Comments on: GE and Rising EBITDAWs boost stocks http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/03/ge-and-rising-ebitdaws-boost-stocks/ Macro Perspective on the Capital Markets, Economy, Geopolitics, Technology, and Digital Media Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:38:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.5 By: leftback http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/03/ge-and-rising-ebitdaws-boost-stocks/comment-page-1/#comment-153259 leftback Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:09:08 +0000 http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/?p=21673#comment-153259 A quality skewering of "The Maestro", Jack. I see that holders of FAS are busy recapitalizing the banking industry. On a more sustainable note, $gaso is still increasing and I think that means we have whipped deflation. Of course now we have to put the other genie back in the bottle at some point. Ricky: Bubbles have many causes, but they take on a life of their own, being driven as much by fear (of people being left out of the party) as by greed (within the RE industry). There is no bubble to speak of in German housing (where many people still rent all their lives). If you don't burst 'em, they just keep on getting bigger. The UK, Spain and Ireland were among the most extreme markets. Iceland, obviously, is in a class of its own. ("Small one-bedroom dwelling available with ice fishing business, fjord access, glacier view, turn-key operation, geothermal heat available. Please bring suitcase of foreign currency, fish or vodka"). A quality skewering of “The Maestro”, Jack. I see that holders of FAS are busy recapitalizing the banking industry. On a more sustainable note, $gaso is still increasing and I think that means we have whipped deflation. Of course now we have to put the other genie back in the bottle at some point.

Ricky: Bubbles have many causes, but they take on a life of their own, being driven as much by fear (of people being left out of the party) as by greed (within the RE industry). There is no bubble to speak of in German housing (where many people still rent all their lives). If you don’t burst ‘em, they just keep on getting bigger.

The UK, Spain and Ireland were among the most extreme markets. Iceland, obviously, is in a class of its own. (“Small one-bedroom dwelling available with ice fishing business, fjord access, glacier view, turn-key operation, geothermal heat available. Please bring suitcase of foreign currency, fish or vodka”).

]]> By: Ricky http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/03/ge-and-rising-ebitdaws-boost-stocks/comment-page-1/#comment-153155 Ricky Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:00:30 +0000 http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/?p=21673#comment-153155 While I am certainly no defender of Greenspan, I have two nagging concerns: 1. If an artificially low funds rate is to blame for the housing bubble, how does one explain the housing bubble in England when the BOE -or in the EU when the ECB- ran a much tighter monetary policy than the Fed? 2. Given that house prices were appreciating at a 20% annual rate during the peak bubble years, do you really think having mortgage rates a couple of points higher would have prevented the bubble? While I am certainly no defender of Greenspan, I have two nagging concerns:

1. If an artificially low funds rate is to blame for the housing bubble, how does one explain the housing bubble in England when the BOE -or in the EU when the ECB- ran a much tighter monetary policy than the Fed?

2. Given that house prices were appreciating at a 20% annual rate during the peak bubble years, do you really think having mortgage rates a couple of points higher would have prevented the bubble?

]]> By: karen http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/03/ge-and-rising-ebitdaws-boost-stocks/comment-page-1/#comment-153110 karen Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:10:22 +0000 http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/?p=21673#comment-153110 nice summary! but the housing bubble, please... it was so obvious that only a dead person couldn't see it... nice summary! but the housing bubble, please… it was so obvious that only a dead person couldn’t see it…

]]> By: ben22 http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/03/ge-and-rising-ebitdaws-boost-stocks/comment-page-1/#comment-153077 ben22 Fri, 13 Mar 2009 04:23:25 +0000 http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/?p=21673#comment-153077 number one was great, 2,3, and 4 were good too but 1 was nice. number one was great, 2,3, and 4 were good too but 1 was nice.

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