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Politics : Welcome to Slider's Dugout -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SliderOnTheBlack who wrote (8494)	3/17/2008 3:59:30 PM
From: wildandwonderful	Respond to of 50710

FNM april 30 call options are up 30%.I am going to wait for a few days to see what develops, interest rate cut,Option expiration week, volatility might give me a escape route without getting burned.

To: SliderOnTheBlack who wrote (8494)	3/17/2008 4:05:58 PM
From: Bill on the Hill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50710

Great move Slider, I am looking at a piece north of our farm in eastern Colorado with a house on it. About 300k for 325 acres half planted to wheat. If the crop comes in at present price of $12 a bushel the first year will bring in 2500 to 3000 bushels for a total of perhaps 30k within a few months of closing....... That makes all the payments on the land. House for free. Prices are rising on the real estate. Farms used to sit on market for a few years and now only a few months. Prices in small farm towns on the eastern plains have been in depression pricing for thirty years. A three bedroom costs from 35k to 75k depending on how old it is. Main street in these towns is non-existent. Imagine farmers with twice to three times the money in their pockets due to higher grain prices. Main street will take on a different look. Time for bakeries, boot repair shops to make comebacks...... I am thinking coffee shop with add ons for cash flow. Nice place to listen to gossip and find out what is happening around the area. Farming today means being onsite for maybe three or four weeks a year. Rest of the time can be spent WAY south of there. Or up here in the high mountains where it is cool in the summer. What is raised on the piece you are looking at?

To: SliderOnTheBlack who wrote (8494)	3/17/2008 7:29:40 PM
From: bullbud	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50710

Only a few gold stocks have come a long way. MOST miners have been piddly vs POG. A few years ago the miners were like shooting fish in a barrel. These days, you have to have good aim. Gold fever is not at a high pitch....yet.

To: SliderOnTheBlack who wrote (8494)	3/17/2008 8:59:46 PM
From: wildandwonderful	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50710

I am expecting a major prop job on Fannie and Freddie soon.Our calls might even make us some money. April 19 is infinity in these volatile times. Plans Would Boost Funds For Mortgages By DAMIAN PALETTA March 18, 2008 The Bush administration, in an effort to stabilize the housing market, is preparing two new initiatives aimed at creating more funding for mortgages by relaxing constraints on Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration. Both efforts are in advanced planning stages, though neither has received final approval. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is close to reducing -- but not eliminating -- an excess-capital requirement for the government-sponsored entities, people familiar with the matter said. This would give the companies more flexibility to buy and securitize loans. That, in turn, would allow the companies to play a bigger role in helping the housing market regain its footing. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would both be expected to raise more capital, providing more of a shock absorber against potential losses. "I'm anticipating a conversation we'll be having with Fannie and Freddie about acquiring more capital here," Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd told reporters yesterday. The Connecticut Democrat said the companies would have to find a way to "walk the line between protecting shareholder interest" and meeting their mission to promote affordable housing. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke met with Fannie Mae Chief Executive Daniel Mudd yesterday. The session had been scheduled for several weeks. Both Mr. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson have urged Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to raise more capital. That would give the companies more leeway to pump liquidity into the loan market, which they can do through the end of the year as authorized by Congress. "We are putting things in place that give Fannie and Freddie good stuff to buy," House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D., Mass.) said in an interview. If the companies raised more capital, they would have more leverage as they negotiate with the administration over legislation to overhaul their supervision. Spokesmen for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and their regulator declined to comment. Separately, officials at the Department of Housing and Urban Development have talked recently with the White House's Office of Management and Budget about a proposal to allow more people to qualify for mortgages insured by the FHA. Such insurance gives lenders more confidence to make loans. So far, HUD's efforts to insure more mortgages have had a limited impact, mainly because it is hard for financially distressed homeowners to qualify. Homeowners who have missed a payment in the past six months aren't eligible for FHA insurance. HUD spokeswoman D.J. Nordquist said the agency was "still in the discussion stages" about changes and did not have a new policy to announce.

To: SliderOnTheBlack who wrote (8494)	3/19/2008 2:25:15 AM
From: croesus1111	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 50710

Forgive my ignorance, but how can the BOJ kneecap the carry trade now? The threat in the past was that they would raise interest rates, but how can they do that now with their currency so strong and their exporters crying? As you said in a later post, they are jawboning about the yen being too high. Which should be good for the carry trade precisely because they cannot raise interest rates. Now I agree that they will try to do a prop job on the dollar. But I don't see how that will negatively affect the carry trade. And, as you had astutely predicted, the shock to the carry trade was what hurt the gold market so much in August. This time, if they do anything to interest rates, it seems like they would have to cut. So what is the scenario by which gold would take a big dive now? Are some concerted G7/IMF gold sales and some strong buying of treasuries and intervention on the currency markets enough now? Maybe if they get the timing right...

To: SliderOnTheBlack who wrote (8494)	3/19/2008 10:43:43 AM
From: RonMerks	Respond to of 50710

Re- 'smoking them - if ya' got 'em' Sliderfucious say: "Profits in ugly markets are like Cigarettes in War: Never anything wrong with smoking them - if ya' got 'em." SLV down -4.5%. I guess we know where the fast money was now. And here I thought cigarettes were hazzardous to your health <vbg>. Next time, I'll smoke 'em. $22- oh so close. I'm stopping out on half here, I took some off (not enough) at $20, but was holding out for $22. Silver built a nice base at $16, so I guess I'll look to buy back at $15-$16. My Hawaiian trip is getting more expensive every damn day, but $18 and change was still a nice run. Ron