Ventas, Inc. Q2 2008 Earnings Call Transcript
August 6, 2008
Ventas, Inc. (VTR)
Q2 FY08 Earnings Call
Ventas, Inc. Q2 2008 Earnings Call Transcript
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. Q2 2008 Earnings Call Transcript
August 6, 2008
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR)
Q2 2008 Earnings Call Transcript
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. Q2 2008 Earnings Call Transcript
Containing Systemic Risk: The Road to Reform
August 6, 2008
Kevin Duffiny submits:
The Counterparty Risk Management Policy Group III has released its report entitled "Containing Systemic Risk: The Road to Reform." Here’s the link (pdf) to the full report, which should end this post right here.
But since you asked, here’s the highlights.
The Report is a forward-looking, integrated framework of private initiatives that will complement official oversight to help contain systemic risk. The Policy Group focused on four key areas including a reconsideration of the standards for consolidation under US GAAP of entities currently off-balance sheet coming on-balance sheet; measures to better understand and manage high-risk financial instruments; significant enhancements to risk monitoring and management; and, a series of sweeping measures to enhance the resiliency of financial markets generally and the credit markets in particular, with a special emphasis on OTC derivatives and credit default swaps.
Containing Systemic Risk: The Road to Reform
Were the Tax Rebates a Bust?
August 6, 2008
Zubin Jelveh submits:
Harvard economist Martin Feldstein writes provactively in the Wall Street Journal that the stimulus package was a flop:
Here are the facts. Tax rebates of $78 billion arrived in the second quarter of the year. The government’s recent GDP figures show that the level of consumer outlays only rose by an extra $12 billion, or 15% of the lost revenue. The rest went into savings, including the paydown of debt.
VIX Back Below 20
August 6, 2008
Hickey and Walters (Bespoke) submit:
Many traders were looking for a big spike in the VIX volatility index above 30 before calling a short-term bottom recently. While the VIX did spike, it didn’t quite get above 30 during the mid-July lows. Now that we’ve come off of those lows, the VIX has moved back below 20. Interestingly, even though the S&P 500 is just about where it was in mid-March, the VIX is dramatically lower, indicating much less fear in the market now versus then.
For those looking for a low point in the VIX to call a short-term top in the market, just above the 16 level has been a point in this market where the S&P has reversed course and headed lower.
Dow Jones 300+ Point Moves and Bear Markets
August 6, 2008
Hickey and Walters (Bespoke) submit:
Merrill Lynch’s David Rosenberg was on CNBC this morning arguing that yesterday’s 300+ point move was simply a bear market rally, and that 300+ point moves usually occur during bear markets. He then went on to say that during the entire bull market from 2002 - 2007, there was not one single 300 point rally.
While 300 point rallies usually occur during bear markets, Rosenberg left out that they also have occurred at the start of major rallies. In fact, the Dow rallied 13.1% and 12.5% following the first two ever 300+ point moves in the Dow at the 1998 lows. They also occurred multiple times at both the July ‘02 and October ‘02 lows. In fact, Rosenberg’s argument that there were no 300+ point rallies during the last bull market was simply incorrect. The Dow actually had two 300+ point days on 10/11/02 and 10/15/02 both of which came during the first week of the bull market.
Dow Jones 300+ Point Moves and Bear Markets
CBL & Associates Properties Inc. Q2 2008 Earnings Call Transcript
August 6, 2008
CBL & Associates Properties Inc. (CBL)
Q2 2008 Earnings Call
CBL & Associates Properties Inc. Q2 2008 Earnings Call Transcript
06 Aug 2008 16:00:00 - Top 5 Stocks up on Unusual Volume
August 6, 2008
| Intraday Unusual Volume - Top 5 Up |
| Symbol | Volume % Change |
Price % Change |
News | |
| SRVY | 545% | 16.38% |
news | |
| MNTA | 402% | 19.53% |
news | |
| ASTE | 392% | 31.23% |
news | |
| INSP | 352% | 10.70% |
news | |
| KNDL | 281% | 45.36% |
news | |
|
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06 Aug 2008 16:00:00 - Top 5 Stocks up on Unusual Volume
Is it Different This Time?
August 6, 2008
Gary Gordon submits:
Jonathan Burton for MarketWatch recently posted a feature about the 4 most dangerous words in the vernacular of investing. Specifically… "This time it’s different."
As Burton explains it, the late 90s/early 2000s tech bubble is a prime example. Stock market valuations no longer mattered… it was a new era of dot-com excitement and endless possibility. Of course, it wasn’t a new era and the stock market suffered one of the worst bears in its history from 2000-2002.
WSJ Chooses Spin Over Precision
August 6, 2008
Kevin S. Price submits:
This isn’t the biggest deal in the world, but as language obsessives, we found it at least mildly interesting.
Late yesterday, after the close of trading, we received one of the Wall Street Journal’s periodic Market Alerts. Under the headline "Dow Industrials Surge 330 Points as Oil Drops, Fed Stands Pat," we saw this (emphasis added in bold):

