted share. The book value according to this earnings release is $3.56 per share. The president, Steve Bromley, said the management team was focused on improving operating margins and the return on assets, and I certainly hope those items are on their to do list. Still, at my purchase price of just a 100 shares at $1.65, I intend to hold, wait and see what happens. Buy of Sunopta: Highly Speculative

4. Paul Tudor Jones: P T J believes that we are in a bear market rally, and he is not inclined to chase this rally.CNBC.com His hedge fund did underperform the market in July with a 1.04% rise compared to the 8% increase in the market which is where I ended up after taking out the cash component which is really starting to be a big drag at near zero interest. I am not inclined to chase the market now either. My knee jerk reaction is to sell short parabolic moves in any asset class. Most of the positioning was done in March and early April, and I have been selling rallies mostly over the past two weeks.

Earnings: FR, PRU, CSCO, NWSA, UL/Statoil/ Medical Costs/

1. First Industrial Realty Trust (owned-Lottery Ticket): FR was a lottery ticket purchase, still a tad under water after rallying yesterday based on this REIT's 2nd quarter report. I was not impressed with the report for the 2nd quarter, though there was nothing to cause me to sell my remaining small position in a cumulative preferred issue and the even smaller common stock (FR) lottery ticket. FFO was 50 cents in the 2nd quarter, which is not so hot, and that was achieved by special items. Occupancy fell to 82.1% from 86% in the 1st quarter of 2009, a bad trend, and rental rates declined 4.2%. The issue with this REIT is whether it will survive until the economy starts another upturn and demand for FR's properties returns, so that both occupancy levels and rents will start to increase again rather than to continue going down. The company is making progress on paying down debt as it comes due, selling some properties, and buying back some senior debt maturing after 2009 at discounts to par value. In addition, the company noted that 87% of its properties were unencumbered by mortgages and only 19 million of debt was maturing to the end of 2010, which gives this REIT some much needed breathing room.

2. Post Office Losses: It seems that I rarely can work my way through a roll of postage stamps before another rate increase is made by the U.S. Postal Service. Yet, the Post Office lost 2.4 billion in the last quarter, and is on track to lose 7 billion for its fiscal year ending in September 2009.

3. Cisco: I am not much of a tech investor, never have been, and most likely never will be. Though, it is probably best never to say never. I did venture recently into buying 100 shares of XLK, the ETF for the technology stocks in the S & P 500. I doubt that the Young Turks would be impressed by that foray. Cisco's results released after the close left me with the same feeling as the PG earnings release earlier in the day, a blah feeling coupled with a shrug of the shoulders. Revenues declined 18% and earning fell 22.5% from the year ago quarter. On the bright side, revenues did rise sequentially. Cash on the balance sheet rose to 35 billion. Unlike the old days, however, Cisco has issued debt and its balance sheet shows 10.295 billion in long term debt. Cisco purchased 42 million shares in its last quarter at an average cost of $19.02 per share. Cisco expects its next quarter, its first in a fiscal year, to show a revenue decline of 15 to 17% from the year ago quarter. Chambers was cautious on the conference call, basically saying that he wants to see positive trends for the next two quarters before calling the bottom.

4. News Corp (NWSA-owned): I last discussed News Corp last Fall. I currently own over 100 shares with the last buy on 11/18/2008 at $6.65, in what I call a scatter buy with cash flow. LATE DAY TRADES: GCI, CBL, FR, SLG, NYT, NWSA I am not enthusiastic about this stock. News Corporation reported "adjusted operating income" of 3.6 billion on an 8% decline in revenue from the year ago quarter. The net loss was 8 cents a share compared to net income of 43 cents in the firm's 4th quarter of 2008 (fiscal year ended in June 2009). The loss was caused by impairment charges and other charges of 680 million. Rupert apparently believes that he can charge readers for accessing his newspapers online, as News now does with the WSJ and Barrons. News said it expected its fiscal 2009 to show a high single digit rise in operating income but the first quarter will have difficult comparisons with the year ago quarter. Murdoch said that there was no clear signs of a fast recovery, though advertising markets were seeing "good signs of life".

5. Statoil (owned until yesterday): I did not mention my purchase of Statoil (STO), the Norwegian oil company. I will briefly mention that I sold my shares at $22 yesterday. While watching Cramer for my obligatory ten minutes a day, I noticed that he was recommending this company. I sold it after it rose from around $15 to $22, and after reading its last earnings release. While I understand why StatoilHydro paid almost 100% in taxes to the Norwegian government last quarter, their tax rate is still too high for me. I will simply find another oil company, an ETF, or a CEF to plough the proceeds realized from the STO sale today and the previous sales of IRR. As the WSJ. article on the subject noted, the firm called this 100% tax rate "unusually high", no doubt in a deadpan kind of manner, but the WSJ then noted that STO paid at a 69.6% tax rate in the year ago quarter. Wow-the Beanpole must be salivating over those kind of numbers. Maybe I missed something in Cramer's discussion of STO but I did not hear any reference to the confiscatory tax rate.

6. Democrats Ignore Cost Containment Assessment by CBO of their Health Plan: You would hardly know from listening to Obama's speeches that the CBO director claimed that the Democrats were not containing the rise in medical costs with their trillion dollar plus health care plan, more like 2 or 3 trillion when all is said in done over the next ten years. This is the advice that the administration received from Julian Zelizer, a Princeton Professor, in an article published in politico. I do not have the impression that there are any Democrats who are in favor of this legislation who are the least bit concerned about controlling the rise in medical costs, at least in a responsible manner, which is driving the spiraling increases in insurance premiums. The unnecessary procedures and tests that bloat the cost of health care, and the administrative burdens, need to be the focus of politicians, rather than launching an expensive new program which does not control costs and will probably exacerbate medical inflation in the years to come.

There was a story on the CBS Evening News last night that was interesting. Physicians have been eager to perform a surgery, costing anywhere from 2 to 5 thousand, called Vertebroplasty to ease back pain. Two studies were just published in the New England Journal of Medicine that proved no benefit compared to a placebo. In other words, tell the patient you are doing something to ease their pain, give them a fake treatment, and there is no difference in the results after six months between those patients and the ones who received the expensive surgery. I could give thousands of examples of this issue. This is a link to a CBS News Video that highlights that 36% of women undergo an invasive surgical procedure to perform a biopsy after an abnormal mammogram, as opposed to the recommended procedure of a needle biopsy which costs substantially less. It is really about money in many types of procedures and tests rather than what is best for the patient.

7. Prudential (own only senior bonds): Prudential Financial reported a profit, its first in a year. Excluding investment gains and losses, the firm earned $1.88 a share. Pru did lower its forecast for the year to a range of $5 to $5.2 from $5.25 to $5.65. As a bondholder, I am not concerned about the lowering of the full year forecast, but simply whether Pru is likely to continue paying me interest and the likelihood of paying par value at maturity. I am not currently concerned about Pru honoring its bond obligations. I own short term bonds maturing in 2012 that pay interest monthly; the CPI floater PFK maturing in 2018, and the long bond in TC form, JZH.

8. First American Senior bond in the TC PJS: When I last mentioned the Trust Certificate PJS, I noted that the trading in the underlying bond was practically non-existent, with the last trade occurring in May 2009. I had checked the trading history at FINRA for about the last 6 months and found trades only on two days in May. The last trade was at the 58 price and it was a small one. Several larger trades took place on the 27th at prices between 68.250 and 71.203. Since May 28th, the corporate bond market has improved and the business of FAF is picking up as shown in its last earnings report. I wanted to mention these points to highlight the need to drill down in the FINRA data rather than to just rely on the data contained on the main page for each bond which contains the yield and last trade information. I want to know the frequency and size of trades. To me, a small trade several months ago or even yesterday is meaningless if it is outside the range of large institutional trades.

9. UNILEVER (OWNED): Unilever was one of the consumer staple stocks added by the RB in March. I still own shares bought at $18.05 (Added to UL) after the LB, being way too cautious as usual, sold the shares at $23.38 bought first at $18.22: Pared Unilever So, as RB would say, LB cost the Headknocker money once again. Unilever is rising over 6% this morning to over $27.8 in early trading after reporting earnings this morning. Sales beat expectations with volume up 2% compared to the expectation of a small drop. Excluding currency, divestitures and acquisitions, Unilever's second quarter sales rose 4.1%. Unilever's largest market is now Asia and Africa, where sales grew 6.6%. Net income did slip 16% however. I view Unilever in much the same way as my purchase yesterday of Kraft. /Earnings from Kraft At my purchase cost of $18.05 for my remaining UL shares, the dividend yield is better than most investment grade corporate bonds now.

10. Miscellaneous: I have noted the recent upward price spike in my S L Green common shares. But, given my small stake, possibly a corner slice of a Manhattan brick, it is hard to get too excited. My best gainer this morning was the 550 shares of the TC XKK, which contains a senior bond from Goodyear, up over 8% in early trading. The market has reacted favorably to the last earnings report from Goodyear even though GT reported a loss. The TC XKK does have a coupon 1% higher than the underlying bond. I also noticed that the market was reacting favorably to the earnings report this morning from Great Plains Energy (GXP), one of my electric utility holdings. I am under water on that one, and I quit reinvesting the dividends. I have discussed many times the money market rates that are now hovering just above zero, with some U.S. treasury funds at zero. I complained just recently about not being able to buy a McDonald's happy meal for 1 person with the interest paid last month from all my cash stashed in those funds. Yet, notwithstanding that consternation, I have sold a lot of stocks recently with the proceeds adding to my collection of funds generating no income, so go figure. I am concerned about a correction, possibly precipitated by the jobs report tomorrow. Quick parabolic moves in any asset class make me nervous, and my knee jerk response is to sell into such moves.

Sold ETW and SWZ in Roth IRA/Earnings from Kraft, PG, JOE and CBL/How do the Democrats Come up with 40 to 50 Million Uninsured/Trickle Down Stimulus

1. Kraft (owned): Kraft was one of the buys made by the RB during its March frolic and detour. BOUGHT Kraft & NESTLE/ Bought Lottery Ticket in CBG at 2.39 The purchase was made at $22.26. At that price the current dividend yield was 5.2%. I viewed the dividend as reasonably solid, as those things go now, and most likely subject to annual raises. My attitude is too keep those shares for as long as Kraft continues to raise the dividend each year, or until I turn very negative on the firm's prospects. A dividend cut will result in an immediate sell, without hesitation, which is what happened to my position in Avery Denison a few days ago. My yield on those Kraft shares is greater than any yield on treasury debt, and the Kraft dividend is subject to the more favorable qualified dividend tax rate for a U.S. taxpayer, unlike the interest payments on debt instruments. Unlike fixed coupon debt, my yield on common stock shares will increase every time the firm raises the dividend. So I am not a prospective seller based on the earnings report released by Kraft after the market closed yesterday.

Kraft Foods beat the consensus forecast by 2 cents, with earnings rising 11% to 56 cents per share from 49 cents a share in the year earlier period. Kraft was helped by a tax rate of 32% that was 5% lower than a year ago. Organic revenue, which excludes divestitures, currency exchange and acquisitions, grew 2.9%. Kraft raised its full year estimate to "at least" $1.93 from its previous forecast of $1.88. Discretionary cash flow for the first six months was approximately 1.4 billion, double the amount in the first 6 months of 2008. Earnings were also hurt by .02 from incremental pension costs and by still unfavorable currency exchange rates.

2. 15% of the Stimulus Money Spent: So far, only about 15% of the 787 billion in stimulus money has been spent. Possibly, as much as 25% of the total will be used by the end of this year. Once the massive aid showered on the financial system kept it from imploding, and causing another Great Depression, then the economy would recover in time. A well designed stimulus would have jump started the economy sooner and relieved the suffering of many individuals without jobs. The stimulus would have done the most good in the last quarter or during the current quarter. The question is whether it will simply add fuel onto a potential inflation fire when it finally hits an already recovering economy in a major way in 2010. I am currently in the camp that the danger is that the stimulus, along with other fiscal and monetary stimulus and the de facto devaluation of the U.S. dollar, will lead to serious inflation problems in about a year. Liberal economists like Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz want more government stimulus to stimulate aggregate demand that they see as stagnating unless the government substitutes its spending for that of the U.S. consumer. Stiglitz was interviewed by Aaron Task yesterday. When you listen closely to economists, firmly in one camp or the other, it is easy to spot how their ideology influences their economic views. No one is completely free from having their perception of reality distorted by their ideology, except for LB of course.

3. The St. Joe Company (owned): This was an inspired purchase by RB at $15.69 on 3/18/09: Nibbled at ST JOE/. It closed up $1.62 to $30.94 yesterday on above average volume after reporting earnings. This is one that I have no clear answers on my next move. The company is asset rich, but still losing money. The new airport at Panama City is expected to open in May 2010, and this is an aerial view of construction at the site: Project updates on construction of the new Panama City-Bay County International Airport — The New PFN St Joe owns land around this airport and is accelerating pre-development activity on approximately 1000 acres adjacent to the airport according to its earnings release. I previously said that I would sell my shares once the price crossed $30. JOE owns 580,000 acres primarily in NW Florida, and 400,000 of those acres are within 15 miles of the Gulf of Mexico coast.

I am more inclined to hold my shares, at least for now, even though they have doubled in price in less than 5 months.

4. 40 to 50 Million Uninsured- Is that Accurate or Deliberately Misleading?: One of the most common pieces of misinformation used to justify the Democrats' health insurance plan is the claim that there are 40 to 50 million uninsured people. Jeremy Siegel pointed out that over 1/2 of the uninsured make over 50 thousand per year and could afford to buy health insurance. I have known over the years many successful people, mostly single, that have chosen to self-insure. Also, contrary to what some argue, the alternative for many young people between ages of 18 to 34, accounting for 40% of the uninsured, is not a comprehensive medical plan with a small deductible but a HSA with a high deductible and a much lower overall cost.

Siegel also pointed out that millions of those uninsured individuals are illegal aliens. Others are eligible for existing programs like medicaid but have not signed up. The National Institute for Health Management Foundation estimates that those individuals, eligible for existing programs like medicaid, account for 26% of the uninsured. nihcm.org/pdf 

Some estimates have the number of illegal aliens as 1/3 rd of the much bandied about 40 to 50 million number. This is admittedly a hard number to pin down within a reasonable range (see discussion at FactCheck.org: The 'Real' Uninsured) Without saying so in clear terms, Obama is using figures from the Census Bureau that include illegal immigrants and other non-U.S. citizens in his effort to pass the legislation by bloating the size of the uninsured population. It is also interesting that the Democrats recently beat back an amendment that would have made it more difficult for U.S. taxpayers to subsidize medical care for illegal immigrants by allowing health agencies the opportunity to verify citizenship citizenship. The Democrats will be successful in attracting more illegal immigrants by making it harder to confirm U.S. citizenship before providing valuable benefits.

Once the true cost of providing health services is divorced from the obligation to pay that cost, two events will naturally occur. Individuals will take less responsibility for themselves, including diet and exercise, and will demand more services and products that they do not need. Millions will become convinced that the small amount paid by them for insurance actually pays for what they receive, and will become enraged if an effort is made later to reign in costs by increasing their obligations even in insignificant amounts. When the nation is already running toward a 1.8 trillion dollar budget deficit for this fiscal year, with medicare going broke faster than expected, millions of inhabitants in the "I want something without paying for it Nation" are accelerating their quest to receive more, and then some more, and then some more, without even first recognizing any obligation to pay for what has already been promised and not paid for.

5. Proctor & Gamble ( P&G Fiscal Year and Fourth Quarter EPS) : I recently sold my shares of PG based on just two factors. First, the price had spurted over a short period of time from my purchase price of $47.59 to my sales price of $56.89. Sold PG/Pared PGN/Bought 50 of the CEF IAE-Averaging Down Second, the near and intermediate term sales and earnings picture for PG looked uninspiring to me. While PG beat the consensus forecast by 2 cents, earnings were still down 18%, and revenues declined 11%, from the year ago quarter. The revenues of 18.66 billion also missed the forecast of 19.27 billion. I will just monitor the PG price over the next several weeks, and look for a possible re-entry point near or even below $50. Otherwise, I will just let it go.

6. CBL & Associates Properties (owned-Lottery Ticket): CBL, a REIT that owns malls, reported after the close yesterday. FFO increased by 2% and occupancy remained flat at 89%. CBL did recently raise 382 million in equity by issuing 66.63 million shares. I paid the most attention to the part of the release that dealt with the firm's financing and lines of credit extensions.

7. Linn Energy (LINE-OWNED): I last discussed this firm when I purchased additional shares at $15.21. Added to LINE. That add was in April after I spent so much time preparing my return with Linn's K-1 information. I concluded that I needed to own more shares just to make the time filling out forms during tax season worthwhile. Linn went ex dividend today with its quarterly payment of 63 cents per share.

8. Sold ETW and SWZ in Roth (see Disclaimer): 100 shares of the CEF Swiss Helvetia (SWZ) was sold at $10.75 late yesterday, and 100+ shares of the CEF ETW was sold this morning at $13. Both transactions were in the Roth IRA. I own close to 500 shares of ETW and 200 shares of SWZ in a taxable account, which I intend to keep. The ETW shares sold this morning in the Roth had a total cost basis of just $8.43 from 3/4/09 and two dividends received since that time. That is just too much, too soon to ignore. SWZ was a recent purchase in the ROTH at $10.23. I recently received a dividend of about 37 dollars but still the total return was much smaller than the ETW trade.

Sold 100 IRR at $16.92/Bought 50 PJS/Earnings: DUK, ED, PNW, NADX, MWA, PGN, EMR/Ariad/Foreign Currencies

1. Barron's Technician on the U.S. Dollar: Michael Kahn, who writes the Getting Technical column for Barrons argues that the dollar has broken support, and there is "no meaningful support in sight". I noted in a prior post that I own shares in FXA, the currency ETF for the Australian dollar, and Kahn notes that the Aussie Dollar has made a strong bull move since March 2009. He says the momentum in the Aussie currency is up without "registering overbought conditions". I noticed that this rally in the Australian currency was well underway in May 2009: Item # 6: Potpourri This Evening May 18th/Bought More AT & T The Aussie Dollar started to rally at the same time as the U.S. stock market, as risk appetite returned, and commodity prices started to bottom and move back up. FXA was at $63.3 on 3/9/2009 and closed yesterday at $84.21. This security pays monthly interest tied to what the Australian Dollar earns from a demand rate minus expenses. This is an article from Bloomberg today on the Australian Dollar.

Kahn also talks about the Brazilian Real and Indian Rupee. The Brazilian Real has been the best performing currency against the dollar so far this year. I may add to my currency ETF that contains a basket of these emerging market currencies, particularly since I just pared BWX, the ETF which contains international government bond from developed countries, in an effort to manage and to reduce currency risk. Pared BWX Emerging market currencies will generally be positively correlated with U.S. stocks, as I noted in a prior post.Emerging Market Currencies and Bonds as Non-Correlated Asset Classes Wisdomtree, the sponsor for this emerging market currency ETF, claims that this asset class adds diversity to a U.S. stock portfolio while reducing volatility, at least over a ten year period from 4/1/1999 to 3/31/2009. Since I have invested in emerging market currencies in the past, I am comfortable adding to this ETF but I will keep my overall position relatively small.

There are a number of different categories of investments that may improve in value as the U.S. dollar weakens. Some securities, like international stocks and bonds, will be sensitive to currency fluctuations but will also be impacted by other factors. The asset class most impacted by currency exchange rates would be ownership of foreign currencies themselves. I currently own two currency ETFs, FXA and CEW, that are exposed to particular currencies, a very direct way to play a fall in the U.S. currency. I have at times owned other currency ETFs. Asset Allocation Problems: foreign currencies, stocks and bonds Another asset class significantly effected by movement in exchange rates would be international bonds, though price will be influenced of course by matters that normally impact all bonds such as credit and interest rate risks. The international bond ETFs, BWX and WIP, which I own, will fluctuate just on changes in currency exchange rates. David Swenson's comments on Inflation/ TIP-WIP-Floaters/ how will the dollar react? I also own a closed end bond investing in emerging market bonds, ESD. I also own shares in EBI, a CEF, that is a balanced international fund.

Stock prices can also be influenced to some degree by currency movements. I recently increased my positions in international stocks. For a U.S. investor holding a foreign stock price in its local currency, the currency exchange rate will either increase or decrease the value of that investment based on the U.S. dollars weakness or strength, respectively. International Stocks TheStreet.com International Stocks - InvestorGuide In addition, the dividend stream paid by those foreign firms will increase in value as the dollar weakens. I have mentioned this point on several occasions when discussing the purchase of Canadian companies that pay large dividends. Lastly, I added starting in March several large American multinationals such as Coca Cola that will benefit directly by a fall in the value of the dollar. (Cramer Says Buy Coca Cola ; see item # 2: /U.S. Dollar ; items # 1 & # 5: Evening Comments 5/21/2009/Pared Unilever) This article from Investopedia goes into more detail on that subject.

2. Emerson (owned): EMR reported earnings that came up a penny short of the consensus estimate. Revenues also missed estimates, falling 19% from the year ago quarter excluding currency exchange. Emerson does not expect to see any significant recovery until late 2010. EMR expects full year earnings to be in the range of $2.2 to $2.30 per share. My position in EMR is viewed as a long term hold, with possible adds based on weakness in the share price to $30 or below.

3. Duke Energy (owned): Duke is one of my core electric utility holdings, and I am currently reinvesting the dividend to buy additional shares. Excluding items, Duke reported earnings of 26 cents, one cent better than the consensus estimate. As expected, weak commercial demand is continuing to adversely impact revenues.

4. CIT (senior bonds owned): CIT sweetened the offer for the bonds maturing maturing in August from 82.5 cents on the dollar to 87.5 cents, and lowered the amount that has to be tendered from 90% to 58% before CIT will proceed with the tender.

5. Progress Energy (PGN)(owned and recently pared): PGN is currently viewed as a non-core electric utility holding. PGN reaffirmed its guidance from ongoing operations of $2.95 to $3.15 a share after reporting operating earnings for the 2nd quarter of 64 cents, missing estimates by four or five cents-depending on which service is used to provide the consensus estimate. Earnings were negatively impacted by 3 cents per share due to the share offering in January. Retail growth and usage, primarily in the industrial sector, also had a 3 cent negative impact.

6. Consolidated Edison (owned): Con Edison is a core electric utility holding and I reinvest the dividends to buy additional shares. Excluding items ED earned $.48 per share and 55 cents before items. The company affirmed its forecast for 2009 from ongoing operations of between $3 and $3.2 per share.

7. Pinnacle West (PNW)(owned): Excluding items, PNW missed estimates by 10 cents reporting 2nd quarter earnings of 77 cents on a five per cent year over year decline in revenues. All of these results from my electric utilities are far from inspiring. The only reason to own them now is for the qualified dividends.

8. Consumer Spending & Disposable Income for June: The Commerce Department reported this morning that consumers increased their spending by .4% in June. News Release: Personal Income and Outlays, June 2009 Disposable income decreased by 1.3%.

9. Ariad (ARIA)(owned-Lottery Ticket): As a result of Merck's decision to forego a Phase 3 trial of ridaforolimus in combination with herceptin, which would have triggered a milestone payment to the cash strapped Ariad Pharmaceuticals, ARIAD quickly decided to raise cash by offering another 17 million in shares, thereby diluting existing shareholders.

10. Mueller Water Products (MWA-owned lottery ticket)- For the firm's fiscal third quarter, MWA generated free cash flow of 65.4 million and reduced its debt by 126.5 million. With a decline in demand for its products, with net sales falling 31.3%, the company suffered a 4.6 million dollar loss excluding restructuring charges. I would not expect a profit for this fiscal year, though I would hope that demand improves sufficiently in its fiscal 2010 year, ending in 9/2010, for MWA to earn a small profit. This one will require a lot of patience. Sold out of IR and Bought XLI/ Bought 50 MWA as a Lottery Ticket/Dollar Crumbles with Dollar Index Now Below 80/More Recovery Signs

11. SLM: Yesterday, I added a small position in a bond issued by SLM that matures in January 2018. The reason for buying that bond, ISM, in my traditional IRA is the same reason that I buy any security in that account. If I am concerned about a company, as I am with Sallie Mae, but do not want to ignore a potential large gain, I will buy the security in the regular IRA and then include it in a ROTH IRA conversion in the event the price falls significantly. Since I include the value of the security at the time of conversion as income, I will pay less income tax based on a lower share price. This has been a very successful strategy that I have employed since October of last year. I neglected to mention yesterday that I did read the recent S & P report on SLM. S & P upgraded SLM to 4 stars on 7/22/2009 due to SLM now being able to generate more positive spreads in its student loan portfolio.

12. National Dentex (NADX-owned Lottery Ticket): I have had some success with NADX. I bought 50 shares at $1.27, Buy of 50 NADX at $1.27 and sold those held in an IRA on a quick spurt to $4. I still own 50 shares bought at $4. Buy of 50 National Dentex (NADX) The firm earned 40 cents a share compared to 34 cens a year ago. Revenues cam in at 42.755 million down from 44.58 million a year ago. Even after rising from the ashes of my last buy at $1.27 to its current price of over $7, the price to sales ratio is still around .25 according to YF. NADX: Key Statistics

13. SOLD 100 IRR at $16.92 (see disclaimer): This CEF was selling at a premium to its NAV as of yesterday's close. ING Risk Managed Natural Resources Fund - Overview I sold my shares in an IRA a few days ago, and I am now down to 100 shares in the taxable account after selling 100 at $16.92. Most likely I will substitute an ETF that I previously owned and sold at much higher prices that holds Canadian energy stocks.

14. The Phoenix Companies (own senior bond PFX only): For reasons that are not entirely clear, I still own 100 shares of a senior bond of PNX, discussed in a few previous posts. This insurance company is struggling. It reported an operating loss of 14 cents for the second quarter this morning. State Farm ended its distribution agreement several months ago with Phoenix. I view the position in the long term senior bond issue as high risk: Bought 100 PFK PHOENIX SENIOR BOND: PFX Phoenix Senior Bond: To Wild for LB/

/PNX & State Farm

15. Bought 50 PJS at $17.95 (see Disclaimer): I was screwed on this trade which was the first time in a long time that an odd lot market order was filled over the ask price. For several minutes before and after the order, the ask price was $17.79. My odd lot order for 50 shares was filled at $17.95. My order was also filled at 15 cents above the highest price for the day. Even though the amount of money is insignificant, I did rile me a little because I hate being cheated regardless of the amount of money involved. So my reaction to be cheated out of 10 dollars, at least initially, would be the same as being cheated out of 10 thousand.

PJS is a TC with contains a senior bond from First American (FAF). My last buy of this security was on 10/10/08, during a meltdown, when I bought some shares at $7.2. Some Nibbles Got Filled: JZE, PJS, INZ and FAX I currently own 250. First American is a title insurer that is currently benefiting from the refinancing wave, reporting better than expected results for the second quarter. Reuters

This is a link to the prospectus for PJS: http://www.sec.gov

The coupon of the underlying bond and the TC are both 7.55%. The bond matures on 4/1/2028.

I did not attempt to verify Quantum's statement that the underlying bond is currently rated Baa2 by Moody's and BBB by S & P, both investment grade. Third Party Trust Preferred Securities Table - QuantumOnline.com (site is free-registration required). This is a link to the current yield information at the last closing price: MarketWatch At my last price, the current yield is around 10.4% with interest paid semi-annually. The next ex date will be near the end of September.

There is very little trading activity in the underlying bond so I view the current information at the FINRA site on this bond to be useless. Nonetheless, here is the link to it: FINRA - Investor Information - Market Data - Bonds - Bond Detail The last trade is shown as taking place in May 2009. The FINRA site has the Moody's rating as Baa3; Fitch at BBB-; and S & P at BBB-, just barely clinging onto the investment grade classification.

First American is a company that I follow due to my pre-existing position in PJS. I did review the most recent Morningstar report last night, dated 7/30/2009/. Morningstar has FAF rated 4 stars.

I did return earlier than expected from an excursion away from HQ today.

Bought 50 ISM in IRA at $11.85/ISM Report/More on JQC

1. More On the Closed End Fund (CEF) JQC: I bought 100 JQC last week in an effort to dig myself out of a small hole by averaging down.(item # 3: Added 100 JQC) The fund closed last Friday, 7/31/09, at a 19.4% discount to Net Asset Value. WSJ.com This fund has an expense ratio of about .83% excluding the interest expense paid on the borrowed funds. JQC - Nuveen Multi-Strategy Income and Growth Fund 2 This is a leveraged fund, with leverage currently running around 25%. In a bull market, borrowing money at low rates to increase the amount of securities owned will increase returns. Leverage worked against the CEFs who used it during the recent bear market, as you would expect, since borrowing money to buy more assets that fall in price will only increase the amount of losses. This is a link to JQC's SEC filing of its Q/E 3/31/09: www.sec.gov The portfolio is basically a balanced fund, generally weighted more toward bonds than stocks. This report reveals that the fund does do some selling of call options for individual securities and some short selling. This is a link to the last filed annual report: N-CSR

2. Manufacturing Reports: Bloomberg reported this morning that the survey of U.K. manufacturing, similar to the ISM report for the U.S., had the first reading over 50, a level that shows expansion under these surveys, for the first time since March 2008. The new order component of the survey rose to 55.9, the highest reading since November 2007. The ISM manufacturing survey for July was released today and showed an increase from 44.8 in June to 48.9 in July. The new orders index surged to 55.3 from 49.2.

3. Emerging Market Index: The MSCI Emerging Markets Index climbed for the first time above the closing level of 9/12/2008, shortly before the Lehman collapse.

4. Bought 50 ISM in Regular IRA at $11.85 (see Disclaimer): ISM is another bond issued by SLM (Sallie Mae) that pays interest monthly based on a calculation tied to the CPI. It is different from my other CPI holding from Sallie, OSM, in that it matures a few months later and pays a slightly higher spread over CPI. ISM matures on January 16, 2018 at a $25 par value. The spread over CPI is 2.05%.

This is a link to the prospectus: www.sec.gov As with OSM I would expect the penny rate to remain low at a minimum for several months, even if the CPI starts to increase, due to the lag built into the equation used to calculate the penny rate.

The main issue with both OSM and ISM is whether Sallie Mae will survive to pay par value. For today's purchase of ISM, and with my last purchase of OSM at about the same price level, the return will be over 100% provided SLM pays par value at maturity. The monthly interest is almost gravy if SLM survives.

I did a calculation with my prior purchase of OSM that used an average CPI rate for the next nine years of 2 1/2% which seems reasonable to me.Late Afternoon Buys and Sells 6 9 2009 Inflation Forecasts: Can We Really Predict the Future?The actual rate of course could be higher or lower. So, I would add 2.05% to 2.5% to arrive at an average of 4.55% over the next nine years or so. Multiply that percentage by the $25 par value and you arrive at an annual penny rate per share of $1.1375. At a total cost of $11.9, the yield would become 9.558%, less than that now due to recent low CPI readings.

I am busy doing work unrelated to the market today and tomorrow.

Saturday & Sunday Meanderings 8/1-2/2009

1. David Rosenberg & Alan Abelson: I have always suspected that Alan and David were twin brothers, and my suspicions were confirmed, once again, by Abelson's column in this weekend's Barrons. There is a difference between the two twins in their dour market forecasts. I wish to be fair to David on this score. Alan apparently believes the DJIA needs to retest the 1932 low of 32 in order to reach fair value, while David is far more optimistic, believing the S & P will fall back merely to 600 by this October. (item # 3 in both posts: S & P Closes Above 200 Day Moving Average Job Losses Worse Than Expected) While David's forecast would appear silly and even ridiculous to many market observers, with that average at 987 now, Alan views David as a great sage, defined to mean a person who expresses opinions similar to his own. Both share the same personality quirk, an endless quest to cherry pick data to justify an opinion that a market rise off the March lows is just madness, while a steep market fall would show that everyone has finally come to their senses. Up is bad, down is good.

Besides cherry picking only the data supporting their view, discarding inconsistent facts or downplaying their significance, David and Alan will focus on earnings during an awful recession year, and ask why isn't the market forecasting those earnings as the norm for the next decade or the next century. So once we have bad news, the only reasonable projection is a continuation of the awfulness into the indefinite future. That is just one of their favorite tactics. So, you can see how it works. You know that earnings are being severely impacted by a recession, and it goes without saying that you would never, ever, accept the notion that the recession will actually end at some point. You come up with some ridiculous trailing P/E number like 760, and voila, irrefutable proof that investors have lost their marbles again. I view Alan as the flip side of those individuals who believed the dot-bombs were undervalued investment gems in 1999-2000. Maybe those individuals need to do a mind meld with Alan and David and possibly something sensible will come out of it.

But after reading Alan touting David's predictions- again, thinking that I might not have to endure another reference to Rosenberg's views, at least until next week, I see him pop up again, like a mole in that whack a mole game, dispensing more advice in "The Trader" column. Barrons.com

Sure, I have been selling some common stock recently. It seems to me prudent to raise some cash after the tremendous market move off the March lows, up almost 50% since early March. dshort.com I am not one, however, who perpetually sees the glass as being empty. Instead, looking back at the S & P earnings since 1960,S&P Earnings History, I see a pronounced and obvious uptrend in earnings, and would forecast that as the norm rather than a continuation of poor earnings for years to come. Also, you do not need to be much of a student of history to realize that recessions will come and go. Perhaps, for both the bulls and the bears, both the coming and the going of bad times need to be factored into their valuation decisions, as opposed to just one or the other.

2. The Magic Coin and EBAY: A few days ago I allowed the magic coin to decide the fate of my Ebay shares. EBAY and Eric Savitz Eric had written a column arguing that Ebay was a value trap at $12 per share. Savitz on Ebay/ So, LB who can be quite contrary at times, decided to bet against Eric, but then quickly ran into a quandary. If EBAY was a value trap at $12, it had to be more so when it rose soon after Eric's column to over $20. LB decided that it would be best to allow the magic coin to resolve the debate, and the coin said hold onto the shares after it was flipped in strict accordance with all of the rules governing this particular method of decision making. (last sentence: Bought 50 OPXT as Lottery Ticket/ Digirad) Now after a double in price, Barrons has the hots for the stock with an effusive cover story in this week's edition. Maybe I will flip the coin again next week sometime.

3. Money Market Yields: I looked at my dividend paid by a tax-free money market fund today for the month of July. I just kept staring at the number. It had to be a mistake. Seriously, I could not go to McDonald's and buy a happy meal for one person with the dividend paid on my entire cash balance. I then checked the yield at Barrons and saw that it was .01%. Over the past couple of weeks I have added to that cash balance with several stock sales. Now, having seen that number, I feel that I am being forced back into taking more risks.

4. Revival Meeting Of True Believers in Nashville: The Nashville Tennessean reported today on a large gathering of some 600 TBs here in Nashville. While you would expect the fire and brimstone, and preaching about the dangers of socialism, meaning any proposal made by the Democratic Party on any subject, some other gems include a speech about the "Obama- Pelosi-Reed axis of evil" threatening the American way of life.

RB was observing the large number of people at a local restaurant this morning, serving an "all you can eat" breakfast, who would be paying more for their generous helping of more under the Fat Tax. The More You Weigh-The More You Pay/ More on the FAT TAX-Combine with a Soda Tax & More Cancer Stick Taxes A Modest Proposal to the Democratic Party: Forget About the Surtax and Try a Tax on Fat/Charlie Rangel-A Pillar of Tax Morality? RB said something like Tennessee will have no problem funding its fair share of the new Fat Tax. A companion wanted to know why RB called the BMI Chart part of a "commie liberal" plot to undermine American Capitalism. Healthy Weight: Assessing Your Weight: Body Mass Index (BMI) | DNPAO | CDC RB said it was obvious, asking a rhetorical question that answered such a silly question. How much of American capitalism is geared to putting the weight on, then treating the consequences of the "excessive" body mass, and then geared to providing services and products to take it back off? Millions of jobs, and entire industries are dependent on the American public recognizing the true purpose of this commie liberal chart, to undermine the very fabric of our economy by convincing Americans to take responsibility for their own health and well being. Then, a member of the GOP Tribe (we are surrounded here) added that he agreed with RB's characterization of the Fat Tax as being consistent with the fundamental tenet of the Democratic Party, to tax whatever is more, as in the more you weigh, the more you pay. But, the Fat Tax ignored the corollary principal, that no one is really responsible for what happens to them, and anyone who would be subject to the Fat Tax due to self indulgence would be entitled to a tax credit offsetting the full amount of the Fat Tax. RB was speechless, confronted with such impeccable logic, and asked LB to work out the kinks in RB's ideas to fund the Obama health care insurance with a tax consistent with Democratic Party tenets and capable of rising faster than the rate of increase for medical costs.

Added Sunday 8/2/2009: LB Works Out a Solution:

LB thought that this was a tough nut to crack. It is clear that the member of the GOP tribe overstated his case. Some individuals are in fact deemed to be responsible for themselves and for others. It is clear that individuals are not responsible for their own excessive body mass under the core principles of the Democratic Party unless the taxpayer is “well off”. For those who are well off, they will be to required to pay both any Fat Tax (FT) owed by them for excessive body mass as defined by the BMI Index and to assume the responsibility for the FT owed by those defined by the Democratic Party as not well off. Those who are not well off, and are within the BMI guidelines for body mass, may sell Fat Tax Credits to the well off that the rich may use to offset their FT burden. LB borrowed this idea from the Democratic Party cap and trade plan, and views it therefore as consistent with their core principles. The well off may also earn deductions by paying gym memberships, personal trainers, and dieticians, not for themselves but for those subject to the FT who are not responsible for anything that they do even if they do it.

To facilitate the exchange of Fat Tax credits, a competitive marketplace will be established where the FT credits may be bought and sold. Unemployed investment bankers can be hired to develop new products, like CDO squared, to package the credits for marketing to different kinds of well off people.

End of Day Trades: Sold DRAD/Pared BWX/ Added 100 JQC

1. Sold 100 DRAD: (see Disclaimer): Some of my Lottery Ticket purchases work better than others. I sold 100 DRAD at $2.14 this afternoon, purchased at $1.24 in June: Bought Lottery Ticket 100 DRAD I mentioned in an earlier post that I would likely be a seller in the event the share price crossed the $2 mark. What is a Birther?/CIT More on SIMG & DRAD Some would say why bother with these lottery tickets. My response is that I am almost a $100 richer due this lottery ticket purchase of DRAD shares, almost a double in under two months, and the RB can not do any harm focusing its attention on these selections.

2. Pared BWX: (see Disclaimer) BWX is an ETF containing international government bonds. In a prior post, I mentioned that I would pared the remaining shares of the first lot purchased when BWX crossed $56. This was done late in the afternoon at around $56.25 The first part of that lot (50 shares) was sold when BWX crossed 54, selling those shares at $54.3. Afternoon Comments 6 5 09/Dollar Mounting a Rally/Bonds in a Funk I will not buy those shares back unless BWX falls below $51. As explained in that prior linked post, I am using the movement of the Dollar Index in an effort to manage the currency risk of holding international bonds. The dollar had a bad day today, and the Dollar INDEX (NYBOT:DX) moved closer to 78. The bonds contained in BWX will be very sensitive to the movements of the dollar. As the dollar has lost value recently, the value of the international bonds increased in value for a U.S. shareholder of BWX. Conversely, if the dollar starts a broad based rally and moves back up to say 86 or 88 in this index, I would expect BWX to be falling in price. There are two risks with international bonds. First there is the currency risk which I am attempting to manage in the fashion described in this post and elsewhere in this blog. The second major risk would be a rise in interest rates that would cause these bonds to lose value in their local currencies. I will take the second risk in my remaining shares, since these bonds serve a purpose in my asset allocation plan as a non-correlated asset class. International Bonds as a Non-Correlated Asset

More on International Bonds as a Non-correlated Asset

BWX: International Treasury Bonds

The two sales recently made in BWX were at a profit. They were also my highest cost shares. So, using FIFO accounting, I have lowered my cost basis for the remaining shares, with the last open market purchase made at $47.35.BOND ETFS BWX AND TFI I am reinvesting the meager dividend paid by BWX to buy additional shares. I also own WIP, a smaller position, and I am not managing the currency risk on it. Again, I will not sale what I currently own. I will start to buy back the shares sold when and if BWX falls below $51.

3. Added 100 JQC at $6.31 (see disclaimer): JQC is a closed end investment company. I last discussed this CEF back in early October when I made a purchase at $4.3. AEB AND JQC I also bought some AEB at $5.5 on the same day. ( I raised my position in AEB to 350 shares but I did not make anymore purchases of JQC after that post in October.) The current discount to NAV for JQC is around 19% as of 7/30/09 according to data at the Nuveen site: JQC - Nuveen Multi-Strategy Income and Growth Fund 2 The current dividend yield is around 9.5%. MarketWatch.com Quote Dividends are paid quarterly. This is a leveraged fund which is one reason why I stayed away from it during the recent troubles. JQC - Nuveen Multi-Strategy Income and Growth Fund 2 The fund owns mostly preferred and debt securities, listed by Nuveen at around 61% of the portfolio and 33.4% consists of equity and convertible securities. The remainder is in odds and ends. I also changed my reinvestment option to buy more shares with the dividends. I am under water some in this holding and I am merely attempting to dig myself out. My total exposure is less than 3 grand.

4. Ariad: This is a link to a couple of articles in Bio Health Investor about the recent Ariad news: Biotech Biotech I would not have bought 100 shares on Wednesday at $2.55 if I had known about Merck's decision. Bought Another 100 ARIAD Ariad Discloses Information from Merck ARIAD UPDATE At least, I may be able to recoup some of my loss by including those 100 shares in my next Roth conversion. I will be interested to see if the funds affiliated with the firm named in this SEC filing did more selling after dumping a lot of stock on July 27, 28, 29, selling into the news Ariad released earlier in the week that caused its stock to spike (see page 10: SEC Filing)