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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: re3 who wrote (52306)	3/17/1999 9:26:00 AM
From: Freedom Fighter	Respond to of 132070

Max, >>Are the money centre banks that easy a layup...The pe's don't look so high to me...<< Other than last year's hiccup, the environment in recent years for financial services companies (brokers, banks) has been the best I've ever seen. Return on equity is higher than the typical sustainable level as a result. From a valuation perspective, because of the greater business risks these stocks generally trade at a discount of about 75% to the market (give or take.) So when you view them from a more normalized business perspective they appear very overvalued. If you share my "bubble" view of the U.S. they are a layup. It's a matter of when. Wayne Crimi Wayne Crimi

To: re3 who wrote (52306)	3/17/1999 10:33:00 AM
From: Knighty Tin	Respond to of 132070

Howard, There is no liquidity in any of the CEF puts. Basically, the open interest is the market makers/specialist and me. <g> Spreads are wide, but the offer side is low compared to the volatility these things sometimes show. Just look at a chart on MXF. I was buying calls at 9 and change and today they are 14. I see 9 and change again in their future. I think the money center banks are a layup because, though the pe ratios are low, the earnings are totally fake. Since spreads are awful on loans, they are leveraging higher and higher to try for growth. They are effectively betting a dollar to make a penny. Dumb. My guess is they get caught again, though I fear that the Fed has been feeding them easy trades lately. Gold is only part of my precious stuff holdings. I like platinum and palladium better, and diamonds at least as well. I like silver also, but it is a tougher play. Since only 10% of my total portfolio is long stocks and commodities, I obviously don't have a huge weighting in these. When my DeBeers and Impala were in full positions, they represented 5% of my holdings. That is about all I would recommend for somebody who has my three portfolios: income, cap app and 90/10. For somebody who is most cap app, I would recommend a higher holding of these cheap areas, perhaps 20%. Actually, Curt's dad is Larry "The Axe." I used to enjoy saying "Axe Hole" when he walked to the ring. <g> MB