Hi Everybody –

I saw this headline today on an Associated Press story:

As a dog investor myself, I just wanted to assure you that I am not worried. In fact, I’m sleeping like a puppy . . .

The key to investing is taking a long-term view of the market. Stocks are down? It’s a buying opportunity!

Among the stocks I’m currently recommending are

• PetSmart (PETM) - Woof woof!
• Volcom (VLCM), Under Armour (UA) - I see lots of young humans wearing these brands.
• BJ’s Restaurants (BJRI) - I’ve never been but my owner says it’s really good and always crowded!
• Sonic Corporation (SONC) - I love the commercials with the two people talking in the car! So funny!

First the bad news: ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! THERE’S NOTHING BUT BAD NEWS! THE HOUSING MARKET HAS COLLAPSED! GLOBAL MARKETS ARE IMPLODING! EVERYTHING IS SPINNING OUT OF CONTROL! THE FALCON CANNOT HEAR THE FALCONER! THE CEREMONY OF INNOCENCE IS DROWNED! THE BEST LACK ALL CONVICTION WHILE THE WORST ARE FULL OF PASSIONATE INTENSITY! EVERYBODY PANIC!

OK, now the good news: Hmmm . . . well . . . as long as I have a job, I can make enough to live on . . . I think . . .

Mr. Obama is proposing to raise taxes on capital gains and dividends by a staggering two-thirds, moving the rate up 10 percentage points to 25%, which could curtail investment and business on Wall Street, a backbone of the city’s and state’s economy.

— New York Sun

OK, let me get this straight . . . the stock market’s dropping, banks are failing from lack of liquidity, no one wants to invest in American companies, and Obama’s solution is to raise the capital gains tax?!

In the event of an Obama presidency, I will taking a long position in blankets, canned goods and shotgun shells . . .

IndyMac, my former employer, laid off another 3,800 people this week, more than half the remaining work force. I got the axe myself almost exactly a year ago.

Prediction — at job interviews, these people will hear something I heard a lot during my own interviews: “We’re seeing a lot of applicants from the mortgage industry.”

Yeah . . . tell me something I didn’t know.

The Elite Mortgage Daily Blog has helpfully provided a brief history of IndyMac stock:

Warren Buffett published his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders this week:

Our gain in net worth during 2003 was $13.6 billion, which increased the per-share book value of both our Class A and Class B stock by 21%. Over the last 39 years (that is, since present management took over) per-share book value has grown from $19 to $50,498, a rate of 22.2% compounded annually.

Continue reading Warren Buffett Gets the Last Laugh