Video-o-rama: Gloomy economic reports rein in investors’ optimism

By Prieur du Plessis, on May 15th, 2009 posted in: Investment, Markets, Money

A batch of gloomy economic reports during the past few days suggested that recent optimism about a global recovery might have been premature. This caused Doug Kass to warn that “stock prices have moved ahead of fundamentals” and Kenneth Langone to caution that “investors seem to be getting ahead of themselves”, although he maintained that the long-term outlook on the market was positive.

Big banks across the US announced large common stock offerings and plans to repay the government, and the US administration attempted to bring transparency to the credit derivatives markets and also crack down on the credit card industry.

In addition to Kass and Langone, commentators featured on camera in this post include Elizabeth Warren, Meredith Whitney, Alan Greenspan, Peter Boockvar, Giles Keating, Jim Rogers, Barry Ritholtz, Dennis Gartman, Abby Cohen, Peter Eliades and Laszlo Birinyi.

The selection kicks off with a discussion on why the bubble burst, and concludes with a clip on Jacob Zuma being sworn in as South Africa’s (my home country) new president.

John Authers (Financial Times): Why the bubble burst
“Why did the bubble burst last year? Was it due to overconfidence, too much reliance on the efficient markets model, or an explosive mixture of human nature and the free market? Or all of the above? John Authers, FT investment editor, summarizes the views of leading market experts he spoke to at a conference in Orlando, Florida, including Michael Mauboussin of Legg Mason, Richard Thaler of Chicago University and Russell Napier, author of Anatomy of the bear.”

Source: John Authers, Financial Times, May 8, 2009.

Charlie Rose: A conversation with Elizabeth Warren
“A conversation with Elizabeth Warren, chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel created to oversee the US banking bailout.”

Source: Charlie Rose, May 11, 2009.

CNN Video: Bailout – banks had no choice
“CNN business correspondent Christine Romans reports on the pressure the Treasury Department put on the banks.”

Source: CNN Video, May 14, 2009.

CNBC: Whitney’s wisdom
“CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo discusses big banks’ plans to sell common shares in order to repay TARP funds, with Meredith Whitney, Meredith Whitney Advisory Group founder & CEO.”

Source: CNBC, May 11, 2009.

Bloomberg: Ken Lewis says he’s focused on bank, not job security
“Kenneth Lewis, chief executive officer of Bank of America Corp., talks with Bloomberg’s Margaret Popper about his focus on the bank’s operations after US regulators demanded the lender raise more capital after it failed a bank stress test.

“Regulators told Bank of America that it needs to raise $33.9 billion in order to survive a prolonged recession. Lewis, who was stripped of his chairman’s role after last month’s annual shareholders meeting, also discusses the results of the stress test, capital needs and the bank’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. They speak from Bank of America’s headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina.”

Source: Bloomberg, May 8, 2009.

The Wall Street Journal: Pay dirt – the rogues gallery
“A look back at some of the biggest and most egregious pay packages.”

Source: The Wall Street Journal, May 12, 2009.

CNBC: Regulating derivatives
“Insight on the new derivatives rules, with Bart Chilton, CFTC commissioner and CNBC’s Larry Kudlow.”

Source: CNBC, May 14, 2009.

CNBC: Credit card crackdown
“President Obama wants to sign the Credit Card Bill of Rights into law by Memorial Day, and Jared Bernstein, chief economist for Vice President Biden, discusses the legislation.”

Source: CNBC, May 14, 2009.

Bloomberg: Roubini says bank stress tests “not stressful enough”
“Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economics professor who predicted the current financial crisis, and Joseph McAlinden, a fund manager at Catalpa Capital, talk with Bloomberg’s Pimm Fox about the government’s stress tests of the 19 largest US banks. Roubini and McAlinden also discuss their expectations for the US economy, government regulation of banks and the outlook for the European and Chinese economies.”

Source: Bloomberg, May 12, 2009.

MSNBC: Show me the stimulus money
“Since President Barack Obama signed the stimulus bill three months ago, only $46 billion of the $787 billion has been given out. Jared Bernstein, chief economist for Vice President Joe Biden, discusses.”

Source: MSNBC, May 13, 2009.

McAlvany: An interview with economics professor Walter Block – The 1930′s Depression versus today

Source: McAlvany, May 13, 2009.

Clip Sindicate: Green shoots of inflation?
“Analysis and Discussion with Peter Boockvar of Miller Tabak.”

Source: Clip Syndicate, May 14, 2009.

Giles Keating (Credit Suisse): Top 10 investment themes for 2009
“Most countries were in recession at the beginning of 2009. Analysts foresee that the slowdown will continue for at least another year. Giles Keating, head of the Credit Suisse Global Economics and Strategy Group, lists the top 10 investment themes that offer opportunities during the course of the year.”

Click here for the article

Source: Giles Keating, Credit Suisse, May 12, 2009.

Bloomberg: Jim Rogers – dollar rally will end; may short stocks

Click here for the article.

Source: Chen Shiyin and Haslinda Amin, Bloomberg, May 12 2009.

John Authers (Financial Times): Stock valuations do nor represent a bargain

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Source: John Authers, Financial Times, May 14, 2009.

Yahoo Finance, Tech Ticker: Barry Ritholtz – rally “guilty until proven innocent”

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Source: Yahoo Finance, Tech Ticker, May 14, 2009.

CNBC: Bull market or B.S.?
“Insight on the markets, with Dennis Gartman, author of The Gartman Letter, and the Fast Money crew.”

Source: CNBC, May 14, 2009.

CNBC: Stocks are ahead of fundamentals
“Hedge fund manager Doug Kass of Seabreeze Partners Management (the man who called a generational low in the stock market back on March 10) says stock prices have moved ahead of fundamentals. Kass calls it the ‘Miley Cyrus’ stock market recovery where a premium is being paid for less-than-stellar value.”

Source: CNBC, May 13, 2009.

CNBC: Cohen on the current market bounce
“Discussing concerns over whether the bulls will be caught in a sucker’s rally, with Abby Joseph Cohen, Goldman Sachs senior investment strategist.”

Source: CNBC, May 12, 2009.

MarketWatch: Dow 4,000 still in the cards
“Peter Eliades of Stockmarket Cycles says the Dow still could retreat to 4,000. He tells MarketWatch’s Stacey Delo that the current range at the 8,400 level is an important benchmark to watch.”

Source: MarketWatch, May 11, 2009.

Bloomberg: Birinyi on the outlook for stocks
“Laszlo Birinyi, president of Birinyi Associates Inc., talks with Bloomberg’s Betty Liu and Julie Hyman about equity investment strategy. Birinyi, speaking from Westport, Connecticut, also discusses the outlook for the US stock market, the banking industry and corporate earnings.”

Source: Bloomberg, May 12, 2009.

CNBC: Kenneth Langone – investors getting ahead of themselves
“Investors seem to be getting ahead of themselves right now but the long term outlook on the market is positive, says Kenneth Langone, Invemed Associates chairman/president & Home Depot founder.”

Source: CNBC, May 12, 2009.

Financial Times: Intel fined €1 billion
“If the example of Microsoft is anything to go by, the record €1 billion fine slapped on Intel will not have much of an impact on the company, says FT’s Dan McCrum.”

Source: Financial Times, May 13, 2009.

The Wall Street Journal: The cream of the hedge fund crop
“Barron’s David Schutt and Jack Willoughby speak about the release of this year’s best 100 Hedge Funds.”

Source: The Wall Street Journal, May 9, 2009.

CNBC: China’s dual economy
“China is unlikely to grow 8% in 2009 as Jan Friederich, senior economist for global forecasting at the Economist Intelligence Unit has noted two different economies operating there. He shares his observations with CNBC’s Martin Soong.”

Source: CNBC, May 11, 2009.

CNBC: Jim Rogers – teach your kids Mandarin
“Commodities king and Quantum Fund co-founder Jim Rogers explains to CNBC’s Larry Kudlow why he remains bullish on Asia and commodities, his skepticism about the recent stock market rally, and why he left the United States to raise his daughters abroad.”

Source: CNBC, May 11, 2009.

CNBC: RICS - UK housing slump easing
“According to a recent survey, the UK housing price slump softened in April, and new buyer enquiries rose at their fastest pace in a decade. Simon Rubinsohn from RICS has more.”

Source: CNBC, May 12, 2009.

Financial Times: Zuma sworn in as SA president
“Nelson Mandela, a symbol of the country’s anti-apartheid struggle, and thousands of supporters and heads of state came to watch South Africa’s fourth democratic leader being sworn in.”