Some stuff I read online 3/27/08

After a brief run-up at the open, the markets are trading to the downside, largely lead by financials. Nothing catastrophic. All runs up will pull back and base at some point. Lets hope that this is basing and not resistance.

Here is today’s list of interesting articles I have read online.

Mark McQueen has an interesting note on the BCE takeover in light of the Clear Channel ruling yesterday compelling the banks to fund the deal. One of the highlights of the article is the fact that, even though these loans will likely be performing, they will need to be written down from the outset due to current market conditions. I have heard and made this argument several times with respect to the huge write downs being taken by the banks right now. I look for significant write ups in the future.

Clear Channel ruling will boost BCE shares

Chand Brand at Peridot Capitalist has a piece on the drop in values of CA homes. Looks like year over year there was a 26% drop in the average home price in CA. He also highlights recent ads by the National Association of Realtors claiming that housing is s great investment since it doubles every 10 years. That suggests a growth rate in excess of 7% annually for residential real estate. Maybe in a bubble but definitely not the norm. As with the sub-prime lenders picketing Bear Stearns, a little “talking your own book” going on here.

Yikes, California Home Values Drop 26% in February

The dividend guy has a piece on asset allocations suggesting starting with pension fund allocations as a base for allocation decisions. As one of the commenter pointed out, pension funds would tend to have a much longer time horizon than you or I, one can still use the concept in their own portfolio allocations. In a future post, I will write about duration that you can use to help match the fixed income portion of your portfolio to your investment horizon. I will also do some research and try to come up with a list of some of the better asset allocation models on the web.

Pension Fund Asset Allocations You Can Use

Thanks for reading…