Clark's Weblog

Senatorial Privilege

Sat, 13 Nov 2004 21:36:00 GMT

Senatorial Privilege

"In February we reported on a new study showing that the stock picks of Senators, as revealed in their financial disclosure forms, outperformed the market by a whopping 12 percent. Insider trading anyone? Although it's not clear whether any laws have been broken, Alan Ziobrowski, one of the study's authors says "there is cheating going on, at a 99 percent level of confidence."

The SEC looked at the study but, surprise, surprise, it seems that they are too busy going after Martha Stewart to have the time to look into evidence that our leaders are using their political power and influence for personal gain. An article in the Philadelphia Inquirer notes slyly, "the SEC may have little incentive to tangle with the Senate, given their relationship. Senators approve members of the SEC's governing body, as well as the agency's budget."

Unfortunately the article is not yet published, it is forthcoming in the Journal of Financial and Quantiative Analysis.

Thanks to Professor Bainbridge for the pointers."

[Via Marginal Revolution]

Tech Central Station - John Kerry's 19 Year Attack on Investors

Fri, 29 Oct 2004 11:26:31 GMT

TCS: Tech Central Station - John Kerry's 19 Year Attack on Investors:

For 19 years, on double taxation of dividends, on capital gains tax reductions, on Individual Retirement Accounts, on free trade, and on tort reform, Kerry has been on the side opposite the small investor.

Look Out Above

Mon, 25 Oct 2004 23:19:38 GMT

Larry Kudlow: Look Out Above:

"Investment strategy beauty from our friend Donald Luskin. He talks about a “bubble of fear” that has boosted oil and bashed stock-market price earnings multiples. Post-election, Don looks for a 20% stock rally. I basically agree."

[Via Kudlow's Money Politic$]

Get The Picture On Social Security

Fri, 24 Sep 2004 13:24:31 GMT

In a publication titled 'The Outlook for Social Security', the Congressional Budget Office placed a graphic at the very start of the report that really crystalized the whole debate to me.

Outlays exceed expenditures as of 2015. The above article, together with a later report titled 'How Pension Financing Affects Returns to Different Generations', are a great primer for people interested in finding some fact, understanding the issues,...and making damn sure they make their maximum 401k and 403b contributions each and every year.

Google Prospectus Online

Sun, 01 Aug 2004 11:56:16 GMT

http://ipo.google.com/ went live Friday, and contains information about Google upcoming initial public offering and how to participate in it. It turns out that to buy their stock in the IPO, one needs a bidder ID. Possessing a Bidder ID allows (but does not require) one to place bids with their broker and to receive an allocation of shares based on that bid. Larry Page:

"As we embarked on the process of going public we started to look at the ways in which people actually do the offering. And one thing weâre interested in is making the process more democratic; making our shares available to more investors and to do that in sort of a rational way that would work. And this led us naturally to pursue an auction-based IPO which, although unusual in the United States, has been used in other countries more. And, itâs something that weâre hopeful that will work well and will serve both the Company and the investor, as well.

For the vast majority of IPO's, shares are allocated by the underwriters to brokers, and those brokers in turn allocate shares to their favorite clients (read 'those who already have big juicy balances in their accounts), making the purchase of shares impossible for the little guy until they start to trade on the open market. Google vows to be different.

"Bidding in our Auction:

To participate, contact your brokerage firm affiliated with one of our underwriters, give them your bidder ID and let them know how many shares you want to bid for and at what price. Depending on your brokerage firm, you can do this in person, by phone, over the Internet or by fax, just as you would with any other stock purchase."

How much to offer? Well, the Iowa Electronic Marketplace may offer some guidance.