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Strategies & Market Trends : Roger's 1998 Short Picks -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gil Gilbertson who wrote (14523)	10/8/1998 9:40:00 PM
From: Jose Matos	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 18691

I like making money like everyone else, but I do have a social conscience. I'm perfectly happy shorting crappy companies which I believe deserve to be tanked because of either excessive valuations, bogus business plans, bad or crooked management, and a dozen other factors. I don't even mind the 200 point intraday swings in the dow or 20% swings in individual stocks as those provide the best shorting opportunities. But all in all, I'm not cheering for the DoW to hit 2000. If you are, then you may be a bit self centered, selfish and ignorant, because at some point, stocks would all become non shortable. But by that point, as you drive your Ferrari to the gates of your mansion, you may have to pass your homeless parents and family. This doesn't put a smile in my face. A decent standard of living, where all can profit in there own ways, does. Regards. Jose.

To: Gil Gilbertson who wrote (14523)	10/8/1998 11:22:00 PM
From: Eric Klein	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 18691

Gil, I think that things have changed. Your brand of momentum investing worked well for a while, but "The times, they are a changin...". The markets are deteriorating rapidly. I don't think that fear has really set in yet. Some people are already trying to spot the bottom, the bottom is still a long way off. This market is still at historically high levels, it still would have to fall a long ways to get back into a normal range. Maybe Clinton's troubles have distracted people from the crisis that is rapidly developing, not only overseas, but in the financial markets of the US. Anyway, a single example: The bailout of Long Term Capital had to be arranged quickly by the Fed because there was fear that when the positions of this ONE hedge fund began to unwind that it could have a major impact on the financial health of US markets. I've got news for anybody who thinks that the problem was solved by the intervention: Long Term Capital may still blow up. They still hold large short positions in Treasury Bonds and large long positions in junk bonds. And guess what? Both bets are still going against them. And this is just one (albeit very large) hedge fund. How many other land mines are out there? I don't think anyone knows.