Money and Financial Lifestyle

“And let’s be honest about it. Hybrid ARMs were never made based on the assumption that the borrowers would be able to make the payment once the loan reset. They were designed as two or three year bullets …

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Nov 16, 2009: Second wave of mortgage defaults coming…

The financial health of the government’s two biggest benefit programs may have slipped over the past year, reflecting the deep recession that has already bitten into other areas of the budget.

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Annual report due for Social Security and Medicare (AP)

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J.—-Genta Incorporated today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2009. The Company recorded significant milestones in the third quarter, including the following: AGENDA Phase 3 trial of Genasense® in melanoma completes enrollment: Final safety and futility analysis expected May 2009 Progression-free survival result expected Q4 2009 Tesetaxel dose-ranging trial opens: Initial data on all dose levels expected at ASCO, June 2009

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Genta Incorporated Announces First Quarter 2009 Financial Results (Business Wire)

For students in my Financial Management class (FINM2401) - Alan Kohler has written an editorial on the current short sale restrictions here in Australia ( The Blind Leading the Naked , on Business Spectator ). In a nutshell: Short selling is an important part of price discovery in markets, but the securities lending business in Australia should be more transparent

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More on Short Selling

I was catching up on podcasts this morning and my mp3 player served up this gem from NPR’s Business Story of the Day podcast : Despite Losses, Star Investor Trusts In Stocks David Swensen, manager of Yale University’s endowment, says that individuals should be investing in index funds: … because most so-called actively managed mutual funds — the ones that pay managers to pick stocks — charge such high fees that the fees more than eat up the added returns they’re able to achieve, he says.

The rest is here: 
Index Funds 1, Active Managers 0

Robert Gottliebson has an interesting article over at Business Spectator about Centro. For those of you who haven’t been following it, Centro is a high profile Australian casualty of the US credit crisis. Centro Properties ( ASX:CNP ) manages retail properties in Australia and the US

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Debt and Corporate Control

I don’t know if you’ve been following the Opes Prime saga, but I think it points out some weaknesses in the current Australian financial system. Alan Kohler, over at Business Spectator has been following this closely, and I recommend his columns. In particular this one about ANZ and how it ended up with more than 20% of several small caps.

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Financial Mayhem