Sample review of Phil's Stock World newsletter: (proposed) Reinstatement of Short-Selling Restrictions, and more

Folks, Phil's Stock World seems an interesting site, even if you're not into options (which seem to be their main stock in trade, so to speak!). They have free newsletters, and here's a sample so you can see.  Part of what they do is pull together articles from others, including Mish Shedlock and Tyler Durden.  They mostly include commentaries on topics that probably interest my readers too.  Sometimes they include charts analysis, and you know I can't vouch for those (once I noticed something on Dow Theory that I posted a correction on here), but often good and always good to know what others are seeing.  I'm not intending to tout their subscriptions - just noticed that today's free newsletter has the news about the uptick rule and other interesting items, so this is a good sample if you're browsing the web instead of starting your grilling, veteran-thanking, or however you plan to celebrate Independence Day!

The links in their newsletter below should work to take you to their site so you can read the full articles on the topics indicated. Each of the items is just the opening part of an article posted at the Phil's Stock World site (which I've been adding to the "other sites of interest" at the right side of the page)..

Begin forwarded message:

From: Phil's Stock World <news@philstockworld.com>
Date: July 4, 2009 8:52:59 AM EDT
Subject: PSW Report: More Idiocy From the SEC: Reinstatement of Short-Selling Restrictions

July 4, 2009 - 8:30am

More Idiocy From the SEC: Reinstatement of Short-Selling Restrictions By ilene Posted: July 4, 2009 - 1:01am More Idiocy From the SEC: Reinstatement of Short-Selling Restrictions Courtesy of Mish Inquiring minds are reading S.E.C. May Reinstate Rules for Short-Selling Stocks.  They have been reviled as the bad hats of Wall Street, nefarious traders who cashed in on the market collapse and, some insist, helped precipitate it. Now short-sellers, the market skeptics who correctly called last year's downturn, are coming under even more unwanted scrutiny, this time from federal regulators. The Securities and Exchange Commission appears poised to reverse itself and reinstate rules that would make shorting stocks — that is, betting their prices will decline — somewhat more difficult. Many banks, whose stocks came under attack last autumn, maintain that unfettered short-selling is dangerous. The shorts, their argument goes, helped bring down Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers last year. Mary L. Schapiro, chairwoman of the S.E.C., has said that considering new rules restricting short-selling is a priority. For the moment, the most likely outcome may be for the S.E.C. to reinstate a rule that the commission itself abolished with a unanimous vote in 2007, under its previous chairman, Christopher S. Cox. Known as the uptick rule, it would bar investors from shorting a stock until its price ticks at least a penny above its previous trading price. To some, the issue is clear-cut. The American Bankers Association, a trade group representing the vast majority of American banks — whose equity values have been especially battered in the last 18 months — recently submitted an opinion in favor of reinstating the short-sale restrictions. Sally Miller, a spokesman for the A.B.A., said the member banks thought there was a clear link between the market turmoil and the rule change. The American Bankers Association Group of Idiots What brought down the banks was excessive leverage (40-1 or greater at Bear Stearns and Lehman), excessive dependence on real estate investments (both residential mortgages and commercial real estate), lax lending standards, off balance sheet investments ($1 Trillion at Citigroup alone), and a host of other piss poor discretions. If the American Bankers Association wants to place the blame on who is responsible for this mess they ought to look straight in the mirror and blame themselves. Moreover, Sally Miller is obviously a complete dunce as to how stock markets work. sally says there is a "clear link between the market turmoil and the rule change". Hello Sally, correlation does not imply causation. The rooster crows at the crack of dawn every day and the sun comes…

Mid-Year 2009 Checkup By ilene Posted: July 3, 2009 - 7:23pm Here's Karl Denninger's mid-year review of his new year predictions, and thoughts on 2009 part 2. Mid-Year 2009 Checkup Courtesy of Karl at The Market Ticker It doesn't seem possible that six months have passed under the bridge of time in 2009 yet, does it?  Yet they have. Let's take a look at the scorecard first from my 2009 Prediction Ticker, remembering of course that I have six months left! The economy will not recover in 2009.  No sign of it yet, "green shooters" be damned.  I predicted that U3 would reach 8% by the end of the year, it has exceeded that wildly, and is now 9.5%.  U-6 also has exceeded my predicted value already. Deflation, not inflation, will become evident well beyond housing.  Already has.  CPI and PPI have come in with negative prints as has capital goods pricing. Housing prices will continue to decline.  Yep. The Fed's attempt to "pump liquidity" will be shown to be an abject failure.  I'll leave this one on the table for now; I believe the evidence is in, but I'm in the minority.  Score this one as a "no result" as of yet. GDP will post a 12-month negative number.  12 months aren't up yet, but we're working on it! The Stock Market has not bottomed.  Remember, this was made with the market around the 900 level.  Major check; we declined to 666.  My secondary prediction was a 50% trading range and a 5xx low; we missed that by 67 points, but I still have six months left.  I'm sticking with this one. Precious metals will not be a safe haven.  Oh Jim Sinclair!  Where's my $1,600+ gold price?  (Or for some, their $5,000+ gold price?)  Missing, that's where.  I know, I know, its all manipulation (instead of debt deflation.)  Check. The Dollar will not collapse.  Hasn't yet. The pound or euro will be where the FX dislocation originates if it occurs.  I predicted Par for both being a possibility, not happening yet.  We'll see what the next six months bring. The US Consumer will go from a negative savings rate to a seriously-positive one.  I'm predicting 4% but it could go as high as 10%.  Major double-check!  We're up close to 7% now.  That's a home run in any book. Commercial Real Estate will effectively collapse.  The REITs have not yet imploded but the pricing and occupancy look like something that came out of the back end of a horse.  Anyone got a finger to lend to push…

Recent Readings from Phil's Stock World

Hey, Look, The Stress Tests Really Weren't Stressful Enough - Posted: July 3, 2009 - 4:36pm

Investing Education Advice if You're New to Options Trading - Posted: July 3, 2009 - 3:17pm

Head and Shoulders and Divergences on Daily SP500 - Posted: July 3, 2009 - 2:53pm

Sell Signal on SP500 Monthly Chart? - Posted: July 3, 2009 - 2:44pm

Short Weekly Wrap-Up - Posted: July 3, 2009 - 8:14am

ROSENBERG: DEFLATION ALL OVER EMPLOYMENT REPORT - Posted: July 2, 2009 - 4:32pm

Bullish Motorola Play In Options Action - Posted: July 2, 2009 - 4:22pm

The June Non-farm Payrolls Report - Posted: July 2, 2009 - 3:25pm

China Requests Debate on Reserve Currency at G14 Summit - Posted: July 2, 2009 - 2:11pm

Note: The material presented in this commentary is provided for informational purposes only and is based upon information that is considered to be reliable. However, neither Philstockworld, LLC (PSW) nor its affiliates warrant its completeness, accuracy or adequacy and it should not be relied upon as such. Neither PSW nor its affiliates are responsible for any errors or omissions or for results obtained from the use of this information. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Neither Phil, Optrader or anyone related to PSW is a registered financial adviser and they may hold positions in the stocks mentioned, which may change at any time without notice. Do not buy or sell based on anything that is written here, the risk of loss in trading is great.

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