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-- Posted Monday, 9 May 2011 | | Source: GoldSeek.com
Rick’s Picks Monday, May 9, 2011 “Phenomenally accurate forecasts” The “liquidity event” is back. With stock markets around the world rising on a tide of printing-press money, IPOs, mergers and acquisitions are red-hot once again, turning corporate insiders into billionaires overnight. And -- no surprise here -- the companies that are most closely associated with the funny-money business itself are spawning billionaires faster than all the others – faster, even, than Forbes magazine can make room on its list of 500. Just one paper-pushing specialist alone, Swiss commodity-trading firm Glencore, will likely add at least six billionaires to Forbes’ roster of uber-rich when it goes public. Its CEO, Ivan Glasenberg, who owns 15.8% of the company, could be worth $60 billion after the IPO. Perhaps Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is in the wrong business? He’s only worth a measly $12 billion at the moment, and it seems unlikely he’ll surpass Glasenberg, since Facebook, which has yet to develop a strong revenue model, is expected to fetch only $50 billion when it goes public. In the meantime, poor cousins like General Motors continue to grind out profits the hard way – i.e., by selling their stake in financial subsidiaries that are making money the new-fashioned way. Fortunately, some of the lucre has begun to trickle down to the little guy. The Ackerman household, for one. We recently received a letter from Well Fargo bank informing us that the bank was “very pleased to bring you some good news!” I knew the news was going to be very good indeed, since the opening sentence was in boldface – and with that exclamation mark!! Were they perhaps going to reward me for being a loyal customer for 30 years? Well, yes. But my heart sank with the next sentence: “We have lowered your annual percentage rate as noted in the table below. The lower rate applies to both your existing balance as well as any new transactions.” Hmmm? Well perhaps I’ll still come out of this with a winning deal. After all, hardly a day goes buy when I don’t receive a solicitation from some bank urging me to borrow money for a year or two at zero interest. Was Wells Fargo prepared to make me an even better offer? Guess again. As it happened, they had merely lowered my annual percentage rate for purchases and balance transfers to – are you sitting down for this – 20.25%!!!! Who said these guys don’t have a heart? This is sharing the wealth in the finest tradition of American capitalism. Now all I gotta do is find the next Glencore to invest in, so that borrowing $100k at 20% will seem like a stroke of genius. *** Information and commentary contained herein comes from sources believed to be reliable, but this cannot be guaranteed. Past performance should not be construed as an indicator of future results, so let the buyer beware. There is a substantial risk of loss in futures and option trading, and even experts can, and sometimes do, lose their proverbial shirts. Rick's Picks does not provide investment advice to individuals, nor act as an investment advisor, nor individually advocate the purchase or sale of any security or investment. From time to time, its editor may hold positions in issues referred to in this service, and he may alter or augment them at any time. Investments recommended herein should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor, and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. Rick's Picks reserves the right to use e-mail endorsements and/or profit claims from its subscribers for marketing purposes. All names will be kept anonymous and only subscribers’ initials will be used unless express written permission has been granted to the contrary. All Contents © 2011, Rick Ackerman. All Rights Reserved. www.rickackerman.com
-- Posted Monday, 9 May 2011 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com
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