| Springfield left its fate to Merrill
Merrill Lynch has now rung up losses of $7.8 billion in 2007, written down the value of $24 billion in investments and ousted its chief executive as a result of the debacle. And around the world, losses from subprime mortgages and the securities built around them have hit an estimated $170 billion. Merrill Lynch said it could not explain why the names of Springfield's investments changed last July. But the timing of the disclosures was more than a little curious. By August, the market value of Springfield's three CDO investments had fallen 25 percent, on paper. By the end of September, they had plunged 50 percent, according to Merrill Lynch's calculations. And at the end of November, the original investment of $13.9 million was marked down to less than $1.3 million.
Hitch Your Wagon to a Rate Cut?
Charles Reinhard, director of portfolio strategy at New York fund manager Neuberger Berman, studied the past 11 series of Fed rate cuts. He concluded that in all but the most recent one, 2001, stocks showed gains a year after the Fed started, with an average one-year increase of 16%. He considers 2001 an aberration because it followed a devastating stock bubble. He notes, however, that stocks at times suffered nasty declines before turning up. In four cases, stocks still were down five months after the rate cuts began. Whether stocks rise after rate cuts depends on whether the economy is poised to rebound or poised to sink, says Chris Johnson, chief executive of Johnson Research Group. "Take your cue from what's going on in the economy -- that will trump the Fed every time," he says.
Father brings 63 years of eclectic experience to his parish
Tony Cureton is 63 years old, the divorced father of two young women he raised alone. He is a grandfather, too. He nursed until her death a woman he calls "my beloved in Christ," and still wears the ring she would have given him on their wedding day. .
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