Boesky is Back

And Milken was no Madoff. These guys are looking like amateurs compared to today's Wall St. villains and the SEC looked competent compared to today's Cox and company. When the gubmint (thanks to Grape Jelly of Itulip fame) cut a deal to allow Boesky to dump his positions and the market later discovered it, the SEC was torched in the media. Today, the government is not only telling us about the dumping, but sponsoring it via the TARP. Merrill Lynch lost $15 billion dollars last quarter and BAC supposedly had no idea it was going to be that bad. As I wrote at the end of my last blog, glad we didn't rush in below $11 because immediately after the closing bell, BAC plummeted to $9 and finished the week at $7.

All bets are now off in my book as Citi already stands to get nationalized. I can only hope that they create a spinoff structure and I get shares in both the "good" and "bad" banks. BAC may not be far behind.

In the meantime, Circuit City will be liquidated, more banks went under yesterday, and retail continues to get slaughtered. A Bloomberg article today laments 21K worldwide job losses yesterday based on announcements. That would be horrible if we weren't already losing at least that many per day just in this country if you follow any real non-govt. stats for unemployment. Those predicting a second half turnaround are out of their minds.

Gannett may shut down their operations in Tucson if they can't sell the paper. Debt continues to mount for both them and the NY Times. While the NY Times may be in financially more desperate shape, their brand carries more weight. However, it seems only a matter of time before they both go the way of the Tribune.....

I'm beginning to research Radio Shack for shorting purposes of course. Can anyone tell me how they mangage to make money? I'll let you know what I find next week....Have a nice holiday weekend.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJA3rhYFkThw&refer=home