Thursday Musings

The good news? My chest infection is much better and I am feeling pretty good, except for....the bad news is while all the crud in my chest was loosening up, I coughed it out to keep my lungs clear and I may have been overzealous. I know I at least pulled a muscle on my right side, and it had better not have torn. Of course now coughing is sort of impossible. It never ends.

Discount Window Borrowing
The FED released details of the discount window borrowing operations today. Of course they used old school technology to do it, so any real write up will have to wait. Not that it matters, we know everyone and their brother in the banking world was borrowing, even Libyan banks. Not much news here.

The collateral accepted is not disclosed and that is where the meat would have been. The FED is only supposed to accept the highest quality paper and assets at the window, but we all know that went out another window to save the system and all that. I guess in a way this would not be news either; the FED accepted bad mortgage paper, less than AAA rated paper, and I will say it, equities as collateral. Where is my proof? I have none, the FED won't give me any information. The burden of proof is on them to prove me wrong, they have all the information right? Now why would the FED want a higher stock market via POMO again.....sorry going down the bear cave again!

Stupid Headline
When I see this stuff and the dollar makes a reaction to it I just have to chuckle:
Minneapolis Fed's Kocherlakota: "Fed Funds Rate May Need To Rise 75 bps By End Of 2011"
Who wants to bet some money the FED does not raise rates in 2011, never mind 75bps worth? Any takers? Stupid headline.

Market Operations
It has been a pretty good 10 day span for Economic Disconnect.

I sold my position in YGE around noon today, banking a 7.6% win.

As we are heading into earnings season (already!?) I am looking to go to cash here. This stinks because I have a few winners riding here that I like, but that's the way it goes. I have to go over things tonight, but here is where I am:
TAN +7.0%
KCG +3.4%
My wife gave me the idea for the following two stocks:
SHW +2.3%
RPM +4.2%
I will update as things unfold.

Planetary Pictures
While I await plenty of pictures of the planet Mercury by the Messenger space craft, I wanted to post my 4 favorite space pictures. Long time readers will probably remember them. Click for better views.

The Soviets are the only nation to have landed on the planet Venus and broadcast back pictures of the tortured world:
Venera 13:

Venera 14:


The Americans own Mars with all the hardware we have there!
Mars at sunset from a rover on the surface:

Looking back at Earth from the surface of Mars:


I can look at those pictures for hours (A couple are framed high resolution pictures in my den) and just be amazed. It looks like places on Earth, but you know it is not. Maybe it's just me.

Have a good night.