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by NormR
27 Nov 2007 17:48
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: Kaboom! Freddie (Symbol-FRE) cuts dividend
Replies: 9
Views: 2866

Freddie and Fannie's Achilles' heel And Freddie and Fannie are going to need some especially creative alternatives. Why? When either Freddie or Fannie attempt to build capital, they are handicapped by a peculiarity that very few investors know about: They cannot sell the most popular kind of preferred stock, the "cumulative" variety, because their regulator will not let these securities count toward capital. What "cumulative" signifies in this context is that if dividends are missed, they pile up to be paid on some brighter day, if that arrives. To the extent that Freddie and Fannie issue preferred shares, therefore, they are forced into selling the "non-cumulative" variety. That means if a dividend is missed,...
by NormR
27 Nov 2007 17:45
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: Kaboom! Freddie (Symbol-FRE) cuts dividend
Replies: 9
Views: 2866

Kaboom! Freddie (Symbol-FRE) cuts dividend

Freddie cuts dividend, plans to sell $6B in stock
Freddie Mac halved its dividend and unveiled plans to sell $6 billion in preferred stock to bolster the mortgage investor's finances in anticipation of more losses, the company said Tuesday.
by NormR
25 Nov 2007 21:23
Forum: Community Centre
Topic: Hey, lower your damn prices.
Replies: 493
Views: 12335

millergd wrote:Some booksellers have still not adjusted their prices:
Indeed, the Canadian dollar has fallen from ~$1.10 to ~$1.01. They should quickly increase their prices!
by NormR
25 Nov 2007 21:18
Forum: Community Centre
Topic: Hey, lower your damn prices.
Replies: 493
Views: 12335

AltaRed wrote:
Shakespeare wrote:I see FS has an on-line sale at the moment. The present I just ordered had a price similar to the US list, down 1/3.
I have seen more markdowns on electronics every week, coming closer to US online prices. Best to shop in places that provide 30 or 60 day price gurantees so one can cash in those. The digital camera I was looking at as a gift was originally $250 at FS and Best Buy a week ago and $219 at Visions. Then this weekend it was in Blacks for $190 and $200 in the FS online sale (and Best Buy flyer).
The one I was looking for was $299 a few weeks ago at FS/BB, its now down to $199 (on sale). But Dell.ca beat them at $169 (~lowish US price) including a case and a 1 GB SD card. :D
by NormR
25 Nov 2007 21:12
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: Dogs of the Dow and the Foolish Four
Replies: 29
Views: 4644

Shakespeare wrote:
a minimum of 50 stocks
That is a reasonable number for the US, but not necessarily in Canada.
But that's just due to the small size of the market. There are only ~120 stocks with net sales in excess of $1 billion in Canada.
by NormR
25 Nov 2007 18:30
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: Dogs of the Dow and the Foolish Four
Replies: 29
Views: 4644

danwaterloo wrote:I'd say what the dogs of the dow strategy generally has to recommend it is, it is investing in wide moat, quality companies which have become unfavoured by the market. If you consider how it does in a taxable account, especially for a Canadian, it's not going to outperform the S&P 500. But if all the buying and selling and dividends aren't taxed, you can do very well.
Just to be clear, my comment was directed toward the price rule notion and not the simple strategy of buying the high yield stocks.
by NormR
25 Nov 2007 18:00
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: Dogs of the Dow and the Foolish Four
Replies: 29
Views: 4644

So what I do is I only drop the lowest price, highest yielding stock (determined by the ratio procedure) if it's yield is below 5%. My rationale is that if the downtrodden stock can't maintain a big dividend yield even after it's stock price has been beaten down (Eastman Kodak for example), it really is in serious trouble.
Shrug, I'm not sure there is much to recommend such a procedure. If you want to avoid 'serious trouble', look to the fundamentals and do a little analysis.
by NormR
23 Nov 2007 16:22
Forum: Community Centre
Topic: ZoneAlarm Pro versus Norton
Replies: 111
Views: 2296

I've had good luck with the ZA free firewall previously (Vista & XP).

My fully patched Vista Home Premium with ZA Suite 7.1.078 was miserable. The last straw was frequent but random hanging (just the program not the system) when I tried to start thunderbird or firefox. Vista then refused to kill the process via task manager and required a reboot. (Where's the 'kill -9' on vista? When I kill a process I want it to die and stay dead. Damn zombies.)

Anyway, Kaspersky seems to be on special this week. I might go for it. Comments? Other AV/Firewall recommendations for a home office computer apprecitaed (i.e. can't get away with AVG Free).
by NormR
23 Nov 2007 14:05
Forum: Community Centre
Topic: ZoneAlarm Pro versus Norton
Replies: 111
Views: 2296

Bylo Selhi wrote:According to this, they still don't have a version of ZA that plays nice with Vista, which may explain why Shakes has run into so many problems with it that he had to yank it out.
I had the misfortune of picking up a cheap copy of ZA Internet Suite for a new vista machine. I yanked it out after a week or so. Among other problems, slow start ups and shutdowns. Their update tool would hang and turning off the computer (nicely) would take 30+min.
by NormR
18 Nov 2007 16:17
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: SubPrime Meltdown
Replies: 812
Views: 104409

rhenderson wrote:I don't recall BMO ever cutting their dividend, so if the stock does hit $ 30 with the present dividend intact, that will translate into a yield of a little over 9 %. !
Consider Washington Mutual (WM in the U.S.) which hasn't cut its dividend yet and trades at a yield of 11% - up from about 5% earlier this year.

The downside risk for the banks is high. 50% drops are a real possibility based on historical valuation measures.

However, I'd also expect the survivors to bounce back.
by NormR
17 Nov 2007 21:41
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: SubPrime Meltdown
Replies: 812
Views: 104409

The issue is that people assumed the SIVs were virtually risk-free investments, and are now aware that they are nowhere near risk-free. A Coventree SIV may not be exposed to subprime, but people now realize that it is exposed to SOMETHING--and it's not clear what! At a minimum it's plainly exposed to liquidity risk, and no doubt its assets are exposed to something else too. I agree that people are likely over-reacting, but things will not simply go back to the way they were. SIV's will likely make a comeback at some point, but the market for them will be smaller, because people will realize that the higher returns came with higher risks in tow, and many who bought the SIV's in the past don't have a stomach for risk. So, was the market effi...
by NormR
17 Nov 2007 01:04
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: Canadian Small Cap
Replies: 79
Views: 21632

But for some managers (not all) it is a sign of good stewardship. You just have to watch out for the promoters who try this trick and then reopen the fund latter for poor/greedy reasons.
by NormR
17 Nov 2007 01:01
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: Canadian Small Cap
Replies: 79
Views: 21632

Re: Sprott Canadian Equity

kirsten wrote:I vote for the #1 small cap / hedge fund in Canada - Sprott Canadian Equity!
This fund has more than $2 billion under management. (Even more if you count other Sprott funds/portfolios.) That's a crazy amount of money to try to invest in Canadian small caps. It makes it worse that they have a heavy resource tilt. I'd stick to small cap funds with << $1billion under management.
by NormR
17 Nov 2007 00:52
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: Canadian Small Cap
Replies: 79
Views: 21632

yielder wrote:
Perhaps Chou RRSP
$10K minimum is too rich :cry:
Too bad, there are some interesting options with much higher mins. On the other hand, at <$10k, one fund seems likely sufficient.
by NormR
15 Nov 2007 23:07
Forum: Community Centre
Topic: Beer in Tronna
Replies: 242
Views: 7271

George$ wrote:
NormR wrote: It seems that Monday is tight for some folks. Might Tues or Wed be better?
It's ok here - either Tue Nov 27? or Wed Nov 28 ? are fine with me.


Perhaps Wednesday the 28th then?
by NormR
13 Nov 2007 16:51
Forum: Community Centre
Topic: Beer in Tronna
Replies: 242
Views: 7271

George$ wrote:To move things along can I thus firm it up - to
Monday November 26, starting at about 5:30 pm at the UofT Faculty Club
(directions were listed in posts for prior meetings)
It seems that Monday is tight for some folks. Might Tues or Wed be better?
by NormR
11 Nov 2007 23:10
Forum: Community Centre
Topic: Beer in Tronna
Replies: 242
Views: 7271

eezee wrote:Thanks. Doc says I can drive again in 6 weeks, he didn't say anything about not chasing nurses sooner :lol:
Best wishes, and best of luck with the nurses :)
by NormR
11 Nov 2007 11:19
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: housing BUST
Replies: 1957
Views: 241163

dusty2 wrote:The previous graph shows that, although the last rise in housing went up 320%, it ended and there was a 17% drop, when the 'bubble' burst, it then went on to another 230% appreciation. If that's the all-dreaded meltdown that's being warned about here- as Bush says 'bring it on!'. A 550% rise and a 17% drop might scare a few chickens, but not anyone with a backbone.
Might it not be better to consider a real return graph?
by NormR
10 Nov 2007 18:39
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: Bank of Montreal (Symbol-BMO)
Replies: 455
Views: 102155

adrian2 wrote:
investor99 wrote:BMO could really blow up, cut the dividend, and be a terrible investment for 10 years.
FWIW, IIRC, the only Canadian bank which cut the dividend in the past half century at least, was National Bank. Even with that event, NA has been a pretty good investment in the long run.
National's Dividend History

Anyone remember the Laurentian bank run ;)

Image

(The Run on the Montreal City and District Savings Bank. The Mayor Addressing the Crowd, 19 October, 1872)
by NormR
10 Nov 2007 18:13
Forum: Community Centre
Topic: Beer in Tronna
Replies: 242
Views: 7271

Sounds good to me
by NormR
09 Nov 2007 23:37
Forum: Financial News, Policy and Economics
Topic: BNN ( ROBTV ) sucks
Replies: 33
Views: 2350

gossg wrote:I haven't been watching TV much this past year. So I was surprised to find a station that looked very much like ROB but had this other name. Why keep shuffling your identity, if brand recognition is about the only thing that matters in the 200 channel universe?
Think about that acronym for a moment. Now, how many jokes can you come up with using "rob". :wink:
by NormR
09 Nov 2007 19:58
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: Bank of Montreal (Symbol-BMO)
Replies: 455
Views: 102155

investor99 wrote:sub $30 is very nice indeed....9.7% yield. :)
Before or after the dividend cut? :wink:
by NormR
09 Nov 2007 19:30
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: Bank of Montreal (Symbol-BMO)
Replies: 455
Views: 102155

twocentsworth wrote:
carnet wrote:
OK, I'm in. Really, what is the worst that could happen? :lol:
Drum roll, please......

The worst? Say a $50 bottom (or less). :shock:
Naw, sub $30.
by NormR
06 Nov 2007 23:54
Forum: Community Centre
Topic: Beer in Tronna
Replies: 242
Views: 7271

eezee wrote:If it's between Nov 24 and 26 I'm in, after that I'll be out of commission having traded a soup bone for a plastic knee.
Perhaps the 24th then?